Silver coin illustrating diverse Indigenous cultures of Northwest Territories designed by Inuvialuk artist Myrna Pokiak
On Aug. 4, just days after launching a series of coins honouring Haida artist Bill Reid, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled its August catalogue.
Among the highlights of the seven issues unveiled this week is a $30 Fine silver coin marking the 150th anniversary of the Northwest Territories. Designed by Inuvialuk artist Myrna Pokiak, the coin also serves as a tribute to the various Indigenous cultures that shape the spirit and identity of this 1.3-million-square-kilometre area in northwestern Canada.
The landscape illustrated on the coin features 11 traditional ulu knives representing the Inuvialuit people plus each of the territory’s official languages. It also displays a Dene tipi and Métis sash flowing like a river across the reverse.
Struck in two ounces of silver, the coin has a weight of 62.69 grams, a diameter of 50 millimetres and a mintage of 2,500.
The Mint also issued a one-ounce gold coin (shown) plus one- and three-ounce silver coins honouring the Gold Maple Leaf (GML) and Silver Maple Leaf (SML) bullion coins. They’re the Mint’s first black rhodium-plated and double-incuse GML and SMLs
BLACK RHODIUM-PLATED GML, SML
The Mint also revealed another technological first with a trio of double-incuse, black rhodium-plated gold and silver coins celebrating the reverse design of its Gold Maple Leaf (GML) and Silver Maple Leaf (SML) bullion coins.
Surrounded by the matte-black finish of the rhodium plating, a sugar maple shines at the centre of a one-ounce gold coin plus one- and three-ounce silver coins.
The SML has been a sought-after bullion investment coin since its introduction in 1988. The special-edition one- and three-ounce silver coins have the added distinction of being the first black rhodium-plated and double-incuse SML issued by the Mint.
The one-ounce silver coin has a weight of 31.39 grams, a 38-millimetre diameter and a mintage of 5,000 while the three-ounce silver coin has a weight of 94.4 grams, a 55-millimetre diameter and a mintage of 2,000.
The GML, meanwhile, ranks among the world’s most popular pure gold coins with more than 25 million troy ounces sold since its introduction in 1979. The GML was also the first bullion coin to achieve the heightened standard of “Four Nines” purity (0.9999 per cent) and the only one in the world to achieve “Five Nines” (0.99999 per cent).
A $2,500 one-kilogram gold coin, ‘Summertime Polar Bear, By Robert Bateman,’ was also issued as part of the August catalogue.
Similar to its silver counterparts, the special-edition one-ounce GML is also the first black rhodium-plated and double-incuse GML issued by the Mint. It has a weight of 31.16 grams, a 30-millimetre diameter and a mintage of 350.
OTHER AUGUST COINS
The Mint’s August catalogue also includes:
- the second of four $30 Fine silver coins from the “Imposing Icons” series, featuring a front-facing image of a moose and a mintage of 2,500;
- the fifth of six $50 Fine silver coins from the “Real Shapes” series, featuring a gold-plated representation of Canada’s coat of arms; and
- a $2,500 one-kilogram gold coin, “Summertime Polar Bear, By Robert Bateman,” which features the work of renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman alongside his engraved signature.
The Summertime Polar Bear coin, which has a mintage of 75, is the Mint’s second one-kilogram gold coin to feature Bateman’s work.