Ottawa Mint sovereign

Concerns that a low demand for Canadian coins could leave the mint idle lead to a proposal that British sovereigns (a widely accepted form of payment) could be produced domestically. To do so, Canada's mint would have to be established as a branch of the Royal Mint. Sovereigns were used extensively for exporting funds, and redeeming bank notes, up to the twentieth century. Following the opening of the Ottawa Mint in 1908, the Dominion of Canada's government planned to produce decimal gold coins in addition to sovereigns. Gold used to produce sovereigns came from British Columbia and the Yukon. Despite not being a denomination of the Canadian dollar, in 1911 a place for sovereigns was included in cases meant to hold specimen coins, produced by the Ottawa mint. • Illustration — Sovereign with C mintmark In 2019, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a gold coin resembling a sovereign to mark the 100th anniversary of the striking of the last sovereign in Canada. The coin had a nominal face value of ten dollars. The sovereign's value was set at “four dollars and eighty-six cents and two-thirds of a cent” by the Currency Act of 1910, and made legal tender in Canada along with divisions of the sovereign. One Canadian dollar was therefore worth 15/73 of a sovereign.

The various branch mints produced sovereigns for the Royal Mint. A mint mark distinguished the Ottawa Mint's production of the sovereigns. All sovereigns produced in Ottawa had a “C” mint mark to signify that it was produced in Canada. The sovereigns of 1908 were Specimen coins only and its tiny mintage was struck merely to establish the series. The production for the circulation of sovereigns began in 1909. • Date and mint mark — Mintage — Designer and Engraver (Obverse) — Designer and Engraver (Reverse) — Composition — Weight — Diameter — Edge • 1908C — 636 — George W. DeSaulles — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded • 1909C — 16,273 — George W. DeSaulles — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded • 1910C — 28,012 — George W. DeSaulles — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded

The mintages for the sovereigns produced at the Ottawa Mint were modest. The total of all Ottawa Mint sovereigns barely equalled the yearly mintage compared to the London, England branch of the Royal Mint and the Australian branches of the Royal Mint. The Ottawa Mint's highest output for sovereigns was in 1911 when it produced 256,946. The rarest Ottawa Mint sovereign is the 1916. Only 50 pieces are known to exist today, and there is no evidence to explain why there is such a low amount in existence. Until the last few years, the 1916 sovereign that was minted in London, England was rare as well, but thousands were released from a British bank. Another tale is that the 1916 Ottawa Mint sovereigns were lost at sea on its way to England during World War I. This is quickly dismissed because Canada could have deposited the gold with the New York Federal Reserve for the account of Great Britain. • Date — Mintage — Designer and Engraver (Obverse) — Designer and Engraver (Reverse) — Composition — Weight — Diameter — Edge • 1911C — 256,946 — E.B. Mackennal — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded • 1913C — 3,715 — E.B. Mackennal — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded • 1914C — 14,891 — E.B. Mackennal — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded • 1916C — 6,111 — E.B. Mackennal — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded • 1917C — 58,845 — E.B. Mackennal — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded • 1918C — 106,516 — E.B. Mackennal — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded • 1919C — 135,889 — E.B. Mackennal — Benedetto Pistrucci —.917 gold,.083 copper — 7.99 grams — 22.05 mm — Reeded