As we said in our previous post covering the Royal Canadian Mints latest releases, it’s been another bumper month and here we have the other batch of new coins for February.

The biggest release this month is one of the RCM’s comparatively rare one-kilo coins and the follow-on to the beautiful Snowy Owl from last year. This time the piercing gaze belongs to the cougar, and the gold and silver versions share the same eye design. Mintages remain tiny, especially for the gold at just 10 pieces.

A proof version of the new gold bullion coin from the Call of the Wild three-coin series also debuts, and with a mintage of just 250, is sure to prove popular. For those that can’t run to a 1oz gold proof coin, the RCM has the eminently affordable 0.5g Rock Rabbit. Exhibiting a lot of detail for its 11mm diameter, this format seems to be gaining popularity over recent years, despite the high premium over spot.

There’s another maple leaf coin (quelle surprise…) and sadly, the last of the popular Great Lakes series has arrived, but I guess when you run out of lakes, you run out of lakes.

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

2015 GROWLING COUGAR PROOF VERSION

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The cougar is one of Canada’s most powerful, elusive, and beautiful predators. This silent hunter is the perfect subject for the second coin in the Royal Canadian Mint’s “Call of the Wild” 3-coin series.

This design is a premium version of the Royal Canadian Mint’s 99.999% pure gold bullion coin, struck in a proof finish with a mirror-like background and enhanced engraved areas making the coin a pleasure to view.

DESIGN:   The reverse design by Canadian artist Pierre Leduc presents a profile portrait of a cougar backed by Blines representing the cougar’s growl. The central feature of the image is the highly detailed rightside profile of the head of a cougar growling. The Royal Canadian Mint engravers have lent additional beauty to the artistry of the original design; the finishes on this coin really emphasize the muzzle spiked with long whiskers, short round ears, and dense fur are presented in full detail, bringing the intensity of the moment fully to life.

THE GREAT LAKES 05: LAKE HURON

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Interestingly enough, despite it being in the middle of the Great Lakes spatially, Lake Huron was the first explored by the Europeans. The French explorers came up through the Ottawa/French river waterways to Lake Huron before Lake Ontario was first found.

Each coin in the series features a beautifully engraving of the lake, filled with translucent blue enamel that showcases the individually frosted depth levels below the surface.A beautiful addition for any collector who enjoys natural imagery, unique design, or Canadiana.

DESIGN: The reverse image features an interpretation of a bathymetry map of Lake Huron replicated by Royal Canadian Mint engravers and highlighted with coloured enamel. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.

IN THE EYES OF THE COUGAR

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Few would contest the cougar’s reputation as a stealthy hunter that relies on its keen senses to survive in remote areas of western Canada. Its exceptional vision is uniquely adapted to allow the cougar to hunt its prey during any time of day – a feature that is beautifully showcased in this coin.  The use of coloured enamel showcases the cougar’s eyes by recreating their luminous qualities; the design also creates an impression that both the viewer and the animal are locked in an exchange of gazes.

Part of a continuing series that celebrates the distinctive eyes of some of Canada’s renowned wildlife.

DESIGN:  The reverse image by Canadian artist Glen Loates offers a close-up portrait of the cougar (Felis concolor). Here, the shy predator’s piercing gaze is decidedly fixed upon the viewer as though each one is studying the other. But the selective use of coloured enamel ensures the female cougar’s eyes are the image’s focal point; the distinctive greenish hue recreates the light-reflective qualities of the animal’s eyes, which are protected from the bright light conditions by the contracted pupils. The large cat’s facial features are also rendered in fine detail, from its short fur to its visible whiskers and attentive ears.

SPECIMEN FINISH ½oz MAPLE LEAF

MINTS DESCRIPTION

As Canada’s flag celebrates its 50th anniversary, the Royal Canadian Mint pays tribute to the maple leaf as a national symbol with a stunning coin that captures the natural beauty of the sugar maple leaf (Acer saccharum).

The specimen finish background showcases the design’s finer details, such as the deeply cut, intricate veins that run through each leaf’s lobes and the slightly furled margins.

DESIGN:  The reverse image features a design by Canadian artist Celia Godkin, which beautifully showcases four maple leaves of various sizes. These leaves are from a sugar maple tree (Acer saccharum), and are depicted as they would be found in the wooded areas of Eastern Canada; growing on a twig at the very end of a branch, they stir ever so gently in the warm summer breeze. Detailed engraving brings to life their characteristics, including the vein ridges that run through each leaf’s five lobes.

2015 25-CENT ROCK RABBIT

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Canada is home to a rich biodiversity, with different ecosystems that support a vast number of animal species. The Royal Canadian Mint’s series of small pure gold coins proudly showcases some of Canada’s smaller animal residents – including the smallest member of the rabbit family, the pika.

DESIGN:  Despite the coin’s small size, this side-profile portrait of a pika, as designed by Canadian artist Derek C. Wicks, captures the mammal’s soft features and expression in exquisite detail. Inquisitively peering up to the right, the pika is poised with its front paws leaning against a loose pile of rocks that line the slopes of the Canadian Rockies. Masterful engraving recreates this timid creature’s prominent, rounded ears as well as the fur that covers its stocky little body and face.