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King of Canadian Woods
Norm Belsten holds a large “One Wooden Nickel” presented to him and signed by grateful collectors of Canadian wooden money. (Photo courtesy of Dan Gosling)
More than 50 years after purchasing his first wooden nickels, Norm Belsten is still adding new listings to the most comprehensive catalogue of Canadian wooden money ever assembled. Now 92 and living in Newmarket, Ont., Belsten continues to refine and expand his landmark Canadian Woods Catalogue, cementing his reputation as the hobby’s leading authority on... Continue reading →
Coins behind the Iron doors
The 1916 fire destroyed the original Centre Block, but the Library of Parliament, visible here, was spared after heavy iron fire doors sealed off the collection. (Parliament archives)
On a bitterly cold night in February 1916, as Members of Parliament debated the fishing industry inside Ottawa’s Centre Block, flames began to creep through the House of Commons Reading Room. Within hours, the Great Fire would reduce the heart of Canada’s Parliament to a blackened shell, claiming seven lives and toppling the iconic Victoria... Continue reading →