igii] Canadian Metallic Currency 251 



was going on, Sir Francis Hincks temporarily supplied its place with frac- 

 tional Dominion notes, the well-known "shin-plasters." When the 

 process was completed he substituted a new Dominion coinage including 

 Canadian coins of the denomination of 50 cents and 25 cents which were 

 added to the Canadian coinage for the first time thus bringing it to the 

 condition in which we know it to-day, the shin-plasters and 20 cent 

 pieces having gradually disappeared. This also brought the Provinces 

 of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into line with the Canadian decimal 

 currency. 



Such is in outline the history of our Canadian metallic currency up 

 to the establishment of the Canadian branch of the Royal Mint. 

 Incidentally there are connected with it a good many picturesque 

 episodes, political contests, inter-imperial discussion and domestic wild- 

 eyed proposals which furnish both entertainment and instruction for 

 those specially interested in such matters, but they could not be introduced 

 in the course of a single paper. 



