File:20150706 - 30 - Sudbury, Ont. - Big Nickel.jpg

English: The Big Nickel in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, as seen in July 2015. This quirky tourist attraction, arguably the best-known one in the city, is precisely what its name indicates: a 30-foot replica of a Canadian five-cent coin (popularly known as a "nickel") that stands atop a hill with a commanding view of both the downtown skyline and the Inco mining and smelting complex at Copper Cliff, among Canada's most prolific producers of the metal also called nickel. The Big Nickel's history dates back to 1963, when local citizen Ted Szilva heeded a call by local officials for unique ways to commemorate Canada's upcoming centennial. Undaunted by their skepticism of his idea, Szilva independently purchased the site, enlisted the assistance of Inco and a team of investors, contracted a construction company to build an access road, and had the entire project ready for the public in less than a year. Today, the site is home not only to the replica coin but also Dynamic Earth, a museum comprising exhibits on local history and geosciences as well as a guided tour of a demonstration nickel mine.