Canada joins an ever expanding celebration of the 1969 moon landing with a domed coin duo
Canada has added its voice to the celebrations of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins epic journey to, and landing on, our erstwhile satellite – the Moon. Now we’re not going to go over the event again, as we’ve done so numerous times in the multiple articles you can see in the toggled dropdown below, so lets jump straight to the coin itself.
The same design is employed for the ½oz fine gold and the 1oz fine silver versions, differing just in size and some inscriptions. Both have the same staid obverse carrying the usual Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse design doesn’t push any boundaries either. The astronaut in front of the lunar lander is a common choice for this new wave of modern coins, but despite that, this is a particularly fine effort in our view. A nice amount of fine detail, something sometimes lost on a domed strike, and a neat composition.
Packaging is standard Royal Canadian Mint fare, which is a shame given the subject matter. The RCM has produced some very high quality packaging over the years and it’s a shame it wasn’t employed for something as worthy of this. A box shaped like the landing leg end, which was designed and built in Canada, would have been a great choice. Available now, the $1400 gold variant has a mintage of just 700 pieces, while the $140 silver coin is more numerous at 5,500 pieces. The moon landing half-centenary has seen a surge in fine issues and this one easily takes its place amongst them.
MINTS DESCRIPTION
50 years ago, humanity left Earth’s exosphere and landed the first humans on the Moon. 50 years ago, humanity imprinted the first footstep on the surface of our natural satellite. History was made. Now, we look back on this day as a milestone in human history, literally reaching for the stars.
While the United States launched and landed the spacecraft, Canadians also have every reason to celebrate. In fact, many don’t know that the landing gear for the Apollo 11 Lunar Module was designed by the Canadian company, Héroux-Devtek. Technically, Canadian technology was the first object of Apollo 11’s mission to touch the Moon!
Canada’s Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, along with other world leaders, sent messages of goodwill for this historic mission. These messages appear on a silicone disc about the size of a US 50-cent coin that was left on the lunar surface. He wrote, “Man has reached out and touched the tranquil moon. Puisse ce haut fait permettre à l’homme de redécouvrir la Terre et d’y trouver la paix. (May that high accomplishment allow man to rediscover the Earth and find peace.)”
DESIGN: Designed by Canadian artist Tony Bianco, your coin features the iconic scene when humanity first set foot on the Moon, with the landing module towering in the background. It is marked with the memorable dates “1969” and “2019” and “50 years/ans” that have passed since the event. The message of peace written by Pierre Elliott Trudeau on a tiny silicone disk that was left on the Moon also appears on the edge of the coin. The design features a rounded, convex shape reminiscent of the Moon.
| SPECIFICATION | ||
| DENOMINATION | $100 CAD (Canada) | $20 CAD (Canada) |
| COMPOSITION | 0.9999 gold | 0.9999 silver |
| WEIGHT | 15.58 grams | 30.75 grams |
| DIMENSIONS | 25.00 mm | 36.07 mm |
| FINISH | Proof | Proof |
| MODIFICATIONS | Domed strike | Domed strike |
| MINTAGE | 700 | 5,500 |
| BOX / COA | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes |
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