Circulation coins
Over 1 billion circulation coins are minted each year at our high-tech plant in Winnipeg. The effigy of our monarch has appeared on every Canadian coin produced by the Mint since 1908. Reverse designs, however, have changed considerably over the years to reflect the changing face of our diverse culture.
Mintage refers to the quantity of coins produced in a given period and can influence the value of a coin: lower mintages tend to be more in demand because they are scarcer. The physical specifications of circulation currency are essential to an understanding of a coin's history, composition and design. This information allows collectors to determine a variety of characteristics, particularly mintage.
Coin recycling makes cents
The Royal Canadian Mint is committed to recycling coins. Every coin put back into circulation is one less to produce, which makes recycling an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to provide change to the marketplace.
Turn small change into found money and help the environment!
Pennies, nickels, dimes. quarters, loonies, toonies. Coins add up fast, yet often lie around in jars and drawers. Instead of leaving your hidden treasure to collect dust, why not recycle your spare change? Every coin recycled is one that doesn't have to be produced - which helps to preserve the environment and reduces emissions caused by smelting and mining.
You'll be amazed at how quickly your spare change adds up to something big!
Fun facts
A 4-litre pickle jar can contain:
4,992 pennies = $49.92
8,400 dimes = $840.00
3,411 quarters = $852.75
A Mint employee brought in a 4-litre pickle jar of small change that had been accumulating over the years. It contained over $1,000!
More than 67% of recycled coins are pennies
Coin counting machines turn your coins into cash, faster!
Take a look in your pockets, your piggy bank and your purse - and Coin recycling makes cents
10 KG of pure perfection
The Royal Canadian Mint produced the world's first 10-kg 99.999% Pure Gold Coin, featuring The Spirit of Haida Gwaii design from the masterpiece by Bill Reid, one of Canada's most accomplished and renowned artists.
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii $100,000 coin of 99.999% pure gold is proudly Canadian: the design and the production of this coin, the elegant collector's box made of Canadian walnut wood, the hardcover book accompanying the coin were all developed and made in Canada.
Bill Reid was an eminent Haida sculptor, carver, and master goldsmith, and one of Canada's greatest artists. Born in 1920 in Victoria, British Columbia, to a Scottish-German father and a mother who was a member of the Haida First Nation, Reid lived with a passion for the Haida art tradition, making it ultimately his creative subject-matter.
The coin's massive size (180 mm) is fittingly complemented by the image of Bill Reid's monumental sculpture featured on its reverse. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, by Susanna Blunt.
The Royal Canadian Mint's second highest denomination coin after the $1,000,000 gold bullion coin produced in 2007
No more than 15 of these exclusive coins will be crafted for collectors of both fine art and of the finest gold in the world. Its price is a combination of the gold market rate at the time of purchase, plus a premium for its manufacturing and very limited mintage.
Proudly Canadian: the design and the production of this coin, the elegant collector's box made of Canadian walnut wood, the hardcover book accompanying the coin were all developed and made in Canada
About the
Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown Corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. An ISO 9001-2008 certified company, the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca.
