ZigCanada

The first Canadian Nickels were introduced in 1858. Made of sterling silver these tiny 5 cent coins weighed in at about one gram in weight and measured about 15.5 mm in size. These coins were minted in England and shipped over to the colonies of Canada.

Although we often think of the dime as Canada's smallest coin the true honour goes to the earliest nickels.Referred to as fish scales due their tiny size and gleaming silver appearance these coins truly did resemble a fish's scales and rightfully earned their nickname. The term nickel was not applied to this coin till after 1922.

The first Canadian five cent coin featured the image of England's reigning monarch on one side and the image of a pair of maple boughs on the other side from 1858 till 1921 when the nickel was upgraded to receive its more modern appearance.

In 1922 the Canadian five cent coin under went a major update. The nickels size was increased to 21.21 mm while its weight increased to 4.54 grams. The metal com…

Canada's penny first made its appearance in 1858. The penny's value was set at one hundredths of a dollar. It featured England's reigning Queen Victoria on one side and the image of twin maple boughs on the other.

These first one cents were minted in bronze rather than the copper metal this coin is generally associated with. They were minted at the Royal Mint in London England and then shipped to Canada. This was a tradition that continued for 50 years until on January 2, 1908 when at the newly opened Royal Mint in Ottawa, Ontario the first penny was ceremoniously minted in our country.

From 1908 to 1920 the penny Canadian coins were created from 95.5% copper, 1.5% zinc, and 3% tin. The Canadian 1 cent coin then weighed in at 5.67 grams and had a diameter of 25.4 mm. In 1920 although the penny's metal composition remained the same the size of the coin changed. Its diameter shrank to a mere 19.05 mm. and the coins new weight was set at 3.24 grams.Then in 1942 the Canada 1…

In 1858 the first ten cent piece was introduced within Canada. It was minted in England and shipped to the colonies of Canada. Its monetary value was set at one tenth of a dollar and it proudly featured England's then reigning Queen Victoria on its face. The original dimes were comprised of sterling silver. 

In 1908 with the opening of Canada's Royal Mint coins were then able to be minted within our country. The image of twin Maple Boughs were pressed into the other side of each dime produced at the Royal Canadian mint until 1936 when this Canadian coin updated its appearance.

The image of the Bluenose schooner design was added to each 10 cent piece minted at the Royal Canadian Mint created after 1937. Other than for a few commemorative year coins it is the image you will see there. The reigning British monarchy continued to be featured on the face of the Canadian ten cent coin.

For Canada's 1967 Centennial year it is the image of a fish (mackerel) that is displayed on the s…

The first Canadian twenty-five cent coin was minted in 1870. Its monetary value was one quarter of a dollar and it came to be commonly referred to as a "quarter". These first 25 cent coins were made of sterling silver and had England's reigning Queen Victoria on one side, and the image of crossed maple boughs on the flip side.

Undergoing a number of changes to its design this coin has embraced the many traditions and celebrations of Canada by displaying its rich history.

In 1937 an image of a caribou, designed by Emanuel Hahn replaced the twin maple boughs and other than for a few special edition coin years, the caribou is the image that generally appears on most of the Canada's quarters.

Always featuring England's current monarchy on its face the quarter is best known for the Caribou image which generally appears on its flip side. Some exceptions include Canada's 1967 Centennial year when a bobcat was featured on the 25 cent coin.

To celebrate the 100th anniver…

The Canadian one dollar coin is one of many coins and bills that comprise Canadian money.

Due the costs involved in regularly replacing paper money the switch from a paper dollar to one of coin came in 1987 but not without a strange twist of humor affecting its future historical references. Because the restyled dollar featured a loon on its flip side it quickly acquired the dubious honor of being nicknamed “The Loonie”.  Subsequent attempts to drift away from having the new one dollar coin hosting the distinguished title of Loonie just did not work and the term remains to stand tall and strong within Canadian History Books as the official name of Canada’s one dollar coin.

The actual first Canadian dollar coin made in Canada was minted in 1935. The image of King George Vl was proudly displayed on the face of the coin while the flip side featured a Voyageur and his native companion in a canoe. A little known fact about this first coin is that one of the bundles within the canoe bears the …

The Toonie (Twoonie) is Canada's first bi-metal coin. Minted on February 19, 1996 this 2 dollar piece was a very unique creation because it was the first Canadian coin to have two separate and distinct metal rings joined together to create a single coin. This bi-metal coin features an outer silver ring and an inner gold colored ring.

On the outer ring of one side of this new coin was imprinted CANADA 2 DOLLARS while on the other side of the outer ring was printed ELIZABETH ll D.G.REGINA. Also featured on this same side of the new two dollar was the year of the coins minting and a small imprint of a maple leaf. The maple leaf being one of Canada's most recognized national symbols.

The wide outer ring of the new two dollar Canadian coin was comprised of 99 percent nickel while the inner ring was composed of a three metal blend of 92 percent copper, 6 percent aluminum, and 2 percent nickel.

The first lots of these to tumble off the assembly line had a very unique defect in their com…

If you are someone who is a risk taker, flexible, determined, resilient, committed, confident, inquisitive, and above all else an optimist then you have the amazing qualities which would deem you as a candidate to be a successful entrepreneur.

These qualities may be ones that you were born with or ones that you developed throughout the basic everyday tasks of living. However you acquired them these personality traits form the basis of a strong entrepreneurial spirit and would enable you an incredible advantage over others entering into the same business application.

So how do these traits relate to you? These basic characteristics are the ones that most successful business people possess. You may not have a high ranking in every one of these categories but being low in one yet high in most still qualifies you to be a good candidate to succeed in business.

There are a lot of factors that make people the individuals that we are and sometimes a person’s strength in one area will carry them …

There are a number of advantages to writing in the early morning hours and your clarity of mind is only one of these

Gone are the distractions and stresses of yesterday and other than the cobwebs that have gathered in the mind over night we generally wake up pretty refreshed after a good nights sleep. Which means that for me morning is the perfect time to sit down and write.

We are human and prone to an abundance of opinion and emotion which can easily display itself in our writing. Fatigue can bring emotions flowing out that we may not necessarily want within the context of an article so it really is best to work when we are at our most refreshed and alert frame of mind.

Worry, stress, and anger can easily taint an unbiased line of reasoning in an article. Fatigue can bring those vivid emotions flowing out within the ink of the pen. All the tiny little details of the day can build one upon the other and remain with a person for the remainder of the day. We may not realize the emotions …

Writers do not save their memories in albums and videos. Their special moments in time are saved in hastily scribbled notes on little bits and pieces of papers or quickly clicked into a cameras lens.

These memories so quickly captured are then just as quickly tossed aside to lie scattered about and patiently waiting to be picked up and reevaluated at a more convenient time. In these tiny little thoughts and memories lies the basis of blogs, short stories, books, advice columns, newspaper editorials and a look inside the heart of a writer.

The heart of a writer exists within their work. Each line that is written is filled with the thoughts, emotions, and ideals of that writer. Memories of past events and hopes for future ones all lie buried within the words that are quietly typed onto the keyboard.

From a paper napkin tucked into a jacket pocket at a local restaurant come the words, "He examines her like a scientist would examine a bug under a microscope". The writer remembers t…