A new private mint based in Yukon recently issued the first in a series of first pure gold coins celebrating Canada’s smallest and westernmost territory with local metals and design.
The .9999 gold coin features an obverse design by Miranda Lane, an artist of the Kaska Nation, a group of Dene-speaking people living in southern Yukon as well as norther British Columbia. Lane was the winner of a design contest organized by Golden Predator Mining and its wholly owned subsidiary, the Yukon Mint, which unveiled the design on May 30 in Toronto, Ont. Offered in both half- and one-ounce weights, the coin will be available for purchase beginning on National Aboriginal Day on June 21.
“We congratulate Miranda; she is a very talented artist whose vision is a true reflection of the spirit of the Yukon,” said mint president Janet Lee-Sheriff. “We are eager to begin to create gold coins that will represent the Yukon in almost every aspect, and we are thrilled to have the ‘True North Moose’ mark the beginning of what we believe will be a very long Yukon tradition.”
Lane’s submission to the Yukon Mint’s “My Kaska Nation” contest was based on her original work, True North Moose, and depicts the moose, which represents hunting, nutrition, community, sharing, kindness and survival. The moose is found in the north of the medicine wheel with north representing the place of wisdom. The sun, the moon and the trees represent the reciprocal arrangement we all have with Mother Earth.
The coin’s reverse depicts an iconic image linked to the Yukon speaking to the history and entrepreneurial spirit of exploration in the mining region. The Klondike gold rush was an epic journey to an uncharted land – the continent’s final frontier – in search of adventure and opportunity. It seared the word “Klondike” into the collective consciousness of a generation, and this image is being celebrated with its depiction on the reverse of all Yukon Mint coins.
The reverse of the newly issued gold coin represents the Klondike gold rush.
PROFIT SHARING
Gold from Golden Predator’s “3 Aces Project” bulk sample is incorporated into the coin. All material was processed at the company’s test facility using only water and gravity and without the use of chemicals.
This first issue is the beginning of a limited-edition series of gold coins depicting First Nation art on the obverse – chosen through design contests – and iconic imagery representing the Klondike gold rush on the reverse.
The inaugural mintage has been set at 180 one-ounce coins and 140 half-ounce coins. Each coin has been engraved with a security feature to ensure its authenticity.
A percentage of the net profits from the sale of the coins will be shared with the Kaska Nation.
According to Lee-Sheriff, the first gold coin produced by the Yukon Mint was purchased by Rob McEwen, chief owner and chair of McEwen Mining, which is one of Golden Predator’s largest shareholders.
KASKA NATION ARTIST
The coin
Lane is a self-taught artist and spiritual intuitive. When she was a child, her grandfather Chief Little Jimmy shared the importance of animal medicine and the value of our interconnectedness with all beings and Mother Earth. These lessons greatly influenced her artistic endeavours.
Lane describes herself as someone who “paints intuitively from the heart, capturing the gifts of Mother Earth, using Spirit animals to deliver messages to help others on their Earth walk.”
For more information, contact info@yukonmint.com.