Page 18 - 2022-2023 Travel Guide to Canada

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TOURING VISITORS WITH GOLD BAR • AUSTIN MACKAY Ottawa Royal
Canadian Mint
BY LAURA BYRNE PAQUET
Housed in a castle-like building partway between
Parliament Hill and the Governor General’s residence at
Rideau Hall, the Ottawa location of the Royal Canadian
Mint is a bit of a hidden gem for visitors to Canada’s
capital. Many people don’t know about the fascinating
achievements that have taken place—and continue to
take place—behind these grand stone walls.
MEDALS AND COLLECTIBLE COINS
Governor General Earl Grey officially opened
the Ottawa location of the Royal Canadian
Mint in 1908, activating the press to strike a
50-cent piece. Today, the Mint in Ottawa
makes coins for collectors, as well as medals.
Another Mint location—in Winnipeg—
makes all of Canada’s circulating coins. It
has also produced coins for more than 70
other countries over the years.
Specialists at the Mint use exacting skills
to design precision coins. These have
COIN PHOTO OP • AUSTIN MACKAY
included everything from coins shaped like
the Superman symbol, dinosaurs and
science-fiction spaceships to a one-kilogram
platinum coin encrusted with 462 tiny pink
diamonds!
FASCINATING FACTS
Did you know that the Ottawa Mint has made
collectible coins featuring moving parts, and
others with stars visible only under black
light? Or that the Mint holds the Guinness
World Record for creating the world’s largest
coin—a 100-kilogram coin made of 99.999%
pure gold bullion with a face value of $1
million?
You can learn these and many other
fascinating facts on the Mint’s recently
updated guided tour, which will also give
you the chance to hold a gold or silver bar.
The Mint created the 2010 Vancouver
Olympic and Paralympic medals, and you
can see a set of them when you visit. You’ll
also discover how this facility refines some
of the purest gold in the world. In fact, the
Mint opened its first gold refinery in 1911,
which later produced gold bars that Britain
used to pay its debts to other countries
during the First World War.
Forty-five minute guided tours are
available year-round, in English and French,
and ticket prices range from $6.50 to $10.00
per person. Don’t miss the Mint’s on-site
boutique, where you can browse for unusual
coins, memorabilia and gifts. The Mint is
very close to other popular Ottawa attrac-
tions, including the National Gallery of
Canada and the ByWard Market. And if you’re
ever in Winnipeg, you can tour that location,
too. For more information, see mint.ca.