Hundreds in B.C. wait for hours to purchase new Canadian coins

A Royal Canadian Mint event at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, B.C., drew hundreds of people willing to wait in line for a chance to buy new limited edition Canadian coins at face value.

The mint put a limit on the number of coins each person could buy because the demand was so high.

"It's a bit overwhelming. We would have preferred to bring a lot more coins to serve everybody," said Rob Alain, the mint's precious metals sales manager. "Obviously the demand is through the roof and we'll have to come back to greet these people in this city, as well."

The event was held at a Canada Post office inside a store called Oomomo over three days – with coin collectors lining up five hours before the store opened on Sunday which was the final day.

Maria Shystko said she was waiting in line to purchase coins for a friend who is out of town.

"I actually was really surprised. I didn't actually expect such a long line because I am not a collector myself. So, for me it was really interesting how many people are lined up," Shystko said. "I heard from one of the employees that some people have been lined up since six o'clock in the morning."

According to Alain, two coins in particular have been quite popular with the public and led to the big turnout.

"Back in the summer, we issued a new $1 coin for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables," he said. "And we also brought the new $2 coin celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which I think may be one of the drivers today."

Both coins also feature King Charles III on one side.

It's not the first time the new monarch has appeared on a Canadian coin, but that may have also been a draw for fans of the monarchy.

"It would be the second Canadian coin program special coin that has King Charles III on it," Alain said. "But we did issue some King Charles coins back in late 2023 and then commenced with a 2024 production as a mass production for commerce."

The new $2 coin celebrating the RCAF also features a number of aircraft spanning from the Second World War-era planes to modern day fighter jets.

The mint produced two million of each of the special coins in colour and another one million that do not include colourized aspects.