Another bumper month from that most northern of Continental American countries, the Royal Canadian Mint have again released well over 15 coins for February. We’ve divided them up for easier reading and the seven coins here are all either the first coins in a new series, or the continuation of an ongoing one.

New series this month are the five-coin ‘Majestic Animals’, which is a one-ounce coloured silver set, ‘Legacy of the Canadian Nickel’ a one-ounce gilded set, and ‘North American Sportfish’, a smaller four-coin set starting with the Largemouth Bass. All are typical RCM fare and look as well struck as you’d expect. The Sportfish looks like it has potential in our view.

Other series get new entrants and they include the second coin in the Elizabeth II gold-effigy Maples, the fourth and final Canadian Banknote coin, the eighth Exploring Canada coin (just two to go) and the last Great Lakes coin, which we’ll cover elsewhere.

All are available to order now by clicking the RCM logo at the bottom of the article

NORTH AMERICAN SPORTFISH: LARGEMOUTH BASS

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The first issue in the Royal Canadian Mint’s new North American Sport Fish series features the feisty and fascinating largemouth bass. This exciting series will include four fine silver coins, as well as two premium versions struck in gold and platinum. Future releases will feature other popular species; the Northern Pike (March), Walleye (April), and Rainbow Trout (May).  The coin features edge lettering bearing the coin’s metal weight and purity: “9999 Fine Silver 1 oz 9999 Argent pur 1 oz”.

DESIGN:  The reverse design by Canadian artist Curtis Atwater presents a dynamic portrait of a largemouth bass leaping from a tree-lined lake. Viewed from its right front side with its tail arching to the right, the largemouth seems to hover above the lake below. The large mouth from which it gets its common name is open wide, displaying its strong lower jaw. The fish’s shimmering scales, delicate fins and bony dorsal fin, along with the water spraying from it as it leaps, are engraved in stunning detail. In the distant background, the shore is lined in tall conifers.

ELIZABETH II GOLD EFFIGY MAPLES 02: 1965

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The glorious Canadian maple and our beloved Sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada – two icons that for more than sixty years have symbolized our country and our collective sense of identity. The Royal Canadian Mint proudly celebrates the remarkable reign of our Queen with a new series featuring the four effigies of Her Majesty that have appeared on Canadian circulated coinage since 1953. This is the second.

DESIGN:   The reverse image by Canadian artist Celia Godkin features two sugar maple leaves. Pointing downward, the overlapping leaves are attached by their stems to a single twig at the top
of the image. The leaves are engraved with careful precision using a variety of textures to lend depth to the image. The reverse is engraved with the words “CANADA” the date “2015” and the face value of “10 DOLLARS”. The obverse design features the second obverse of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to appear on Canadian coinage in 1965, when she was 39 years old. Her Majesty wears a jewelled tiara and an elaborate gown. The effigy is encircled with the Latin legend “ELIZABETH II D. G. REGINA,” which means “Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen.”

LEGACY OF THE CANADIAN NICKEL 01

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Throughout its history, each of the nickel’s transformations provides a glimpse of a young nation that was seeking to define itself, and a Mint that would quickly come into its own. This Legacy of
the Canadian Nickel series is a retrospective look at the history of 5-cent coins minted by the Royal Canadian Mint, beginning with this crossed maple bough design that was used until 1921.

Coins are launched monthly from February to July 2015, offered individually or in a 6-coin subscription program. You’ll receive a free wooden case when you subscribe; to be delivered with your second coin, ‘The Two Maple Leaves’. The last four coins are ‘The Victory’, ‘The Identification of Nickel’, ‘The Centennial 4-cent’, and finally, ‘The Beaver’.

DESIGN:    This 5-cent coin is 99.99% pure silver, with a diameter of 40 millimetres and a metal weight of 31.83 grams. The reverse image features a recreation of William Henry James Blakemore’s design, which graced the 5-cent coin from 1911 to 1921. Finely detailed engraving and selective gold plating recreate St. Edward’s Crown, the solid gold coronation crown, as it appeared on the original coin design. New sculpt and finishes bring added definition to the crossed bough of 22 maple leaves. Featured on the reverse is the effigy of King George V, who was the reigning monarch from 1910 to 1936.

FRANKLIN CARMICHAEL 3-COIN SET

MINTS DESCRIPTION

As the youngest member of Canada’s famed Group of Seven, Franklin Carmichael (1890-1945) helped to define a new “Canadian” style of landscape art in the 1920s and ‘30s – one that conveyed a deep love for the natural beauty of the rugged Canadian landscape. On the 125th anniversary of Franklin Carmichael’s birth, the Royal Canadian Mint celebrates this highly respected artist with a stunning coin that faithfully one of the artists’s famed paintings.

DESIGN: This three-coin set is 99.99% pure silver, with a metal weight of 23.17 grams and a diameter of 36.07 millimetres. The reverse features an engraved detail from one of three famous works by Canadian artist Franklin Carmichael (1890-1945) .

A lone pine tree is the focal point of this recreation of Carmichael’s The Upper Ottawa, near Mattawa (c. 1924) oil painting, while the Ottawa River fills much of the background behind it.

Another breathtaking vista can be viewed in the engraved reproduction of the watercolour Cranberry Lake (c. 1934) Gift of Mary Mastin, Toronto 1996; rolling hills that tower over the diminutive size of the village by the lake all convey the grandeur and openness of the landscape.

Carmichael’s Landscape (c. 1925) – was created with linocut; a printmaking technique by which an image is carved in relief onto a sheet of linoleum that is inked then pressed onto paper. In the engraved detail from this print, the dark trees in the foreground contrast with the lighter ones behind them, creating layers and depth to this depiction of a mountainous landscape.

SPECIFICATION PER COIN

MAJESTIC ANIMALS 01: BIGHORN SHEEP

MINTS DESCRIPTION

With its striking appearance and remarkable agility along the slopes of the Rocky Mountains, the bighorn sheep is a rugged Canadian icon and an enduring symbol of power and strength. This coloured fine silver coin celebrates a unique species that is native to the alpine landscape of western Canada.

DESIGN: The reverse image by Canadian artist Maurade Baynton features a full-body coloured portrait of a bighorn sheep that captures its beauty and size in a natural setting. With its head turned to the left, the muscular bighorn commands attention with its presence as it stands sure-footed atop a rocky ledge, its balance aided by its unique split-hooves.

Detailed engraving brings to life the ringed curved horns, while the use of colour recreates the bighorn’s sandy fur. The brilliant hues of the autumn leaves and the green-coloured landscape add vibrancy and dimension to the engraved background, which is dominated by the Rocky Mountains that tower over the river below.

CANADIAN BANKNOTES 04: VIGNETTE

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Bank notes are designed to facilitate commerce while providing security measures against counterfeiting, but at their core, they are works of art. Take away the denomination and counters, legal inscriptions, ornamentation, borders and bars; what emerges is a stunning visual narrative of a nation’s evolution, its identity and ideals. Painted or drawn by a renowned artist and then adapted for printing by an equally skilled engraver, every bank note vignette is a masterpiece in its own right, backed by an assembly of functional and aesthetic parts that are remarkable in their complexity.

The 4th and final coin in this captivating series celebrating the beauty and art behind Canada’s historic bank notes.

DESIGN:  This coin features the vignette that appeared on the $5 note from Barclays Bank (Canada) in 1929, and was utilized on a number of denominations over the years. Originally painted by Alonzo Earl Foringer and engraved for the printing press by Robert Savage, it features a female allegorical figure gazing at a globe with a winged disc in her hand; symbolic of the bank’s expansion into Canada at the time.

EXPLORING CANADA 08: BUILDING THE RAILWAY

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The story of Canada is forever being written by visionary individuals who have one eye trained on the horizon and are always ready to break a new trail towards the future. Confederation in 1867 sparked dreams of a transcontinental railway. While laying track across a flat and predictable landscape is already a mammoth task, Canada’s railway workers were faced with the incomprehensible distance of more than 5,500 km and unimaginable challenges. Surveyors tried to follow the paths of early explorers, but the railway pushed them into uncharted territory—over perilous swamps, across thousands of waterways and endless prairies; culminating with the feat of tunneling through mountains and constructing bridges over cavernous passes.

Explore Canada with this 10-coin series; coins are launched monthly from June 2014 to April 2015, offered individually or in a 10-coin subscription program. This is the eighth coin and yet to come are Scientific Exploration, and Space Exploration.

DESIGN:  Canadian artist John Mantha has created a dynamic design that salutes the 30,000 workers who completed Canada’s transcontinental railway with a scene that best embodies the gruelling and dangerous nature of this gargantuan project—laying track through the mountains. Two “navvies” are hard at work driving a spike while a third worker in the background hauls gravel to fill the gap between railway ties.