On the 4th June 2025 Mary and I flew to Ottawa for a special meeting with staff of the Royal Canadian Mint. Twenty years ago I started designing collector coins for the Mint and it was time to revisit the production area and see what changes have been made.
A detailed private tour of the Mint was set up so we could understand the changes since our last tour a few years ago. We also visited the Mint boutique and I was asked to sign a number of authenticity certificates for the silver and gold coins of mine they are currently selling. 
We also enjoyed interacting with visitors who were buying my coins “Tall Ships – three masted schooners” and wanted pictures with me as the designer. It was especially interesting to see how excited some very young children were as they listened very carefully to the stories I told.
A meeting was held with all the project managers who are the people who work with the artists to complete the designs for the coins. Mary presented a short power point presentation about my 20 years designing coins for them and included images of all of the 10 coins I had designed for them.
I then presented a list of ideas I was suggesting as possible new coins and it proved to be a most worthwhile visit for all concerned.
After our meetings at the Mint we toured the Bank of Canada Museum where I was able to study the development of coinage from early times to the present day.
This fascinating collection, shows coins, notes and items used as currency from all over the world and is very well worth a visit.
Following our stay in Ottawa we travelled by train to Toronto where we inspected a few galleries and then visited and photographed Toronto Islands and various vessels in the harbour.
