The
Newsletter of Canadian Numismatics (web edition)
Editor- Cody Lobreau
Volume 2 Issue 5
May/June 2000
Editorial by Cody Lobreau
I was recently hearing rumors that the Royal
Canadian Mint was doing some research for
a five dollar coin to replace the 1 cent coin and the 5 dollar
note. I heard things about a
five dollar coin a few years ago, but the RCM says they don’t
have any plans to do a five
dollar coin for the near future. But recently, they are
looking into a five dollar coin. I
don’t even want a five dollar coin. I don’t want
to see another historical banknote
denomination to go to extinct like the 25 cent note, the 1 dollar
note and 2 dollar note.
Same thing for the 1 cent coin, if we get rid of the one cent
coin, we will be getting rid of
one of Canada’s first denominations in our current
currency system. We will be losing a
big part of Numismatic history if we remove the 1 cent coin and
the 5 dollar note from
circulation. For one thing, the prices will have to be end
with a 0 or a five instead of 0-9,
and that will raise the costs. For example a coin costs $14.37,
it will have to be $14.40.
Next year the Bank of Canada is introducing a
new bank note series, why doesn’t the
Bank of Canada just put plastic polymer on the note immediately,
so it will last longer, and
that will be the end of counterfeiting.
CL 06/07/00
Royal Canadian
Mint opens new plating facility
WINNIPEG, MB, April 27- The Honourable Alfonso Gagliano,
Minister
of Public Works and Government Services, and Minister responsible
for the
Royal Canadian Mint, together with the Honourable Ron Duhamel,
Secretary of
State for Western Economic Diversification and Francophonie, and
Member of
Parliament for St. Boniface, today presided over the official
opening of the
Royal Canadian Mint's new plating facility in Winnipeg.
Construction of the 59,000 square foot plating
facility began on April 9,
1998 and was led by UMA Projects (CM) Ltd. of Winnipeg, supported
by Giffels
Engineering of Toronto and Stechesen Katz Architects of Winnipeg.
The work
generated 130 construction jobs, and the Mint is adding 30
additional
positions to its permanent workforce to operate the plating
facility. The
Mint invested approximately $30 million in the project.
The new plating process, developed and
patented by the Mint, will
generate an estimated $10 million annually in savings to the
Government and an
additional $3 million annually in profit from foreign circulation
contracts,
as plated metal coinage is far less expensive to produce than the
existing
single metal alloy varieties.
“This facility will increase the Mint's international
competitive
advantage and will also provide a secure and cost effective coin
supply for
Canadians.” said Minister Gagliano. “We completed
construction ahead of
schedule and one million dollars under budget - a substantial
achievement in
itself. The Royal Canadian Mint will be aggressively
marketing this new
technology and securing additional contracts for plated coins of
other
countries.”
Built adjacent to the Mint's Winnipeg
manufacturing plant, the new
facility is one of only a few in the world to offer this type of
leading-edge
technology. Production at the new facility began in early
April 2000,
changing the metal composition of the five, ten, twenty-five, and
fifty-cent
coins from a solid alloy or pure nickel product to nickel-copper-nickel
the
(Ni-Cu-Ni) multilayer plated composition. In July 2000, the
Mint will begin
releasing the new plated coinage to the market. The
Government of Canada
authorized the change to a new plating process in 1995. The
one-cent coin was
changed in July 1997 from bronze to copper-plated steel or copper-plated
zinc,
using the Mint's patented plating process.
Secretary of State for Western Economic
Diversification and Francophonie,
Ron Duhamel added, ``Long regarded as one of the most innovative
Mints in the
world, the Royal Canadian Mint is particularly proud of the new
technology
available in this state-of-the art facility. We are proud
of the vital role
the plating facility will play in the Mint's efforts to maintain
its economic
performance worldwide, and are especially pleased by the
employment and
business opportunities the project has generated locally.''
The general public will not notice the
difference to circulation coins,
nor will the coin's durability be effected. Since 1995, the
Mint has worked
closely with the vending industry to facilitate a smooth
transition and a
successful implementation to plated coinage. In
consultation with the vending
industry, the change of plating for the 5, 10, 25, and 50 cent
coins was
delayed for five years to enable the industry to adjust their
equipment.
The Mint invited the Royal Winnipeg Ballet to
participate at the opening.
Principal dancers of the renowned troupe performed from their
current ballet
Dracula, to an audience comprised of local media, Mint employees,
and guests.
The Mint, a long-time ballet sponsor, not only shares its Royal
status with
the Ballet but both share a well-known international reputation
for quality
and excellence.
New 10 Cent coin
Theme: The network of credit unions that exists throughout
North America can be credited to vision of
one man —Alphonse Desjardins. His mission: to bring
desperately needed financial protection to the
working class. On December 6, 1900, Desjardins used his home in Lévis,
Québec to open North
America’s first credit union and the Mouvement Desjardins
began.
Design: The Victorian architecture typical of that time is
painstakingly reproduced in this depiction of
Desjardin’s home built between 1881 and 1884
Mint medallion recalled
OTTAWA, ON, May 17 - Responding to a recent
striking error, the
Royal Canadian Mint announced today that there could be more
mistruck
medallions in the Year 2000 Millennium Souvenir Sets.
The medallions meant to be struck with the
Mint logo on one side and a
map of Canada with stylized maple leafs on the other, were
mistakenly stamped
with the effigy of the Queen meant for the 25 cent coin.
The Mint, upon
noticing the error, withdrew over 25,000 souvenir sets before
retail
distribution. However, there may be some sets already on
the market. The
mistruck medallion is not legal tender.
If Canadians discover that they have a Year
2000 Millennium Souvenir Set
that includes the faulty medallion, they may be assured that the
Mint will
replace or reimburse the set.
Bank of Canada news
Recently Gordon Thiessen announced his
retirement as Governor of the Bank of
Canada. He became president in 1994. His term is to
end in January 2001.
The Bank of Canada officially discontinued the 1000 dollar
note a few weeks ago
and the bank is planning to shread some of the notes, but the
note will still be legal tender
in Canada, just like the 25 cent note, 1 dollar note, and 2
dollar note.
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