Canada's large cent survived well into the twentieth century largely because of conservative monetary policy in Ottawa, but its origins were more contentious. Before Confederation, individual provinces struck their own coppers, and the 1876 federal issue was part of a deliberate effort to consolidate that patchwork system under a single national currency. The Royal Mint in London struck most of these pieces; the Birmingham firm of Heaton & Sons struck others, identifiable by the H mintmark below the date.
The Heaton-struck pieces of 1891 are the more interesting stop on this series — two distinct obverse varieties exist that year, differing in the positioning of the date relative to the denticles.
Canada's large cent survived well into the twentieth century largely because of conservative monetary policy in Ottawa, but its origins were more contentious. Before Confederation, individual provinces struck their own coppers, and the 1876 federal issue was part of a deliberate effort to consolidate that patchwork system under a single national currency. The Royal Mint in London struck most of these pieces; the Birmingham firm of Heaton & Sons struck others, identifiable by the H mintmark below the date.
The Heaton-struck pieces of 1891 are the more interesting stop on this series — two distinct obverse varieties exist that year, differing in the positioning of the date relative to the denticles.