Robert Wallace McLachlan

Robert Wallace McLachlan, was a prolific early Canadian numismatist, who published many works focusing primarily on pre-Canadian Confederation coins, tokens and medals. He lived in Montreal, and was for many years the Treasurer and Curator of The Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal. Along with fellow early Canadian numismatists Alfred Sandham, and P. N. Breton and Joseph Leroux, his publications are considered to have laid the foundations for Canadian numismatic research.
In 1894, P. N. Breton stated that McLachlan's coin collection was the most extensive in Canada with over 8,000 pieces, ranging from ancient Greek issues to contemporary coins. McLachlan sold his collection in its entirety to The Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal in 1922, which at that time had grown to an estimated 20,000 pieces.

Personal life

In October 1876, he married the temperance activist, Elizabeth Weir, daughter of William Park Weir, and sister of William Alexander Weir and Robert Stanley Weir.

Selected works

McLachlan published the following books and pamphlets on Canadian tokens:The Edward Murphy Medal, published in 1877Canadian Temperance Medals, published in 1879The French-American Colonial Jettons, published in 1884 The Money and Medals of Canada Under the Old Regime, published in 1885Canadian Numismatics: A Descriptive Catalogue of Coins, Tokens and Medals Issued in or Relating to the Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland, published in 1886Statistics of the Coinage for Canada and Newfoundland, published in 1890Canadian Communion Tokens, published in 1891The Louisbourg Medals, published in 1891Annals of the Nova Scotian Currency, published in 1892Coins Struck in Canada Previous 1840, published in 1892Canadian Diamond Jubilee Medals, published in 1898The Nova Scotian Treasury Notes, published in 1898Medals Awarded to the Canadian Indians, published in 1899Two Canadian Golden Wedding Medals, published in 1901The Real Date of the Canadian 1820 Harp Tokens, published in 1907