It looks like the Royal Canadian Mint are splitting up this months release run with a batch of new and unusual designs appearing in the middle of October. Long known for trying out different things on, or indeed in their designs, the RCM has ramped that up in recent months, culminating in a whole raft of them this time out. The mint is claiming that most of the new run of coins are firsts for Canada, although several have been employed elsewhere previously. We’re looking at five new coins here.

The Breaching Whale is the most obviously different coin, despite its basis being the simplest of them all. Sitting on a clean-struck depiction of the sea, sat upon the coin is a humpback whale breaching. We’re not sure exactly what the whale is formed of, the description saying the process involved is thermoforming doesn’t point to silver, but to an artificial material. We’ve seen similar coins from CIT for example, whose butterfly range are quite close in concept. The Trivial Pursuit coin is a simpler affair. Called a Piedfort, it’s actually a single ounce of silver inset into which are six coloured enamel segments in the style of the famous board-game. With bang-on theme packaging, it’s hard to think of a better design to celebrate the board game if that’s your thing. Could be a popular coin on the aftermarket perhaps.

The Kaleidoscope coin is striking mainly for its size. At 60mm in diameter for a single ounce of silver, it’s approaching CIT’s SmartMinting in that regards, but as just a coloured disc, it isn’t really competing on the depth and detail of its strike. Meant to sit in a viewer so that patterns will show when it’s rotated, it’s the first of three in a set. More for the gift than the numismatic market we think. Next up is the Nutty Squirrel and the Mighty Oak, a coin whose selling points are inset pieces of wood. Despite a decent basic design, the choice of where the wood has been applied is off-putting and illogical (wooden leaves?). Both the Art Mint with its Stradivarus coin, and the Mint of Poland with its Trojan Horse offering both did it far better, the wood being absolutely integral to the design, not an afterthought. The Canadian coin is far cheaper, however.

Final one is a coin with an edge mark. Again, a first for the RCM, but a widely used technique elsewhere. The most noticeable use of it is the Royal Mints lunar edge-privy Britannia bullion coins, on offer for half a decade. That certainly doesn’t detract from the design of this coin though, as its depiction of a Caribou is a top-class job with fine detail and great perspective. A mixed bag of coins then, and a sign the mint is investing heavily in new tricks for its numismatics. Here’s hoping the classic clean-struck coin the Royal Canadian Mint is so good at doesn’t get pushed aside.

RCM’S FIRST EVER TRUE 3D COIN

DESIGN: Designed by Canadian artist Matt Bowen, your coin features a three-dimensional depiction of a breaching humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in all of its breathtaking splendour. Engraved in outstanding detail, the background depicts the waters off Canada’s coastline, where a lighthouse can be found on the headland rocks in the distance. The surface of the ocean is itself filled with magnificent detail, alternating between soft waves and the smooth ripples caused by the whale’s sudden emergence.

But the star of the show is undeniably the whale itself: fashioned through a thermoforming process, the embossed whale stirs up foamy waves and a stream of ocean spray as it launches itself almost clear out of the water! Colour highlights the rough textural details along its tremendous pectoral fins, as well as the distinctive bumps on its head and neck. Throughout the design, light is cleverly conveyed by the coin’s silver surface, which shines like sunlight on a bright summer day.

PACKAGING: encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon clamshell with a graphic beauty box.

In 1982, what would become one of the best-selling board games of all time first took the world by storm. Everybody wanted to be the first to fill their game piece with six coloured wedges—and prove their trivia prowess. Trivial Pursuit game became a pop culture phenomenon: a trivia craze that sparked multiple game editions, computer versions, apps and even television adaptations!

Far from trivial is the pride that Canadian players feel knowing that Trivial Pursuit game was invented in Canada (Montréal, Quebec to be exact)—an achievement that’s celebrated with this must have coin!

DESIGN: Your coin design pays tribute to the enduring popularity of Trivial Pursuit game, its Canadian origins, and its 35-year history as one of the top-selling board games in the world. The piedfort offers nearly double the thickness of traditional coins, allowing for high-relief engraving to capture the look and feel of a player’s rounded game piece, as viewed from above.

The raised elements mimic the appearance of the six individual wedges that complete this game-winning piece, while the application of coloured enamel recreates the iconic colours of each question category: History (yellow), Geography (blue), Entertainment (pink), Arts & Literature (purple), Science & Nature (green), and Sports & Leisure (orange). The reverse also features the iconic “TRIVIAL PURSUIT” game logo engraved between the commemorative dates “1982” and “2017”, along with the word “CANADA” and the face value “25 DOLLARS”. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.

PACKAGING: comes beautifully enclosed in a premium wooden case and custom packaging that cleverly mimics a Trivial Pursuit game board and box.

RCM’S FIRST EVER ULTRA-THIN SILVER COIN

DESIGN: Canadian artist Calder Moore has created a full-sized kaleidoscope design for the coin’s extra-large surface. Countless polar bears come together in a complex pattern of amazing beauty, some face-to-face to create the outer ring of the design, while smaller bears stand back-to-back to form the rings in the centre.

At the extreme edge of the coin, the image of the polar bears become more obvious while individual design features endless shapes. The design is meticulously crafted with astounding detail, and beautifully enhanced with myriad shades of translucent blue to capture the reflective essence of a kaleidoscope.

PACKAGING: encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded box that stores each of your three coins in separate drawers and includes space for your kaleidoscope and coin certificates.

RCM’S FIRST EVER WOOD ADORNED COIN

DESIGN: Designed by Canadian artist Tony Bianco, your coin evokes the curiosity that fills both parties during a playful, interspecies encounter. A grey squirrel clings to an oak tree upside down to scrutinize the activity below. To the left and right of the squirrel, five embellishments showcase the oak’s distinctive leaves and bring the textural quality of wood to the scene.

PACKAGING: encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon clamshell with a black beauty box.

RCM’S FIRST EVER EDGE PATTERNED COIN

DESIGN: Designed by Canadian artist Claudio D’Angelo, your coin features a side profile view of a woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Canada’s northern boreal forest. Detailed engraving captures the both the ungulate and the scenery in stunning detail, all enhanced by the use of various finishing techniques.

In the background, the tall coniferous trees line the edges of a still lake; the only sense of movement comes from the stocky and long-legged caribou, whose large rack of antlers naturally draws the viewer’s eye. As the caribou moves along the sandy lakeshore, its hooves leave a trail of prints. The entire design gains an added sense of movement through the caribou’s distinctive hoof prints, which are engraved on the coin’s edge in a continuous pattern.

PACKAGING: encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon clamshell with a graphic beauty box.