Canadian artist Tony Bianco has designed more than 50 commemorative coins for the Royal Canadian Mint.
His latest commemorative design—this commissioned and issued by the Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH)—celebrates two big milestones being hit in 2017. The piece is part of an ongoing celebration of the sesquicentennials of both Canada and Orillia, the latter of which was founded as a village in 1867. In addition to the Orillia 150 commemorative medal, art prints of Bianco’s full design with the embedded medal were also being sold.
“For us, it’s another opportunity to celebrate Orillia’s 150th birthday,” Ninette Gyorody, the museum’s executive director, told Frank Matys, a reporter for Orillia Today. “It is another way to celebrate Orillia’s heritage and history.”
The medal was available exclusively by pre-order on the OMAH website. The medal was priced at $20 for OMAH members and $25 for non-members, and the frame-ready artwork with two medals embedded in the surface, allowing both sides to be displayed, was priced at $100 for members and $125 for non-members.
Pre-ordering closed last month. Production of the medal will be completed in six to eight weeks, after which time the OMAH will schedule a “pick-up day” for June, when customers will also be able to meet Bianco.
The medal was commissioned by the Orillia Museum of Art and History and designed by Canadian artist Tony Bianco.
MEDAL DESIGN
On one side, the medal depicts the Samuel de Champlain Monument in Orillia alongside other iconic Orillian scenes and landmarks, including the Orillia Opera House; Leacock Museum National Historic Site; the city’s waterfront, known as the “jewel of the Trent-Severn Waterway”; as well as historic downtown Orillia, which boasts more than 150 shops, restaurants, salons and other businesses along Mississauga Street.
On the opposite side, the medal features the iconic Canadian flag blowing among party streamers.
“I wanted something that was historical and contemporary,” Bianco told Matys. “If someone was visiting Orillia and didn’t really know the history, there might be something in here that could give them a little bit of the story about the history, but would also resonate what Orillia is today.”
For more information about the medal, visit orilliamuseum.org.
The ‘Brilliant Birch Leaves with Drusy Stone’ coin was issued last October.
OTHER BIANCO DESIGNS
Among Bianco more recent designs for the Mint was the one-ounce pure silver coin, “Brilliant Birch Leaves with Drusy Stone,” which was issued last October. It features a cluster of birch leaves that includes a green leaf embellished by drusy stone.
According to the Mint, each of these coins was unique because of the crystal-enhanced treatment.
“Only a very small portion of fine drusy quartz has the rich green tones selected for your coin—each is unique.”
This coin’s obverses features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt alongside the inscriptions “ELIZABETH II,” “CANADA” and “D G REGINA.”