The Royal Canadian Mint's Recognition Medal Wins International Award for Best Currency Initiative in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic
PR91983
OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --
-- Recognition Medal raised almost $750,000 for Breakfast Club of Canada
The Royal Canadian Mint is honoured that its Recognition Medal earned the
International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) special award for the Best
Currency Initiative Implemented in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic (Other
Organization). Launched in June 2020, the Recognition Medal was an
employee-led undertaking that transformed the by-product of a circulation coin
manufacturing contract into an artful, meaningful and lasting way to say thank
you to front line workers and everyday heroes who made it possible for
Canadians to safely continue their daily lives throughout the COVID-19
pandemic. All net proceeds from the sale of each medal were donated to
Breakfast Club of Canada's COVID-19 Emergency Fund. In all, the Mint raised
$743,845.88 to help Canadian children and their families fight food insecurity
during the pandemic.
Photo -
"The Mint has won several international awards for innovation in the past, but
IACA's special award is especially meaningful to our employees, who banded
together to transform spare coin-making materials into positive change for
communities across Canada at a very challenging time in our history," said
Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "This recognition by
our industry peers, and the response of Canadians who helped us donate so much
to children in need have inspired us to do even more to help fellow Canadians
still challenged by the pandemic. Due to this success, we are alooking forward
to announcing a new medal later this year."
One side of the Recognition Medal features a heart and maple leaf icon
representing the collective spirit of Canadians. The maple leaf and heart as
one symbolize Canadians banding together to help those in need. A complex array
of micro-mirrors covering the heart creates a pulsating light effect that
evokes Canada's strong heartbeat.
The second side represents our nation's grateful spirit. The heart in the
centre of the group symbolizes Canadians coming together in appreciation for
our essential workers. We recognize their dedication and bravery, and the
micro text represents the thankful voices of a nation.
It was the first time the Mint's pulsating technology was applied to plated
circulation material. This machining of thousands of tiny cubic micro-mirrors,
reflecting light at different angles to simulate motion, had previously been
limited to silver collector coins, produced in much smaller quantities.
Producing over 100,000 medals with this effect proved that we could achieve
strong die life and consistent quality of the optical feature on harder
circulation coin products. The bi-metal coin slugs were also reshaped through a
retooled blanking process to ensure proper electroplating and high speed
striking.
All this was conceived and implemented in less than two months.
Complete background on this project, including videos and still photography can
be found here (
).
About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting
and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. The Mint is recognized as one
of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of
specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an
international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and
services, visit www.mint.ca. Follow the Mint on Twitter (
), Facebook (
) and Instagram (
).
About IACA
Working hand in hand with the public and private sector, IACA's goal is to
provide an international exchange for consultation and collaboration on matters
of interest to stakeholders in the cash payments cycle and to give back to the
industry through the benefits provided from our various project work, programs
and information resources. Member companies include all stakeholders in the
cash payments cycle, including: central banks; currency issuing authorities;
ministries of finance; state and commerical printworks; state and commercial
mints; cash management companies; currency industry suppliers and cash handling
suppliers.
Alex Reeves, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, (613) 884-6370, reeves@mint.ca
SOURCE Royal Canadian Mint
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