Twenty-five years after the founding of Nunavut, the Royal Canadian Mint is issuing a 99.99 per cent pure silver collector coin honouring Canada’s newest and largest territory, as part of its June 2024 releases.
After the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act of 1993 opened the door to formally recognizing Inuit land ownership and the right to self-governance, the vast new Inuit territory of Nunavut came into being on April 1, 1999. Spanning east of the Northwest Territories and north of Manitoba, with arctic islands north of Hudson Bay and Quebec, bordering as far as the northwestern tip of Greenland, Nunavut means “our land” in Inuktitut.
Inuk artist Aija Komangapik, born and raised in Nunavut’s capital city of Iqaluit, designed the reverse of the 2024 $20 Fine Silver Coin – Nunavut. It features her representation of Nunavut as an Inuit mother figure surrounded by a ring of markings inspired by kakiniit, traditional Inuit tattoos. Inside this ring representing the midnight sun, Nunavut cradles Nunavummiut (her people) inside the hood of a traditional amauti (parka), as they dance to the heartbeat of their mother.
The obverse features the effigy of King Charles III by Canadian artist Steven Rosati.
Other newly launched collector coins include:
• The2024 Classic Uncirculated Coin Set;
• The 2024 $20 Fine Silver Coin – Colourful birds-American Goldfinch featuring the art of Tony Bianco;
• The 2024 $30 Fine Silver Coin – The Hunter, designed by Jason Henry Hunt;
• The 2024 $50 Fine Silver Coin – Allegory of Freedom, featuring the artwork of Rebecca
• Yanovskaya; and
• The 2024 $200 Pure Gold Coin – The Crowns.
For detailed coverage of each of the June 2024 Mint releases, check out the expanded story in Canadian Coin News, V62N07.