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1 dollar 2022 - Alexander Graham Bell

By Royal Canadian Mint    |   Thursday, 20 October 2022

1 dollar 2022 - Alexander Graham Bell

On the 175th anniversary of his birth, Alexander Graham Bell is being recognized for his numerous breakthrough inventions, and the legacy of innovation he fostered over the many years he spent working and living in Canada.

The story of Alexander Graham Bell is one of persistent scientific exploration and great personal achievement, but it is also a tremendous tale of Canadian innovation. From conceptualizing the telephone in Brantford, Ontario, to pioneering new air and marine craft later in life from Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canadians can take great pride in their connection to one of history's greatest inventors.

- Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

As the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell looms large in our history books, but that one famous achievement has tended to overshadow his whole body of work, from his youth in Brantford, Ontario to his return to Canada, where he spent decades in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, inspiring and working with many skilled and ingenious Canadians. By issuing a one-dollar coin in conjunction with the 175th anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell's birth, the Mint is celebrating the spirit of Canadian know-how and innovation behind wondrous home-grown creations such as Canada's first-ever powered aircraft and a hydrofoil that was the world's fastest marine craft of its time.

- Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint

1 dollar 2022 - Alexander Graham Bell

The reverse of this new commemorative circulation coin was designed by Canadian artist Christopher Gorey. It depicts Mr. Bell and two of the inventions he designed: the HD-4 Hydrofoil and the Silver Dart. It also includes an engraving of Mr. Bell's signature, as well as the inscription 175 YEARS/ANS to recognize the anniversary of his birth. The observe features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, designed by Susanna Blunt in 2003.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1847, Bell settled with his family in Brantford, Ontario, where he developed a passion for problem-solving and science from his early years. It was there that he built a workshop to conduct sound experiments, where the idea for an electric telephone first took shape. In 1871, he accepted a teaching position in Boston, dividing his time between his new home and the family homestead in Brantford.

My great-grandfather had a genuine and rare intellectual curiosity that kept him striving, researching and creating. As my father told me, he could no more stop inventing than stop breathing. His legacy is still relevant through his many inventions, many of which we take for granted. From the telephone, to the photophone, to aviation research, to medical devices like the respirator, the iron lung, the metal detector and the audiometer. All these impacted people's lives and I think that's what a legacy is - how someone impacts other people's lives in a positive way.

- Alexander Graham Bell descendant Sara Grosvenor

After inventing the telephone in 1876, he built Beinn Breagh, an estate near Baddeck on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. It is there that he designed more inventions, such as the Silver Dart, Canada's first manned aircraft, and futuristic hydrofoil marine craft that blazed the waters of Bras D'Or Lake. He spent much of his later life working at Beinn Breagh, until his death in 1922. Baddeck is now home to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, where artifacts and full-scale replicas of his transformative inventions are on display.

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