Showcase - CND Trial Run Token

描述: 1907 Trial Run Token
The Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint was opened officially on Jan 2nd 1908 at 3:00pm by the then Governor General Earl Grey with:
As the King’s representative I formally declare the Ottawa Branch of the Royal Mint open.

He struck the first coin produced by the Ottawa mint; a Canadian 50 cent piece.

This great moment in Canadian numismatic history was originally scheduled to occur in November of 1907 but was delayed by the construction of the fence surrounding the mint property.

In order to help in setting up and testing the three newly installed coining presses manufactured by Taylor and Challen, Birmingham a pair of hand made dies were produced. These dies, along with bronze planchets the size of 50-cent pieces were used during a short trial run. These Trial Run tokens then represent the very first items struck by the Ottawa mint.

Although there was no official record made, public accounts indicate a total of 18 were minted, the majority of which were destroyed afterward. Only 7 were kept and distributed to mint officials. Two are housed in the Currency Museum Collection. This sample represents the only example certified by PCGS, two others are certified by ICCS.