Royal Mint plant for striking. This first phase of the mint was officially opened on 17 December 1968 by the royal attendance of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and their son Prince Charles. Originally there were fears that the Royal family would face protests because of the Investiture of Prince Charles as the Prince of Wales; however, such protests failed to materialise. The second phase of construction began in 1973 and included the addition of a means to mint coins from virgin metals completing the full minting process. Upon completion the final cost for the land, buildings and plant came to £8
Royal Canadian Mint circulation in October 2004 and were available exclusively at Tim Hortons locations across the country. U.S. Army contractors travelling in Canada filed confidential espionage reports describing the coins as "anomalous" and "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology,". In 2006, the Mint produced a second colourized circulation coin in support of a future without breast cancer. The 25¢ coin features the iconic pink ribbon symbolizing breast cancer awareness. More recently, the Mint produced two other 25¢ poppy circulation coins in 2008 and 2010, both of which feature colourized designs. In 2008, the Mint also produced 50-toea colourized coins for