The UFO sighting in Duncan in 1970 that a new collectible silver coin being produced by the Royal Canadian Mint is based on may have earthly origins after all.

Dan Hughes, who has lived in the Cowichan Valley since 1969, said the incident was the result of a New Year鈥檚 prank by a local couple that has developed into a full-fledged UFO hoax over the years.

Hughes, who knew the couple, said he has seen the story of the UFO sighting outside the Cowichan District Hospital early on New Year鈥檚 Day, 1970, in numerous publications and books since then, but when he saw that the Royal Canadian Mint had made a coin about the sighting, the sixth in the mint鈥檚 Canada鈥檚 Unexplained Phenomena series, he thought it was time to tell the truth.

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He said Les and Renee Palmer, who have both since died, lived in a house that bordered the hospital鈥檚 property on Gibbins Road at the time.

Hughes said that, as part of New Year鈥檚 activities, the couple made a cross from two pieces of very light wood and taped them together.

They then attached a string to the four ends of the wood pieces and placed small candles near the ends before covering the whole structure with a light-weight plastic dry-cleaner bag that was tied at the top where the coat hanger is usually positioned.

鈥淎 hair dryer was help up underneath until the bag filled with hot air and then, with the candles lit, the contraption was released and it went up in the air and towards the hospital,鈥� Hughes said.

The scenario that the Royal Canadian Mint describes on its website said that before dawn on New Year鈥檚 Day, 1970, a nurse at the Cowichan District Hospital opened the curtain in a patient鈥檚 room and described seeing a large saucer-shaped craft with a glass-like dome top.

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Inside the object, which was estimated to be 15 metres in diameter and illuminated from the bottom, the nurse said two male-like figures clad in dark cloth appeared to be standing in front of a large panel.

Absorbed by the sight, the nurse studied both the craft and its occupants, and soon noticed one of the figures slowly turning to face in her direction.

The other figure then reached down to grab hold of a lever, and the tilted craft began to spin in a counter-clockwise direction.

The nurse called over a colleague to witness the hovering object just as it silently and swiftly moved away, though its lights were still visible to two more witnesses who joined them at the window.

Hughes said the dry cleaners鈥� bag that was used had some patterns on it that could be mistaken for people, or aliens, if seen from a distance.

He said he was at a party in Cowichan Bay a few years after the UFO sighting at the hospital with the Palmers and they recreated the 鈥淯FO鈥� before letting it drift across the bay.

鈥淚t went higher and higher until it disappeared from view,鈥� Hughes said.

鈥淔rom what I hear, there were reports of a UFO in that area that night.鈥�

Hughes said that, over the years, he didn鈥檛 tell anyone what he knew about the UFO sighting at the hospital, but reading about the Royal Canadian Mint creating a coin to commemorate the incident struck a chord with him and he decided to speak out.

鈥淚t was just a harmless New Year鈥檚 prank that has snowballed into this,鈥� he said with a chuckle.

So what do you think? Otherworldly visitors, or prank?

The one-ounce, 99.99 per cent pure silver $20 coin depicting the sighting is being sold by the mint for approximately $140.