Coinage of Upper Canada facts for kids
Upper Canada was a British colony that existed from 1791 to 1841. It was located in what is now the southern part of Ontario, Canada. For a short time, Upper Canada even had its own special coins! These coins tell an interesting story about the colony's history and how money worked back then.
Contents
Upper Canada's First Coins
A Coin for a King (After He Was Gone!)
Imagine a coin with a king's face on it, but he had already passed away two years earlier! That's what happened with the 1832 coin from Upper Canada. This coin was a half-penny token. It showed King George IV, even though he died in 1830.
The front of this coin, called the obverse, said "PROVINCE OF UPPER CANADA". The back, or reverse, showed Britannia. She is a symbol of Britain, looking from right to left.
Bank of Upper Canada Coins (1850-1857)
Why New Coins Were Needed
In 1850, the Bank of Upper Canada got permission to make its own coins. This happened because there weren't enough coins in circulation. People needed more money to buy and sell things. The new coins were half-penny and one-penny tokens.
What the Coins Looked Like
The front of these coins showed St. George fighting a dragon. This design was inspired by a famous gold coin called the gold sovereign. The back of the coins had the old Coat-of-Arms of Upper Canada.
Where the Coins Were Made
The first coins in 1850 were made at the Royal Mint in London, England. But they didn't arrive in Canada until 1851. Some of the one-penny coins have a small dot on them. No one knows why it's there!
You might see the letters "R.K. & Co." on some coins. This isn't a mintmark, which tells you where a coin was made. Instead, it was the mark of Rowe, Kentish and Company. They were agents in London who helped the Bank of Upper Canada order their coins.
Changes in Production
In 1852, the Royal Mint started making more coins. But they were very busy. So, the tools for making coins, called coin dies, and the blank metal pieces, called planchets, were sent to Heaton's Mint.
You can tell which mint made a coin by looking at how the pictures line up.
- Coins from the Royal Mint have their designs in medallic alignment. This means if you flip the coin over from top to bottom, the picture on the back will be right-side up.
- Coins from Heaton's Mint have their designs in coin alignment. If you flip these coins over from top to bottom, the picture on the back will be upside down.
In 1854, Heaton's Mint made more coins. You can find two types of the number '4' in the date: a simple '4' and a '4' with a small cross on top.
The Last Coins and What Happened to Them
Heaton's Mint made the final set of coins in 1857. This was the last time because Canada was thinking about using a decimal currency. This new system would use dollars and cents, like we do today.
In 1863, the Bank of Upper Canada had trouble getting rid of their last coins. The government bought these coins. They stored them in a warehouse as copper bullion, which is like raw metal. After Canadian Confederation in 1867, these coins were melted down in 1873.
Popularity Among Collectors
The coins from Upper Canada are very popular with collectors. Not just in Canada, but also among people who collect coins from the old British Empire. Some of these coins are quite rare and hard to find. The 1857 coins, for example, are especially difficult to get.
Because of the cool St. George design on the front, these coins are often lovingly called "St. George Pieces" by collectors.
