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ROYAL CANADIAN MINT ISSUES SPECIAL NON-COMMEMORATIVE COINS

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ROYAL CANADIAN MINT ISSUES SPECIAL NON-COMMEMORATIVE COINS

 

Ottawa, Ontario, June 25, 2008 – It has been 100 years since Governor General Earl Grey activated the press to strike a fifty-cent piece, Canada’s first domestically produced coin. What would become known as the Royal Canadian Mint was officially open for business. After 100 years of striking coins commemorating even the most trivial events or themes, the RCM has decided to take the bold step of issuing its first non-commemorative coins.

 

“Every commemorative coin produced by the Mint has expressed a theme or ideal that reflected Canada's heritage and values,” stated Mr. Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. “We have completely run out of new ideas, so we must take this bold new step of issuing a coin that commemorates absolutely nothing.”

 

With a proud tradition of striking nothing but commemorative coins, including the 25 cent piece commemorating the 182nd anniversary of the discovery of the Fort St. James Pelt Louse, Mint officials are concerned with the public's potential reaction. "When customers receive the new coins in change at their local Tim Horton's, they may not know what to make of them. They may even think they are counterfeit," worried Bennett. The RCM will spend approximately $8 million this year on advertising to educate the public about non-commemorative coins, and plans are already afoot to issue a numismatic 50 cent piece next year honouring this year's first non-commemorative coin.

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