It’s a year of celebration at the Mint, with anniversaries being marked with special coins. The latest celebration is for the CN Tower, which turns 50 years old this year. To commemorate the milestone, the Royal Canadian Mint released a special toonie that features the tower in the forefront with more of the Toronto skyline in the background. The centre of the coin is all blue, while the outer edge has “CN Tower” stamped on the bottom between two maple leaves. What makes this coin even more special is it glows in the dark—only the second coin in circulation to have that feature. Winnipeggers were able to get their hands on the new piece as the Mint started a coin exchange Thursday. “Canadians are excited to find this in their change,” said Tracey Heminger with the Mint. “They’re super excited to come in and do a coin exchange right here at the Mint. It’s a brand-new coin. We see everybody from seniors to kids.” The exchange runs Friday and Saturday as well from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. People are told to bring $10 cash, and they can exchange it for five of the new coins. When asked how they are able make the coins glow in the dark, Heminger said that is information that can’t be shared. “The glow in the dark is actually a secret recipe inside the paint. This isn’t something that we do often,” she said. “The first was back in 2017 for Canada 150, and this is the second time that we’ve done a glow-in-the-dark circulation coin.” To get the coin to glow, people are told to hold it under ultraviolet light and then go into a dark room where they will see the tower and skyline light up. If people can’t get to the coin exchange, there are still options to buy rolls of the coin online. This is the second 50th anniversary the Mint is celebrating this year. Last week the Mint facility in Winnipeg marked 50 years since it was opened. The building was designed by Manitoba architect Étienne Gaboury. Today, not only does the Mint create Canadian currency, but it is also responsible for producing coins for countries around the world.
