# Royal Canadian Mint

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Published: 2026-10-30T19:18:54.210Z

Updated: 2026-10-30T19:18:54.210Z

The Royal Canadian Mint (French: Monnaie royale canadienne) is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the Royal Canadian Mint Act. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada.

## Key facts

## Overview

The Royal Canadian Mint (French: Monnaie royale canadienne) is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the Royal Canadian Mint Act. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The mint also designs and manufactures precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and tokens. It further offers gold and silver refinery and assay services. The mint serves the public's interest but is also mandated to operate "in anticipation of profit" (i.e., to function in a commercial manner without relying on taxpayer support to fund its operations). Like private-sector companies, the mint has a board of directors consisting of a chair, the president and CEO of the mint, and eight other directors.

## History

For the first fifty years of Canadian coinage (cents meant to circulate in the Province of Canada were first struck in 1858), the coins were struck at the Royal Mint in London, though some were struck at the private Heaton Mint in Birmingham, England. As Canada emerged as a nation in its own right, its need for coinage increased. In 1890, building a branch of the Royal Mint in Ottawa was proposed and was eventually authorized in 1901.

The Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint was officially opened on January 2, 1908. During a short ceremony, Lord Grey and his wife, Lady Grey, activated the presses. The first coin struck was a 50-cent coin. When the facility first opened, it had 61 employees. Three years later, the mint began refining gold by electrolysis in its assay department. This method proved to be too time-consuming, and, in 1915, the mint introduced a new chlorination process developed in Australia to reduce processing times and increase the mint's gold refining capacity. In 1931, Canada became an independent dominion of the British Empire and the assets of the mint were transferred to the Canadian government. In December 1931, the mint was established as the Royal Canadian Mint and as a branch of the Department of Finance via an act of Parliament. In 1960, Master of the Mint Norval Alexander Parker proposed a new facility to expand minting capacity. At this time, the Ottawa mint had reached capacity, while a large number of Canadian 10¢ coins were produced in the Philadelphia Mint in the United States and all numismatic coins were produced in Hull, Quebec. A 1968 study also showed that the Ottawa Mint facility was antiquated. Funds were allocated for a new facility, but no space within Ottawa was found. In April 1969, the Royal Canadian Mint was reorganized as a Crown corporation via the Royal Canadian Mint Act for the purpose of minting coins and associated activities. As a Crown corporation, the mint was no longer a branch of the Department of Finance but operated autonomously with its own board of directors and increased decision-making powers. Then, in February 1970, Supply and Services Minister James Richardson proposed building the mint's new facility in Winnipeg. This was controversial because the minister was himself from Winnipeg, and the facility would be more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) from the Ottawa facility. A study showed that the proposal had merit because raw materials could be purchased from a supplier in Alberta, rather than a competitor outside of Canada. Eventually, it was agreed in December 1971 that the mint would build a facility in Winnipeg. In 1972, the land was purchased and construction began, and by 1976 the facility was officially opened. In March 2012, the Canadian government decided to cease the production of pennies. The final penny was minted at the RCM's Winnipeg plant on the morning of May 4, 2012. In April 2012, the mint announced it was developing MintChip, a digital currency to allow anonymous transactions backed by the Government of Canada and denominated in a variety of currencies. On January 12, 2016, MintChip was sold to Toronto-based nanoPay. In 2021, reports of racism and sexual harassment at the mint surfaced. A subsequent external report described the workplace culture as "toxic".

## Operations and institution

Traditionally, the president of the Royal Canadian Mint is known as the master of the mint. Since 2018, Marie Lemay has held that position. The board of directors, through the chair, is accountable to the minister of finance. The minister serves as the link between the mint, Cabinet and Parliament. The mint was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc. from 2007 to 2010.

## Organizational structure

The Royal Canadian Mint is a Crown corporation and operates under the Royal Canadian Mint Act. In serving the public's interest, a Crown corporation has greater managerial independence than other government entities, meaning it may operate in a commercial manner. Like private sector companies, the mint has a board of directors composed of a chairman, the president and CEO of the mint and eight other directors. Traditionally, the president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint is known as the master of the mint. The president is Marie Lemay (appointed in 2019), and the chairman of the board is Phyllis Clark. In reverse chronological order, the people who have been the mint's master engraver are: Cosme Saffioti, Sheldon Beveridge, Ago Aarand, Walter Ott, Patrick Brindley, Myron Cook, and Thomas Shingles. The government department responsible for the Royal Canadian Mint is the Department of Finance. There are 10 members of the mint's board of directors, and 12 members on its executive team. The Royal Canadian Mint has four lines of business: Bullion and Refinery Service, Canadian Circulation, Foreign Business, and Numismatics.

## Ottawa facility

The Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint was officially opened on January 2, 1908, by Lord Grey and his wife, Lady Grey. When the facility first opened, it had 61 employees. The last surviving member of the mint's original staff was Owen Toller. He started in the mint as a junior clerk and retired as an administrative officer after 45 years of service on January 6, 1953. Toller died in November 1987 at the age of 102. In 1979, the Royal Canadian Mint building in Ottawa was designated a National Historic Site, on the grounds the building is representative of the federal government's approach to using the Tudor-Gothic architectural style to create a distinctive identity in Canada's capital, and of the patriation of control over Canada's currency from Britain.

## Winnipeg facility

The mint facility in Winnipeg was officially opened in 1976. The new facility was completely different in appearance from the facility in Ottawa. Architect Étienne Gaboury designed a striking triangular building that rises up dramatically from the surrounding prairie. Gaboury was design architect, in collaboration with the Number Ten Architectural Group led by partner-in-charge Allan Hanna.  The Winnipeg facility produces circulation coins for Canada and other countries, while the Ottawa facility concentrates solely on collector coins.

## Security

Royal Canadian Mint Protective Services employs full-time and casual security officers who are responsible for the security and inspection of RCM facilities. They wear a distinctive black uniform with body armour and carry a 9 mm Glock Model 17 while on duty. Their duties include:

Operating x-ray machines Inspection of garbage in high-security production area CCTV monitoring Access control Monitor shipments received and dispatched from RCM facilities Security escorts Parking management Evacuations Recent issues concerning Royal Canadian Mint assets include:

In 2000, the Royal Canadian Mint lent a series of the new plated 10¢, 25¢ and 50¢ issues to the vending industry for testing purposes. These coins were issued with the letter P below the Queen's effigy. Some of these coins were not returned to the RCM by the vendors and it is possible some were sold to collectors at a considerable premium. On June 2, 2009, the Auditor General of Canada reported a discrepancy between the mint's 2008 financial accounting of its precious metals holdings and the physical stockpile at the plant on Sussex Drive in Ottawa. A review released on December 21 said that all of the misplaced gold was fully accounted for. A previously unaccounted 9,350 troy ounces (291 kg) was attributed to estimation errors, and a further 1,500 troy ounces (47 kg) was recovered through an extensive refining of slag within the mint.

## Coin markings, including mint marks and privy marks

A – Used on 2005 palladium test coin to signify the coins were struck from Lot A. B – Used on 2005 palladium test coin to signify the coins were struck from Lot B. C – Placed on sovereigns produced at the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint, between 1908 and 1919. Dot – In December 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in favour of his brother, who became King George VI. The problem was that the Royal Mint had been designing the effigy of King Edward VIII, and now a new effigy had to be created. The 1¢, 10¢ and 25¢ pieces in 1937 were struck from dies with a 1936 date on the reverse. To distinguish that these coins were issued in 1937, a dot mint mark was placed on the 1936 dies, beneath the year. These coins fulfilled demand for coins until new coinage tools with the effigy of King George VI were ready. While the 10¢ and 25¢ coins are more common, the 1¢ coins are rare, with about a half-dozen known to exist. The dot after the date on the 1937 5¢ coin is a minting error caused by a chip in the master dies. H – Used to identify coins that were struck for Canada by the Birmingham Mint, also known as the Heaton Mint, until 1907. Innukshuk – All circulation coins for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics have the Innukshuk mint mark on the obverse of the coin. International Polar Year – The obverse of the 2007 International Polar Year $20 numismatic coin has the logo for the International Polar Year on the obverse of the coin. Man Becomes Mountain (Symbol of Paralympics) – All circulation coins for the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics have the Paralympic Games logo on the obverse of the coin. Maple leaf – All coins with a maple leaf mint mark were struck in 1948 due to an emergency with coin toolage. The granting of India's independence resulted in the removal of IND:IMP (meaning Emperor of India) from King George VI's effigy. Due to the demand for circulation coins in 1948, coins for 1948 could not be struck until the new tools were received. The new tools would have the IND:IMP removed from them. In the meanwhile, coins were produced in 1948 with a year of 1947 on them. Referred to as the "1947 Maple Leaf", a small maple leaf mint mark was struck beside 1947 on the reverse of all coins to signify the year of production. P – From 2001 to 2006, most 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, and 50¢ coins issued for circulation were struck with a P mint mark to represent the Royal Canadian Mint's plating process. RCM Logo – At the CNA Convention in July 2006, the RCM unveiled its new privy mark to be used on all circulation and numismatic coinage. The agenda behind the implementation of this new privy mark was to help increase the RCM's image as a brand. The aim of the logo is to educate coin users and coin collectors, respectively, that the RCM is minting Canada's coins. The first circulation coin to have this new mint mark is the 10th anniversary $2 coin. The first numismatic coin to have this new marking is the Snowbirds coin and stamp set. T/É – In an effort to push the standard of quality higher, the RCM started to experiment with a gold bullion coin that would have a purity of 99.999%. The result was a gold maple leaf test bullion coin with the mint mark of T/É (to signify test/épreuve). The date on the obverse of the coin was 2007 and it had a mintage of 500. Teddy bear – When the RCM released its Baby Lullabies and CD Set, a sterling silver $1 coin was included in the set. The $1 coin included a privy mark of a teddy bear. W – Used occasionally on specimen sets produced in Winnipeg, starting in 1998. WP – Used on the special edition uncirculated set of 2003. The W mint mark indicates that the coin was produced in Winnipeg and the P indicates that the coins are plated.

## Notable firsts

1st colour 1999 20th anniversary GML: 5-coin set 1st hologram 1999: GML hologram set – 5-coin set 1st irregular shaped coin 2006: square sterling silver beaver 1st 160-gram (5 ozt) 0.9999 silver coin 2006: Four Seasons $50 commemorative coin 1st coloured coin using plasma technology: commemorative $20 plasma coin for the International Polar Year 1st million-dollar face-value coin: 100 kilograms (220 lb) 99.999% pure gold 1st glass added coin 2017: Under the Sea Series: Seahorse 1st glow-in-the-dark coin 2017: Canada 150 Anniversary Set: Aurora Borealis $2 coin 1st of its kind gold maple leaf (GML) bullion coin from a confirmed single source: the Meliadine Gold Mine in the Kivalliq District of Nunavut (2022)

## Multi-ply plating

In 2000, the mint patented an improved, money-saving production method called multi-ply plating technology. Since that year, the mint has used this technique to produce 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, and 50¢ pieces of Canadian circulation coinage, all of which were previously minted from nearly pure nickel alloys. Similarly, a copper-plated steel blank was used to produce the 1¢ coin until production ceased in 2012. Also in 2012, multi-ply plating was introduced for the $1 and $2 coins. This particular plating process uses a steel core that is electro-magnetically plated with a thin layer of nickel, then a layer of copper and finally another layer of nickel. As a smaller quantity of copper and nickel is required, this process has reduced circulation coin production costs. The composition of plated coins is more durable, thereby reducing the number of damaged coins in circulation and increasing their overall efficiency. By varying the thicknesses of the alternating layers of nickel and copper, the mint can create coins with unique electromagnetic signatures, preventing fraud and producing the most secure circulation coins on the market.

## Coloured coins

In 2004, the Royal Canadian Mint issued the world's first coloured circulation coin. The 25¢ coins were produced at the mint's facility in Winnipeg and feature a red-coloured poppy embedded in the centre of a maple leaf over a banner that reads: "Remember / Souvenir". The obverse features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt. The process of adhering colour to the coins surfaces involved the utilization of a high-speed, computer-controlled and precision inkjet process. Approximately 30,000,000 coins went into circulation in October 2004 and were available exclusively at Tim Hortons locations across the country. U.S. Army contractors travelling in Canada filed confidential espionage reports describing the coins as "anomalous" and "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology". In 2006, the mint produced a second colourized circulation coin in support of a future without breast cancer. The 25¢ coin features the pink ribbon symbolizing breast cancer awareness. More recently, the mint produced two other 25¢ poppy circulation coins in 2008 and 2010, both of which feature colourized designs. In 2008, the mint also produced 50-toea colourized coins for Papua New Guinea. These coins were manufactured using a robotic mechanism that oriented the coins in a way that ensured all the colourized designs faced the same direction. This new technology was also used to produce the "Top Three Moments" coins. These 25¢ coins are part of the mint's Vancouver 2010 circulation coin program and feature designs celebrating the top three favourite moments in Canadian Winter Games history. The men's hockey gold medal at Salt Lake City in 2002 was voted by fans as the No. 1 Canadian Olympic Winter Games Moment of all time – out of 10 moments — in an online contest hosted in 2009 by the mint and Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. Coming in at No. 2 was the Canadian women's hockey gold medal at Salt Lake City 2002, followed by Cindy Klassen at No. 3 and her five long-track speed skating medals at Turin 2006. The coins marking these top three favourite moments were launched into circulation on September 29, 2009, November 17, 2009 and January 5, 2010, respectively.

## Physical vapour deposition

The mint succeeded in extending the life of the die beyond that of past chrome-coated dies, with the adaptation of the physical vapour deposition (PVD) technology to coat its dies.

## Sources

- Royal Canadian Mint · Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=372810

Source: Wikipedia contributors — https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=372810&oldid=1375778527

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Adaptation notice: Reformatted for XPay; the source may be abridged, restructured or translated. Consult the cited revision for the original.