The Royal Canadian Mint, better known as the Mint, is Canada’s official issuer of coins and currency. The Mint was founded in 1908 by Edward VII and produced its first coins later that year. Canada’s gold dollar coin became the world’s first million-dollar coin with a value of $1 million. From 1937 to 1954, all Canadian coins featured a portrait of King George VI, who abdicated his throne upon death in 1952 and was replaced with Queen Elizabeth II.
The headquarters of the Mint is located in Ottawa, Ontario, where 1,800 employees work for the company. In addition to its Ottawa location, four branch facilities are located in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Edmonton, Alberta; Vancouver, and Montreal, which have a combined total of over 438 employees.
Parliament granted the Royal Canadian Mint its power on December 12th, 1908. This act gave it the authority to mint coins from precious metals and to refine gold and silver from all sources in Canada. The primary focus of this business was to produce a new gold coin that did not have any ties to Great Britain’s currency system, as well as design a series of new coins for Canada.
The Royal Canadian Mint has remained one of Canada’s most influential businesses for over a hundred years. The Mint is also the largest refiner of scrap gold and scrap silver and producer of gold and silver coins in North America. For example, the Mint was granted to refine Canada’s gold mined from 1904 to 1914, which happened to be 1,370 kilos in weight and produced $40 million worth of gold. However, the business had hit some tough times during the 1950s due to a lack of demand for its coins worldwide, which led to a two-week employee strike in 1955. The government would later appoint Dr. George E. Walker to head the Mint in 1959, where he would implement a new accounting system for the business. This allowed for more efficient production and helped ease some cash flow problems.
The Royal Canadian Mint continued to operate efficiently throughout the 1960s, producing more than 8 million gold bullion coins annually. The Canadian government then permitted the company to produce platinum coins in 1979 when it was recognized that there was a need for an increased number of platinum products.
The legacy of the Royal Canadian Mint continues to be a top-notch producer of gold and silver coins known for its high-quality standards. Some examples are its Lunar Series I, II, and III and its world series collections in 100-coin amounts. In 2010, the production of fine platinum bars began at the facility, enabling platinum products to be sold worldwide via bullion refineries. The Mint remains active in producing coins, medals, and currency worldwide today, with China being one of its biggest markets, with 6 million ounces per year being refined from 2004 to 2009.
The Mint also possesses a giant vault created in 1937 and is located inside the basement. According to the Mint, this vault can hold over 1.5 million ounces of gold, making it the largest underground storage facility in Canada. The coin production facility for the Mint is located on the east side of Ottawa and can produce around 4 billion coins per year.
The Mint is also a significant tourist attraction for anyone interested in visiting and seeing the facility where coins and paper money are made. Individuals can view the production facility, venture out to the Ottawa Currency Museum or even tour Parliament Hill when they attend a guided walking tour of Ottawa, which includes a visit to the Mint.
The Royal Canadian Mint has been an essential part of Canada’s history since 1908 when Edward VII founded it. The company continues to produce well-known coins and currency, such as the Canadian Silver Dollar or the Loon Dollar which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008. The Mint will continue to remain relevant into the future with its high standards in refining precious metals and manufacturing coins sold worldwide today.
The Mint’s New Prosperity Bullion Program allows investors to invest in bars of gold and silver via the Mint’s website. These bars are made out of 24k pure gold and 100% Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) silver, which are then carefully inspected to make sure they meet the specifications set by each investor. The program comes in three different options that include 1-, 3-, or 5-pound bars. These choices cover investors on all levels as they can choose how much gold or silver they want to buy based on their investment goals and buying budgets.
The Royal Canadian Mint is a well-respected business producing coins, medals, and currency for over a hundred years. The Mint has been an essential part of Canada’s history and continues to produce stellar coins and paper money that are used worldwide today. The Mint’s animal themes have also been prevalent, which includes the official symbol for Canada being the polar bear. The Mint has a unique legacy that is both rare and well-received by investors anywhere in the world. With the US Mint, The Royal Canadian Mint has a tough competition although they produce very different themes.