Big Nickel - Design and Construction

Design and Construction

Bruno Cavallo, a local sign manufacturer and artist, also had an idea of constructing a five-cent coin out of chromium. He contacted Szilva, and the two proceeded with the construction of the 1951 nickel. It was to be built out of stainless steel, which Szilva suggested so it would endure the harsh Sudbury elements. Cavallo spent several months forming the artistic work. The first step was to project the image of the 1951 five-cent piece against a large wall at the Sudbury Steelworkers Hall. After projecting the image, it was traced by Szilva and Cavallo over a period of two nights onto large, thick pieces of brown paper. The traced sections were then transported to Cavallo’s shop where he handcrafted the numerous steel sheets from a wooden mould. The individual parts were then fastened to a moulded girdle structure and welded together with silver solder.

Szilva worked with Jim Nemis, whose company Noront Steel was contracted to engineer, fabricate and install the framework of the Big Nickel. The large stainless steel panels were fabricated by Dalite Corporation of Toronto and shipped to the Big Nickel site in May 1964. When completed, the Big Nickel was 30 feet (9.1 m) high and 24 inches (610 mm) thick.

The artistic work such as the design of the King George VI head, the numerals, maple leaf and the refinery were contracted to Cavallo Signs. All artistic work was affixed to the stainless steel panels on site.

The base, which was 12 feet high, 12 feet wide and 5 feet thick (3.7 m × 3.7 m × 1.5 m), was constructed by the Maple Leaf Masonry Company of Sudbury. It was made of various ore bearing rocks, field stone, and minerals mined in the Sudbury Basin in order to indicate the source of wealth in the Sudbury area. Upon its completion in 1964, the total cost of the construction of the Big Nickel was approximately $35,000.