Royal Canadian Mint.. a bit of royal history and some traditions

What a wonderful way to start the day… we had only gone a couple of blocks when we stumbled upon the delicious sweet treat of beaver tails where we indulged in one with lemon and cinnamon and one with maple syrup cream – wow they were yummy (I am trying hard to ignore that little voice that keeps adding up whispering nutritional value to me!!!) 
 
A short walk from there (helping to appease that little voice of conscience), found us outside a war memorial dedicated to the continuance of peace which was neighboured by the art museum and a gigantic bronze statue of a long legged spider about 2 stories tall! A little further down the street we found the American Embassy and the Royal Canadian Mint. We decided to do the tour of the Mint which revealed many interesting facts. We learned that this Mint does not produce the coins used in everyday circulation instead it creates investment and collectors coins as well as producing medals such as the those awarded at the Olympics and to honour military personnel. We were amazed to discover that they also produce many coins for other countries including some for Australia. The guide told us about that they had produced the largest gold coins ever made. He was also very proud of the fact that this particular coin was made of the most pure gold ever used to make a coin (99.99%). It was also interesting to learn about the traditions associated with the head of the reigning monarch that is on the back of coins (well, from Commonwealth countries at least!). Each time the monarch changes, they change the direction that the head is pointing (left to right). There is one anomaly with this sequence – that being between King Edward VIII and King George V1. The reason for this is that the rule of King Edward VIII only ruled for 326 days which in that time was not long enough to enable the production of coins during his reign (for those not overly familiar, he was the guy who abdicated to be with Mrs Simpson). The Mint decided that although they had not actually produced any coins during his time as king, it was important to keep the tradition in place and to ‘turn’ the head and then turn it again, thus there are two successive monarchs facing the same direction. Another interesting thing is about the current Queen. As the years have gone on, they have ‘aged’ the image to reflect the aging of the Queen, also, in the latest image the Queen is not wearing a crown as she decided that this makes her seem more accessible to the people.

On our way home we found some street-side market stalls which kept us interested for a brief time until we got far too cold on par with our being far too tired! Our return to the hotel was perfectly timed to coincide with Mark returning home from course (we actually spotted him at the intersection behind the hotel!). Only a quick reprieve from the chill and it was back into our walking shoes to find some dinner. Only a couple of blocks and we spotted (well actually, we smelled) a diner that sold delicious pulled pork and brisket sandwiches – our instincts proved true with our tummies being rewarded with a YUMMO SCRUMMO meal. Upon returning home (semi-frozen) the boys convinced Mark to take them to the gym while I enjoyed a nice long hot steamy solitary shower…. Aaah.