Canada remembers its iconic centennial goose in flight with a new 2oz silver bullion coin

The Canadian Centennial Dollar design was the brainchild of artist Alex Colville, in 1966 winning a competition to design the circulating currency for Canada’s centennial year. The dollar was the key piece and depicted a Canada Goose in flight. It was a simple design, but the most memorable coins often are. After a short reintroduction to the Royal Canadian Mint’s numismatic range in 2017 as part of Canada’s 150th celebration, it’s back as an exclusive bullion coin for 2020.

A two-ounce 0.9999 piedfort bullion coin, sharing the 1oz coins 38mm diameter but doubling the thickness, it takes that Colville original and flips it horizontally. Given the migratory nature of this bird, it’s a neat touch, perhaps signifying the flight back home. As the coin is an exclusive with European dealer Coin Invest, it seems particularly apt.

The obverse is the same Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, disappointingly carrying fewer inscriptions than the main attraction, but such are the requirements of legal tender issues. There isn’t a mintage limit, so these will be produced throughout 2020. They can be purchased individually, in tubes of 14, or boxes of 280. Premiums are very competitive and the coin is available now, Nice to see a classic return in a market filled with complexity.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

For centuries, flocks of Canada geese flying overhead have signalled the changing seasons, a fixture so deeply rooted in the Canadian psyche that artist Alex Colville proposed the Canada goose and its “serene, dynamic quality” for the Centennial Dollar in 1967.

This coin features Colville’s design that highlights the goose’s strong, streamlined body that enables it to fly great distances. Numerous geese will fly together in a V-formation to create air currents the geese can ride to save energy and travel as much as 1,000 km in a single day!

The Canada goose nests throughout Canada and follows various migration routes south, the longest beginning on the northern tundra and ending in the southern US and Mexico. Climate change is prompting more populations to overwinter in Canada, and some have begun nesting in western Greenland. The Canada goose was introduced to Britain in the 17th century, and was later brought to the Continent as a game bird. Its presence there is likely to evolve as their numbers continue to rise.