Introduction
As a colony Canada did not have its own coinage and relied heavily on foreign coinage and private tokens to handle everyday transactions. The area’s first attempt at unified coinage was the official provincial coinage was authorized issued in 1858.
In 1867 Canada gained independence from Great Britain as a commonwealth nation to become the Canadian Federation. Three years after independence in 1870 Canada began issuing coinage based on a decimal system of dollar units which is still in use today.
Mint Facilities
Initially, Canada had no minting capabilities. All coinage from 1870 to 1907 was produced in Great Britain at the Royal Mint of London or Heaton Mint of Birmingham. Canada’s own minting facilities would begin production in 1908 under the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) and eliminate the need for reliance on foreign mintage facilities. As coinage demand increased over the years the RCM would establish a second facility in Winnipeg in 1976 to give the RCM two branch mints.
The Ottawa Mint was the first mint and began producing coinage in 1908 and has been producing coinage continuously since. Today, the Ottawa Mint produces collector and commemorative coins, gold bullion coins, medals and medallions.
The Winnipeg Mint began producing coinage in 1976 and currently produces all circulating coinage needs thanks in part to its modern facilities and high volume machinery.
Currency System
Decimal system based on the currency unit of a Dollar
| Coinage System |
|---|
| 100 Cents = 1 Dollar |
| 5 Cents = Nickel |
| 10 Cents = Dime |
| 25 Cents = Quarter |
| 50 Cents = Half |
Current Coinage
| Cent | 5 Cents | 10 Cents | 25 Cents | 50 Cents | 1 Dollar | 2 Dollars |
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Coin Library
