Not all treasures glimmer in sunlight. Some glow in the shadows, whispering secrets from Canada’s most haunted corners.
The Royal Canadian Mint’s Haunted Canada coin series is a chilling trinity of oversized quarters, each one a portal into a tale of terror & fine craftsmanship
Let’s step into the spectral vault… if you dare.
2014 – The Ghost Bride of Banff Springs
They say the grand stairwell of the Banff Springs Hotel holds more than old stone and carpet. In the 1930s, a bride fell to her death on her wedding night, her veil catching flame as she tumbled.
Ever since, guests whisper of a pale figure drifting through the halls, candle in hand, searching for the dance she never got to finish. Tilting the coin creates its magic and captures this tragedy in metal. Tilt it once, and the serene bride stands in solemn grace. Tilt again, and her eyes wide open, as flames leap behind her and the Banff Springs emerge from the shadows. A haunting frozen in nickel and steel, destined to flicker forever under dim light.
2015 – The Headless Brakeman
The screech of steel, the hiss of steam, and then silence…
In 1928, a railway brakeman met his gruesome end near Vancouver’s waterfront, decapitated in a tragic accident. The story doesn’t end on the tracks though. On storm-soaked nights, witnesses still report a figure stumbling along the rails, lantern in hand… his head nowhere to be seen.
This coin summons him into existence. At one angle, he emerges from the tunnel, lantern casting a glow on wet stone. Shift the coin, and the glow dies, leaving only the horror of a headless shadow, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. A chilling reminder that some shifts never end, even in death.
2016 – The Bell Island Hag
Newfoundland’s Bell Island is wrapped in fog, salt air, and stories too old to trace. Among them, the legend of the Hag, a woman with two faces. By night she appears as a vision: white dress, youthful glow, a lure to weary travelers. In the blink of an eye, the vision of her twists, revealing something grotesque, deformed, and unearthly. Many claim to have awoken days later, lost in the marsh, with no memory of how they got there.
The Mint immortalized her shifting form in the final coin of the trilogy. Tilt the coin and the beautiful specter stares back at you, serene and alluring. Shift again, and the horror reveals itself.
Closing the Séance
Together, the Haunted Canada coins are more than collectibles, they’re talismans of folklore, a gilded séance between legend and craft. Each one carries a ghost story told through light, shadow, and silver-toned steel. A trilogy of Canadian hauntings, preserved not in whispers, but in coins.
Dare to own them, and you won’t just collect history… you invite it in.
- 作者：Ashley，加拿大黃金公司貴金屬分析師 - 渥太華
Photos Courtesy of The Royal Canadian Mint (mint.ca)
