Ottawa Mint sovereign facts for kids

The Ottawa Mint sovereign is a special gold coin. It was worth one pound in British money. These coins were made between 1908 and 1919 at the Ottawa Mint. Today, this place is known as the Ottawa branch of the Royal Canadian Mint.

Coin collectors in Canada, called numismatists, often discuss these coins. Some think they are Canadian coins. Others believe they are British. This makes them different from the regular Canadian coins that use dollars and cents. When the Ottawa Mint first opened, the Canadian government wanted to make its own gold coins. But because it was a branch of the Royal Mint in London, it also had to make sovereigns if asked. These sovereigns were usually made to be sent to other countries.

The Currency Act of 1910 set the value of the sovereign. It was worth "four dollars and eighty-six cents and two-thirds of a cent." This made the sovereign, and smaller parts of its value, official money in Canada. One Canadian dollar was worth about 15/73 of a sovereign.

Sovereigns Under King Edward VII

Different branches of the Royal Mint made sovereigns. Each branch added a special mint mark to show where the coin was made. All sovereigns made in Ottawa had a "C" mint mark. This "C" showed that the coin was made in Canada.

The sovereigns made in 1908 were "Specimen coins." This means they were made in very small numbers. They were created just to start the series and show what the coins would look like. Making sovereigns for everyday use began in 1909.

Sovereigns Under King George V

The Ottawa Mint made a small number of sovereigns compared to other mints. The total number of all Ottawa Mint sovereigns was barely equal to what the London, England, mint or the Australian mints made in just one year.

The Ottawa Mint made the most sovereigns in 1911. That year, they produced 256,946 coins. The rarest Ottawa Mint sovereign is the one from 1916. Only about 50 of these coins are known to exist today. No one knows for sure why so few of them are left.

For a long time, the 1916 sovereign made in London, England, was also rare. But in recent years, thousands of them were found and released from a British bank. There's a story that the 1916 Ottawa Mint sovereigns were lost at sea. This was supposedly during World War I while they were being sent to England. However, this story is likely not true. Canada could have simply sent the gold to the New York Federal Reserve for Great Britain's account.