Harry James of St. Thomas, Ont., one of Canada's most respected token experts and a pillar of the numismatic community for more than five decades, died on April 19.

A prolific researcher, author and speaker, James was best known for his extensive work documenting Canadian merchant tokens and trade pieces.

Harry James, 86, of St. Thomas, Ont., one of Canada’s most respected token experts and a pillar of the numismatic community for more than five decades, died on April 19.

A prolific researcher, author and speaker, James was best known for his extensive work documenting Canadian merchant tokens and trade pieces. He authored several regional token catalogues and the landmark Guide to Ontario Tokens, a multi-hundred-page reference used by collectors nationwide. As president of the Canadian Association of Token Collectors (CATC) for nearly 40 years, James helped foster a generation of collectors and researchers, all while contributing to the Ontario Numismatic Association and the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association as an educator and exhibitor.

“Harry was the backbone of the CATC for many years,” said CATC president Scott Douglas. “As a numismatist, he loved to share his knowledge with everyone. As a dealer, Harry was the epitome of honesty and integrity. Harry leaves a large hole in Canadian numismatics and in many of our lives. He will be missed.”

Douglas also shared the following in his upcoming President’s Message for the next issue of Numismatica Canada:

“It is with a heavy heart that I bring sad news of the passing of our President Emeritus, Harry N. James. This title was bestowed on Harry in 2020 after he had served the CATC for two years as Vice-President before stepping up in 1980 to the President’s position for a remarkable 40 years (1980 to 2020).

During this time, Harry wrote approximately 300 articles for our journals (both The CeeTee and Numismatica Canada), a 120-page book, Advertising Tokens of Ontario (2005), and an 800-page book, A Guide to Ontario Tokens (2012), as well as publishing a booklet on each of the counties individually. Harry also printed and mailed each issue of the newsletter to the membership for many, many years.

Harry was truly dedicated to the CATC and was a pillar of our organization. If you have an anecdote or reminiscence of Harry that you would like to share with the membership, please send it to our editor, Mr. Lorne Barnes.

Harry N. James will be missed by all who knew him. His legacy lives on in the CATC. RIP.”

James is remembered by friends and colleagues as generous, knowledgeable and deeply committed to preserving Canada’s local numismatic history.

A full tribute to Harry James’s life and legacy will appear in the next issue of Canadian Coin News.