But there is another numismatic angle to The Big Nickel story. To raise money back in 1963-64, when Szilva was building the statue, he created and sold medals to underwrite the cost. If memory serves me right, it was that same 1951 nickel in a size, of course, larger than the coin. And I'll wager an E-Sylum reader will respond, "Hey, I have one of those!" Prove it. Send Wayne an image.

I do not have one to take an image of, but the Big Nickel medallion looks like the 1951 commemorative nickel enlarged to about 39 or 40 mm.

I visited the Big Nickel park back in 1978 while on vacation with my father. We were driving around Lake Huron, and I figured I might never be in Sudbury again. I was right. There was an affiliated attraction where for a few dollars you could ride a gondola down the shaft of a nickel mine. I don't know if it is still open.