History of Canadian coins
Canadian coin history is in itself a complex journey of Canada’s history as a country—from the British
and French colonial period to the present years of membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Before
the late 1800s, the Canadian currency was composed of assorted coins and money issued by different
authorities, countries, institutions, and individuals. Several provinces of pre-Confederation Canada (the
period before three British colonies Province of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada were united to
form the Canadian Confederation) minted their own coins and followed their own currency standards.
With the approval of the Currency Act of 1841, British coins and American cents became legal tender in
the Province of Canada (British Colony 1841-1867) while coins from Peru, Mexico, and Columbia also
entered circulation.
The first coins intended only for the Province of Canada were minted in England around July of 1858. But
the design of the coin was similar to the bronze coins of Emperor Napoleon III of France, thus the coins
were rejected. Still in July 1858, Queen Victoria approved the first official coins in the history of Canadian
money. As is the custom for coins minted for the United Kingdom, its territories, and members of the
Commonwealth, these early Canadian coins contained the portrait of the monarch—at that time Queen
Victoria. This was later replaced by King Edward VII in 1901, King George V in 1910, King George VI in
1936 and, finally, Queen Elizabeth the II in 1952 who still appears on Canadian coins today. They were in
1¢, 5¢, 10¢, and 20¢ denominations designed by Leonard Charles Wyon. These Canadian coins featured
the image of the queen wearing a tiara crown, her hair in a bun, tied with a ribbon. It also bore the legend
“CANADA” and “Victoria Dei Gratia Regina” which means Victoria, by the Grace of God, the Queen. Later in
the 19th century a 50¢ piece was added, though Canada didn’t mint a silver dollar coin until 1935. Since
Canada didn’t have a mint of its own, all the coins were minted in London. In 1901, Canada was allowed
to have its own mint through the royal approval of the Ottawa Mint Act. The Ottawa branch of the British
Royal Mint was opened on January 2 1908. The Canadian Mint is a young mint when compared to other
countries throughout the world. It was founded in 1901 and minted its first coin in 1908. The first silver
dollar was minted in 1935 but it wasn’t until 1979 that Canada minted its first gold bullion coin,
the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf.
As silver prices rose relative to the face value of coins, fewer coins were minted with the metal and the
coins that did contain silver contained less of it. In the 1960s the amount of silver in the circulating coins
dropped to .500. In 1968 non-silver coins were introduced and that spelled the end for silver coins in
circulation in Canada. However, in 1988, the Royal Canadian Mint opted to create a silver bullion coin.
Following the naming convention with the Canadian gold and platinum bullion coins, this coin is named
the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf. On its reverse it features the maple leaf, a recognizable symbol of Canada.
The reverse also displays the purity of .9999, the highest among silver bullion issues. The obverse
continues the tradition of having monarchs on the coins in the Commonwealth and features Queen
Elizabeth II, her name, the face value of the coin, and the mintage year. The nominal face value of the 1 oz.
coin is $5, which is the highest value among international silver bullion coins.
The story of the first Canadian gold coins begins in the mid-nineteenth century, during an era of sweeping
social and technological change. Radio transmission was in its infancy, women throughout the Western
world were fighting for the right to vote, and a host of advancements from automobiles to vacuum
cleaners were about to change the daily life of the average North American.
In Canada, the idea of a standard, national currency was just beginning to evolve. In 1853, Canada
adopted the gold standard - a move that simplified trade, but also required that the country have
sufficient gold reserves to back its currency. This standard helped develop a growing interest in minting
gold at a Canadian mint. Meanwhile, Canadian miners lobbied for domestic refining capabilities because
they were often forced to sell their gold to the United States, which cut their profits. The establishment of
a Mint in British Columbia, the major gold producing region at the time, was proposed - but was roundly
rejected by the Senate. The idea was put on hold until the late 1890s, when a major gold rush in Yukon's
Klondike region brought an awareness of gold mining to the forefront of Canadian consciousness, and
fueled Canadian's dreams of mineral wealth. The romantic ideas of sacks filled with gold, piles of gold
powder, masses of gold nuggets, and rags-to-riches stories took hold of public imagination, and popular
support for a domestic mint in Canada took hold.
Ten years after the idea of a Canadian mint was raised in the Senate, the concept was proposed in the
House of Commons. The idea was given serious consideration, and after a lengthy series of negotiations
with British authorities, the Ottawa Mint Act was passed in 1901. A branch of the British Royal Mint
would be established in Canada, and it would be tasked with producing Canadian domestic coins as well
as British sovereigns and Canadian gold coins. Although permission to create a Canadian branch of the
Royal Mint was granted in 1901, it was not until 1908 that the Ottawa Branch opened on Sussex Drive. On
January 2nd, 1908, Canada's ninth Governor General, Albert Henry George Grey, and his wife, Countess
Alice Grey, stepped forward at the Royal Mint's official opening and struck Canada's first domestically
produced coins – a fifty-cent piece and a bronze cent – in front of a group of Canada's financial and
political leaders. The ceremony marked an important milestone in the advancement of Canada as a nation
– the beginning of a standard national currency. It took two years however before the Ottawa Branch
received permission to strike gold coins featuring Canadian imagery on the $5 and $10 denominations
between 1912 and 1914.
While the idea of Canadian gold coins had been the inspiration behind the creation of the Mint, a full
refinery had yet to be built. Construction of the refinery began a year later in 1909, and was completed in
January 1911. Just when it seemed that the gold coins would be minted in 1911, delays resulting from the
death of King Edward VII in 1910, and from indecision over the reverse design for the coins, shelved the
gold coin initiative for yet another year.
In 1912, the same year that the famed Titanic sank roughly 900 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland,
the Dominion Government ordered 8,000 five-dollar gold coins, and 8,000 10-dollar gold coins minted.
By the end of that summer, $600,000 worth of gold coins had been circulated to Assistant-Receivers
General across Canada. Production of the gold coins continued until 1914.
The 1st Canadian gold coins
These first gold coins struck by the Mint were Canadian in almost every aspect, from raw material to
design. They were composed almost entirely of Canadian gold, much of it from the Klondike region in
1912, with the gold source shifting eastward to Ontario in 1913 and 1914. The coins featured the first
symbol of Canada to ever appear on a gold coin. The design was the de-facto Coat of Arms – adopted in
1868 – until Canada's official coat of arms was proclaimed by King George V in 1921. Canada's coat of
arms, as it appeared in 1912 was composed of a maple bough surrounding a shield composed of the
provincial symbols of the four provinces that joined Confederation in 1867 (Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia,
and New Brunswick). Ontario was represented by St. George's Cross and maple leaves; Québec by a pair
of fleur de lis accompanied by the British lion and maple leaves; Nova Scotia by salmon between Scottish
thistles; and New Brunswick by the British lion and a sail-ship to represent the provinces prowess in ship
building. The inscription "CANADA" was engraved above the shield, and the date "1912" and face value
"FIVE DOLLARS" or "TEN DOLLARS" were engraved below the shield. The obverse featured the effigy of
King George V. Both sides of the coin were framed with a raised beaded circle.
Although the public was curious about the Canadian gold coins initially, a series of events that would
change the course of world history would soon capture the attention of the nation, and ultimately seal the
fate of the first Canadian gold coins.
In 1914, just two years after the first coins were struck, the First World War began. In the years that
followed, the Mint became a hub for the Empire's gold, refining and casting gold from as far afield as
South Africa on the British government's behalf. In the same year that Canadians were filling out their
attestation papers, the Mint was producing the last run of the gold circulation coins that would ever be
created. The gold coin program was cancelled in favour of gold bars in 1915.
As Canada sent its forces to fight with the Allies on the Western Front, the Government of Canada took
tight hold of its gold reserves. Most of the coins would never reach the hands of Canadians; instead, they
would be entrusted to the secure vaults of Canadian banks, the Department of Finance and, eventually,
the Bank of Canada. The coins remained in cloth bags in the Bank of Canada's vaults for more than 75
years, fading from memory into the veiled treasuries of history – until now.
The idea to mint a gold bullion coin was first floated in the mid-1970s. At the time the only gold bullion
coin in production was the South African Krugerrand, produced to promote South Africa’s gold industry.
However, at the time, many countries in the West had sanctions against South Africa because of apartheid
and some in Canada felt that creating a gold bullion coin in Canada could take the place of the Krugerrand
in those countries.
When the idea was first proposed to the Canadian Mint, it was rejected. But as time went on, the
Krugerrand continued to corner the gold coin market, at one point accounting for 90% of the entire
market. This led several countries to produce their own gold bullion coin, with Canada being among
them.
The Canadian government decided on the name the Gold Maple Leaf for the gold bullion coin and
proposed a three year testing period for the coins, initially with only a face value of $50. One million were
to be produced in the first year. The test period is so successful that it is later extended for another ten
years, and extended again so that it is still being minted.
While the coins are offered in denominations of 1/20 oz., 1/10 oz., ¼ oz., ½ oz. and 1 oz., they still have
nominal face values. These face values are of $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50, respectively. As such they are legal
tender in Canada. Also in 1994, an unsuccessful 1/15 oz. coin with a face value of $2 was issued but was
subsequently discontinued.
The Canadian mint takes great pride in producing its coins with only Canadian gold and with a purity of
.9999. It has also issued some special issue coins with a purity of .99999. In 2007, the Canadian Mint
created a coin with a face value of one million dollars containing gold worth—at the time—$2 million.
Although initially meant to be created to promote the Mint and its new line of special issue .99999 purity
Gold Maple Leaf coins, the Mint has since sold five of the coins.