Old Mill Park, Campbellford Ontario
705-653-1551 or toll-free 1-888-653-1556
Located along the Trent River in Old Mill Park, the Giant $2 Coin was built in 2001. It features the image of an adult polar bear in early summer on an ice floe and was designed by a wildlife and landscape artist, Brent Townsend, who lived in Trent Hills.
The Giant $2 Coin is 27 feet (8.2 metres) high and 18 feet (5.5 metres) in diameter. It was constructed by local metalsmith, Steve Redden, with the oversight of the Royal Canadian Mint.
This is actually the second monument built for the community of Campbellford. The first one was built in 1996 by the Town of Campbellford, which stood only a few feet away from the current monument. It was 20 feet high (6.1 metres) and made with over 700 white and yellow lights. It took almost 100 hours to create.
The Royal Canadian Mint proclaimed Campbellford “The Home of the Two Dollar Coin” in 1997. The most famous bear in Canada, the one stamped on toonie, was named after turning 21 in 2017. After adding up 166,635 ballots cast during the Royal Canadian Mint’s “Name Our Polar Bear Contest”, the winning moniker, with 34% of the vote, was Churchill.