Founded in 1908, the Royal Canadian Mint is housed in a historic building in downtown Ottawa, with a second plant in Winnipeg, where circulation coins are minted. The sole owner is the Canadian government. The Mint mintes commemorative and investment coins and medals made of gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

The creation of the Royal Mint coincided with an era of burgeoning gold production in the Yukon and British Columbia. A refinery was needed to perform the complex work of bringing rough gold up to coinage standards.

The Canadian Mint`s original refinery was completed in 1911. It rendered distinguished service to the British Empire throughout the Great War, producing the large quantities of gold bars with which Britain paid its debts to other countries.

A new refinery facility, designed to meet any possible demand for many years to come, was built in 1936 to refine gold for mines and central banks throughout the world. Still in operation today, the refinery has produced 9999 fine gold bars since 1969. In 1982, it became the world`s first refinery to produce 9999 fine gold bullion coins. Then in 1999, the Mint excelled again by being the first to achieve 99999 fine gold purity.