The Royal Canadian Mint Currency Timeline: Early 16th Century
The Royal Canadian Mint Currency Timeline: Early 16th Century
Currency Timeline
The following Time Line should be used as a reference tool. It outlines the evolution of coins and coin
production in Canada. Key dates, developments and innovations are noted. A separate set of student
activities accompanies the Time Line. Sources : www.mint.ca/teach / www.currencymuseum.ca
www.mint.ca/teach
New France
• early French colonists bartered goods but used metal coins like
1660s the 5-sol French coin circa 1670, but there was never enough hard
currency to go around
• silver coins sent from France were taken out of circulation by
New France, 15 sol, 1670 merchants who used them to pay their taxes and buy
European goods
• although Spanish-American silver coins minted in Mexico
sometimes came in through secret trade, the use of foreign coins
was never legalized
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1720 • despite the coin shortage, playing cards were banned from being
used as currency
• colonists had to make do with a 30-deniers coin known as the
“mousquetaire”
• these gold coins were meant for paying troops and civil servants
the “mousquetaire”
but didn’t stay in circulation long
19th Century
1800s • British colonial rule didn’t solve the currency shortage. The economy
still depended on the fur trade and coins from England
1808 “holey dollar”
• trade between the British colony and future colonies of the U.S. gave
Canada additional Spanish-American dollars
• in Prince Edward Island, officials punched out the centres of these
dollars and made two coins: the 5 and 1 shilling
1823 • other banks opened. The Bank of Upper Canada, opened in 1821,
was for a long time the largest in the province of Canada until its
collapse in 1866
1837 • banks issued more than paper money. In the 1830s they began to
import large numbers of tokens from England
• Bank of Montreal imported tokens, some anonymous and some
stamped with its name
• to impose order on the issuing of tokens and purge the “junk”, three
banks in Montreal and the Quebec Bank issued a new series of
Banque du Peuple, tokens with the image of a habitant on one side and the coat of arms
rebellion sou, 1837
of Montreal and name of the bank on the other. These tokens were
popularly known as Papineaus
1850s • as trade with the United States increased, the colonies wanted to
replace the sterling system, in use since 1760, with the U.S.
decimal system
• between 1853-57, the system changed over and issued coins in the
1, 5, 20, and 50 cent denominations
Province of Canada, • coins were minted in England since there were no minting
Bronze Penny, 1858
facilities in Canada
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1870 • between 1868-69, the Canadian government took several mission
U.S. silver coins out of circulation and exported them ensuring that
only Canadian coins were used
• waiting for the shipment of 1870 coins to arrive from England, the
government issued 25-cent notes dubbed “shinplasters”, named after
similar U.S. notes that were reportedly used during the American
revolution as boot liners
• the government took over paper money still controlled by the banks
“shinplaster”
and in 1887 Ottawa issued $1, $2, $50, $500 and $1000 notes while
banks could issue notes over $4
• some banks circumvented the agreement by issuing $6 and $7
notes and could carry out transactions without having to use the
government’s $1 and $2 notes. Since the Bank Act of 1871 only
covered one bank, the others were free to issue their own notes in
any denomination. This was changed in 1881 restricting banks to $5
La Banque Nationale, $6, 1870 notes and multiples
20th Century
1911 A Refinery
The Ottawa Mint’s Refinery is completed in January. By year’s end, a
record number of gold sovereigns – more than 256,000 – were coined
at the new facility.
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1930’s
1940s
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for “Emperor of India,” the legend was no longer appropriate. Howev-
er, owing to the time required to produce new dies, the revised inscrip-
tion did not appear until late in 1948.
1950s
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1960s
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1970s
1980s
1981 O Canada!
This proof-issue 100-dollar gold coin celebrates the adoption of “O
Canada” as the country’s national anthem on July 1, 1980. The reverse
design is by Roger Savage.
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1988 Calgary Olympics
To help finance the XV Winter Olympic Games held in Calgary, Al-
berta, the Royal Canadian Mint issues a series of ten commemorative
sterling silver coins in proof quality only. The obverse of each coin is
dated with the year of its minting, while the reverse on every coin has
“Calgary 1988.” The reverse designs, by various artists, feature dynamic
images of athletes competing in Olympic winter sports.
1990s
The reverse depicts an adult polar bear in early summer on an ice floe.
It was designed by Ontario artist Brent Townsend, who specializes in
studies of North American wildlife and landscapes.
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and 2000. The artwork is chosen from more than 66,000 entries
submitted by Canadians from all walks of life, as part of the Mint-spon-
sored “Create a Centsation! coin design contest. The 1999 series looks
back on the preceding thousand years; the 2000 coins look forward
to the future.
2000 - Present
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The coin is dedicated to all of the 117,000 gallant Canadians who gave
their lives while in the nation’s service.
To meet the engineering and design challenges involved in producing
this innovative coin, the Mint perfected a high-speed colouring process
that can generate 30 million coins. The process ensures that the colour
adheres to the metal and resists day-to-day wear.
2005
2005 • In celebration of the Year of the Veteran and the 60th Anniversary
of the Allied victory in the Second World War, four coins and coin
sets were introduced. These were the five-cent sterling silver coin
and medallion set depicting VE Day Celebrations; the five-dollar
silver coin depicting the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second
World War; the 50-cent sterling silver six coin set also marking the
End of the Second World War; and the Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
Set with a 25-cent sterling silver coin and eight brilliant uncirculated
Euro coins and a commemorative Royal Dutch medallion. The coins
are dedicated to 60 years of liberation highlighting the special rela-
tionship between Canada and the Netherlands
• 25th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope – a journey to
raise funds for cancer research. A one-dollar coin is issued, featuring
the image of Terry Fox, the first Canadian-born individual to be
highlighted on a circulation coin
• 25-cent coins celebrating the Saskatchewan and Alberta centennials.
For the first time in its history, the Royal Canadian Mint offered the
public an opportunity to vote for a coin design. Designs were created
by artists representing each province.
• Saluting Canada’s Veterans, a commemorative 25-cent coin was
struck. Up to 30 million coins were produced
2006
2006 • The one-dollar “Lucky Loonie” features the Olympic logo. It was
unveiled four years after a Loonie was secretly buried at centre ice
during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games when the Canadian men’s
and women’s hockey teams skated to gold
• the world’s second colour circulation coin was unveiled to
promote breast cancer awareness. The 25-cent coin featured
the distinctive pink ribbon
• the 10th anniversary of the two-dollar coin or “Toonie” featured
a “Name the Bear” contest
• a new Mint mark, symbol of the Royal Canadian Mint’s reputation for
high quality and innovation, was added to all circulation coins on the
obverse (heads) side depicting Queen Elizabeth II.
Photography:
Royal Canadian Mint
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