Last updated on July 17th, 2025 at 12:31 pm
Last Updated on July 17, 2025 Posted by Colonial Acres Coins
Canada has been a federation for over 150 years, and its history goes back even further than that. During that time, it has experienced some significant events and made great contributions to the betterment of the world. The Royal Canadian Mint produces coins that commemorate some of these watershed moments in our shared history. Purchasing Canadian coin rolls is a good way to collect them. Here are five coin rolls and coin roll sets that celebrate significant moments in Canadian history.
1. Canada’s 150th Anniversary
The year 2017 marked the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, an event that created a separate identity as Canadians and not just British colonists. To celebrate, the Royal Canadian Mint wanted coin designs that would recognize significant aspects of Canadian culture. It launched the “My Canada, My Inspiration” contest by which artists could submit artwork depicting Canadian cultural touchstones and people would vote on their favourites, which would then feature on all five denominations of Canadian coins during 2017. The “My Canada, My Inspiration” Special Wrap Roll Collection includes rolls of all five coins featuring five designs created by and for Canadians. The designs feature varied aspects of Canadian life, such as the country’s natural beauty, technological innovations, and First Nations heritage.
2. The Discovery of Insulin
Prior to the early 20th century, a diagnosis of diabetes was essentially a death sentence. Patients who developed Type I diabetes rarely survived childhood. By 1920, scientists had determined that the pancreas secreted a hormone, which they called insulin, that regulated glucose levels in the blood, and that insulin deficiency resulted in diabetes. Two Canadian scientists, Frederick Banting and Charles Best, were able to isolate and extract insulin for the first time in 1921. Though not a cure for diabetes, insulin treatment allows people with the disease to live long and productive lives. The Royal Canadian Mint introduced a coin celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin in 2021.
3. The Klondike Gold Rush 125th Anniversary
There is no overestimating the significance of the Klondike gold rush to Canadian history. The discovery of gold motivated 100,000 people, from the United States as well as Canada, to abandon their lives and seek adventure, fame, and fortune in the harsh conditions of what is now the Yukon. Only about 30,000 actually reached their destination. Most gave up and turned around, while others perished along the trail. The coin depicts the group that made the discovery that set off the gold rush while panning in Rabbit Creek. Of the four individuals in the group, three were First Nations descendants, specifically of the Tagish and Tlingit peoples.
4. The Stanley Cup 125th Anniversary
Hockey is the national winter sport of Canada and an iconic part of Canadian culture. The ultimate goal of any National Hockey League season, and a dream of those who play professionally or aspire to do so, is the Stanley Cup.
The cup was named after a Governor-General of Canada and avid hockey supporter, Lord Stanley of Preston. First commissioned in 1892, it is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The coin design features the Cup itself in the middle with a player from 1892 on one side and a present-day player on the other.
5. The 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II
World War II was the largest and costliest conflict in history, yet it was necessary to put an end to a regime of authoritarianism and genocide. The $2 coin commemorating the end of the conflict is loaded with symbolic meaning. The large “V” in the centre of the coin represents the “V for Victory” slogan popularized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The torch represents the home fires, i.e., the steadfast support of the civilians in the face of the tremendous sacrifices they were called upon to make. Along the outside of the coin is a message written in Morse code that says “We Win When We Work Willingly.”
Find these and other significant Canadian coin rolls at Colonial Acres.
