Cecil Clifton (C.C.) Tannahill was born in a sod house near Liberty, Saskatchewan on December 4, 1912 to Magruder and Jessie (nee Castell) Tannahill. After completing his early education in the Liberty district, Tannahill operated a farm and automobile dealership in Liberty and played baseball with the Liberty Eagles. He married Isabel Anne Coutts, a teacher from Bulyea, on November 29, 1939. Their son, Gary Clifton, was born on March 13, 1944.
Tannahill was interested in coins from an early age, but only joined the Canadian Numismatic Association (CNA) in 1950, later becoming a life member. The Tannahills moved to Regina in 1953, where Tannahill embarked on a career as a salesperson and co-founded The Regina Coin Club, serving as its first president. Tannahill conducted numismatic research as he travelled throughout Western Canada for business purposes.
Tannahill took every opportunity to promote organized numismatic research in Saskatchewan, whether by example or through administrative service. In 1965, he published his first listing of Saskatchewan Trade Tokens through the CNA, which was updated via addendums on two separate occasions. In 1980, an authoritative version of his work was released, which was entitled An Illustrated Edition on Banking, Trade Tokens, Paper Money & Scrip used in the Territory and Province of Saskatchewan. The next year, Tannahill received the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association's highest honour, the J. Douglas Ferguson award. It is presented annually to the living numismatist who has contributed most to the science of numismatics in Canada, either through research, writing, publishing, or in any other matter.
By that point, Tannahill had been a director of the CNA for a number of years, serving as director for the prairie provinces, and then as President from 1959-1961. He was also President of the Canadian Numismatic Research Society in 1966, and he usually published under the auspices of being a Fellow of that organization. Tannahill relocated to British Columbia in the 1970s, but continued to attend numerous conventions as a Numismatic Consultant, often appearing as a speaker or adjudicating for exhibitions. Over the years, he won many awards and ribbons for his displays and work in numismatics.
Colleagues claim that Tannahill's approach, with its focus on forming context for the collections through detailed historical investigation, raised the standard for numismatic research and collecting. In 1974, the Saskatchewan Department of Culture and Youth purchased his complete collection of Saskatchewan numismatica. This consisted of over 1200 items involving trade tokens, wooden money and depression scrip, as well as the Specimen Bank Notes of the Weyburn Security Bank, one of only three known sets. Tannahill was appointed a research officer with the title Special Advisor, responsible for organizing and augmenting the collection, an activity he returned to Saskatchewan to pursue when he retired in 1982. This collection remains with the Western Development Museum at Saskatoon, but has been configured as a portable display so that it can travel around the province to the various museums.
Tannahill remained in Saskatchewan until 1997, when he went to stay with his son in Vernon, B.C. He died in April of 1997.
