Canada’s ‘Big Ben’, the Peace Tower Clock is immortalised on a fine five-ounce silver coin

It’s a century since the Great War was raging and the numismatic world has been marking the numerous occasions with a wide variety of silver and gold coins. Battles, personalities, locations and equipment have all been showcased, but there’s an underlying theme of remembrance to remind us all of how truly horrifying a war like this can be. The Royal Canadian Mint have debuted a new five-ounce coin that has an architectural embodiment of that remembrance as its direct theme.

The Peace Tower, also known as the Tower of Victory and Peace, sits by the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario and is a bell and clock tower opened in 1927 in remembrance of the Canadian fallen of the First World War. Designed by architect John A. Pearson and standing 92.2 m high, the Victorian High Gothic inspired tower is heavily adorned with around 370 gargoyles, grotesques, and friezes. At the top of the tower is a steeply pitched roof, just below which sit four 4.8 m diameter clock faces, one on each elevation.  The mechanical elements of the clocks were manufactured by the Verdin Company.

This new coin by the Royal Canadian Mint is a fine commemoration of this important national monument with a clever mix of design and materials. Struck in five-ounces of fine silver, the coin has an antique finish and depicts an excellent representation of the Peace Towers clock face. Sitting on the coin are two gears made of copper that originally clad the parliament buildings of which the tower is a part. Because the RCM wisely chose to use the metal as is rather than process it, the gears on each coin look slightly different, making each one unique.

A great idea, expertly brought to life, this is a fine coin in our view. Limited to 1,200 pieces, it appears to be selling quite quickly on preorder. The only disappointment for us is the choice of packaging. A maroon clamshell case doesn’t seem good enough for a coin like this, one of the latex frames or a lightly themed wooden box would ve been far more appropriate, but it’s a minor point. Available from the RCM website, or from several of our sponsors like PowerCoin and Minted-UK (use code CLOCK for 7% off), an impressive release.

2017 PEACE TOWER CLOCK ANTIQUE SILVER COIN

At the stroke of noon on July 1, 1927, the Peace Tower Clock and Carillon made their timely debut as Canadians celebrated Confederation’s Diamond Jubilee. Ninety years later, this commanding timepiece and its copper-clad apex remain the pride of Canada—a symbol of its political heart, and a national icon whose prominence is second only to our flag! Time marches on high atop the 92.2-metre tower on Parliament Hill, where the four clock faces continue to mark the passage of time for an entire nation—in tragedy and in our finest hour.

The reverse design by Canadian artist Calder Moore features an antique finish that brings an aged elegance to this depiction of the Peace Tower Clock. Precision engraving re-creates one of the four identical faces that grace each side of the iconic clock tower, which rises up high above Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The Roman numerals, minute markers and geometric-inspired centre pattern are all beautifully and faithfully reproduced on the reverse; in fact, the only engraved addition is the widening of the centre’s circular frame to include the engraved words “CANADA”, the year “2017” and the face value, “50 DOLLARS”.

The clock’s hands are attached to the centre of the coin, and provide an immobile base for the two gear wheels that provide a glimpse at a clock’s inner workings. They are exact replicas of two of the clock’s gears, albeit on a smaller scale: the larger wheel has 90 teeth while the smaller pinion has 32. For added historical value, these cogs are fashioned from copper that once clad the roofs of Canada’s Parliament Buildings—any colour variations or markings have been preserved to make each coin unique. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.

DID YOU KNOW,

The Peace Tower clock is our most famous clock and is set to Canada’s official time, as measured by the National Research Council’s atomic clock.

Take a closer look at the number “4”: clock and watchmakers frequently use the Roman numerals “IIII” instead of “IV”, but that’s not always the case! Despite several compelling theories, there is no definitive explanation for this practice—nor is it consistent, since Big Ben uses “IV” while the Peace Tower Clock uses “IIII.”

Located in a small room inside the tower, the master clock runs on an electric motor, and it is mechanically connected to the 53-bell carillon’s keyboard. The bells ring out every 15 minutes, while the 10,160-kg bourdon rings out on the hour.

Time moves forward, never backward—at least, that’s how the Peace Tower Clock works! When Daylight Saving Time (DST) comes to an end in autumn, the clock is manually stopped at 2 a.m. for a full hour before resuming after the extra hour. And when the clock needs to “spring ahead” for the start of DST, the carillon is temporarily disconnected before the hour hand is moved forward one hour.

This coin re-creates the clock in 99.99% pure silver, but the actual clock’s markings are bronze and were cast at the old Victoria Foundry, at its former site in Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats.

The roofs of the Parliament Buildings consist of copper panels over reinforced concrete. Newer copper panels are naturally brown and shiny; over time, exposure to oxygen, weather elements and pollution causes a chemical reaction that famously changes the copper’s colour to green!

ROYAL CANADIAN MINT OFFICIAL VIDEOS

SPECIFICATION

NAME 2017  PEACE TOWER CLOCK
DENOMINATION $50 Canadian
COMPOSITION 0.9999 silver
WEIGHT 157.6 grams
DIAMETER 65.25 mm
FINISH Antique
MODIFICATIONS Clock adorned from original material
MINTAGE 1,200
BOX / COA Yes / Yes
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