Canadian Library of Parliament Commems

New gold and silver coins from the Royal Canadian Mint celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Library of Parliament, which opened on February 28, 1876. 

In 1859 architects from Britain, Europe, the United States, and Canada competed to design the building. Toronto architects Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones won with their neo-gothic design. The first parliamentary librarian, Alpheus Todd, influenced the building’s layout. He insisted that the library be housed in a separate building from the rest of Parliament’s Centre Block, with the two structures connected by heavy iron doors. Due to his design modifications, the library survived the fire that destroyed the rest of the Canadian Parliament’s Centre Block building on February 3, 1916.

Canadian artist John Mantha designed the reverse of the $200 gold issue, which depicts the library’s domed interior and a statue of Queen Victoria. The dual dates 1876 and 2026 appear above the library’s bookshelves. On the reverse of the silver $20, designer Tony Bianco illustrated the exterior of the Library of Parliament. Colorful fall foliage frames the design, and an open book features the dual dates. The inscription CANADA appears below. The obverses of both issues feature Steven Rosati’s effigy of King Charles III.

Both Library of Parliament commemoratives are available on the Royal Canadian Mint’s website. The gold $200 costs US$2,969 and has a mintage of 800, while the silver $20 has a mintage of 4,500 and costs US$180.