Promo code: EXTRA20
Product Overview
Canada's national police force was originally known as the North-West Mounted Police. They were founded in 1873, and after a period of training, 275 police officers were dispatched to patrol the western frontier. Their objective: to establish law and order, suppress the whiskey trade, bring unruly desperados to justice and establish positive relations with the Indigenous people of the area—quite a challenge considering there were no facilities when they arrived.

The men were entirely on their own. Communication with the east involved a 322-kilometre ride to Montana. The men set about building a hospital and a shelter for the horses, followed by sleeping quarters for the men and officers. With the help of local settlers and native groups, they were able to gather enough supplies to see them through the winter.

Recruits were required to know how to ride, but little attention was given to the finer points of military riding. Formal cavalry drills began in 1885 as the force was approaching 1,000 men. Fifty years later, the wife of one of the original British cavalry sergeants who trained the men remarked how the manoeuvres at the 1935 Exhibition and Stampede were identical to the original drills—a grand display of horsemanship set to music that continues to delight audiences the world over as the Musical Ride.

In 1920, the force became known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Today, it is a world-renowned organization with more than 28,000 members. The spirit and history of the RCMP is woven into the history of the prairies. The cities of Calgary and Regina both originated as NWMP posts, and the buffalo on the RCMP crest recalls the untamed frontier that greeted its first recruits over a century ago.

• Diameter: 13.92 mm
• Weight: 1.27 g .9999 fine gold

Includes:
• 2010 50C Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Pure Gold Coin
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