Winnipeg, Gimli, Portage la Prairie, Gladstone

Good day everyone! Jon and I went to the Royal Mint in Winnipeg. It was quite interesting. We learned about the different processes involved in making circulation coins such as pennies, nickels, etc. First, the branch in Ottawa creates a large image of the coin then scales it down to form the template die or the stamper. Then Winnipeg recreates them to form coins. They have to make blanks which are cut outs of metal in the size and shape of the coin. Then the blanks are given ridges on the edge of the coin to prevent the head and tail of the coin from wearing out. Then they anneal or heat up the blanks to make it malleable or easier to shape. However, they cool the blanks before they strike them with the stamps.

The tour guide told us that in the past, all workers would have to wear steel-toed boots. Since they would have to go through the equivalent of airport security every time they entered or exited the building, the scanner would be set-up to ignore the metal in the shoes. One worker bought shoes that were too big and stuffed it with coins because the metal in his shoes would not be detected. He was eventually caught and is in prison because stealing from the Mint is like stealing from the Queen.

The Mint makes over 20 millions coins a day. It also makes coins for over 70 countries. They are currently making coins for Ethiopia.

Afterwards, we drove to Gimli and visited Jon’s grandpa’s friends, Jim and Carolyn. They were very friendly. We walked around the dock and saw a Viking statue. Along the dock, there is a wall with local paintings. We also saw a family fish by the dock. We also went to their Marine Museum. We had such a great time with them.
We then drove to Portage la Prairie and took a picture of a giant Coca cola bottle by Canada Inn. It wasn’t an inflatable and was quite impressive.

We’re now in Gladstone. We’ll be staying the night here and heading to Riding Mountain National Park tomorrow.

Good Night!

P.S. Internet is too slow so pictures will be posted when we have faster internet.