OTTAWA, June 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Always proud to
celebrate stories of Canadian accomplishment on its coins, the
Royal Canadian Mint is launching two new coins honouring the
soldiers who fought in the Normandy Campaign which, after the
success of D-Day, sent the Allies on the path to liberating
Western Europe. These historic
keepsakes, along with many other finely crafted collectibles, are
available as of today.
Shortly after midnight on June 6,
1944, the paratroopers of the 1st Canadian Parachute
Battalion started dropping behind enemy lines to support the D-Day
invasion: destroying bridges, neutralizing key targets and securing
the flanks of the amphibious landing area. An innovative
perspective of the "maroon berets", the first Canadian troops to
set foot on French soil, is captured by artist Pandora Young. Parachuting under cover of
night, these brave soldiers started the attack that would, once for
all, change the course of the Second World War.
This daring exploit is illustrated on the 2019 $125 Fine Silver Coin 75th Anniversary of the
Normandy Campaign: Operation Tonga, a half-kilo pure silver coin.
The reverse shows a bird's eye view of a paratrooper dropping over
the French countryside, with the static line connected to the plane
just about to open his parachute, as his comrades float below with
their chutes already deployed. The reverse features an effigy of
His Majesty King George VI, as it
appeared on all Canadian coinage in 1944.
The action on Juno Beach is dramatically depicted on the 2019
$20 Fine Silver Coin Second World War
Battlefront Series - The Normandy Campaign. Designed by artist
Brad Anderson, it features an
infantryman crouched in the sand as fellow soldiers approach behind
him in a landing craft and a Sherman tank, representing
Canada's armoured divisions. Above
this scene appear sound waves illustrating the "sound" of "V"
for "Victory" in Morse code — a
signal that filled radio broadcasts on D-Day. The obverse of this
coins also features His Majesty King George
VI.
Also on sale this month are:
- The 2019 $20 Fine Silver Coin -
100th Anniversary of the First Non-Stop Transatlantic Flight, a new
coloured, stamp-shaped coin celebrating the historic flight of a
modified Vickers Bomber from St John's,
NL to county Galway, Ireland;
- The 2019 $200 Pure Gold Coin -
HMS New Brunswick 1843, a numismatic tribute to that year's
New Brunswick penny, designed and
produced by the now-defunct Soho Mint in Birmingham, UK;
- The 2019 $30 Fine Silver Coin -
Peter McKinnon Photo Series: Mount Rundle, celebrating an iconic
landmark of the Canadian Rockies in 2 oz. of pure silver;
- The 2019 $20 Fine Silver Coin -
The Beloved Maple Leaf, an exquisitely detailed 1 oz. pure silver
coin designed by artist David
Caesar;
- The 2019 25-Cent Pure Gold Coin -
Bouquet of Maple Leaves, the Mint's
newest 11 mm-wide, 0.5 g pure gold coin, designed by Vanessa Miller;
- The 2019 $50 Fine Silver Coin -
Rose of the Winds, artist Pandora
Young's tribute to classical map-making, featuring a
gold-plated compass rose surrounded by familiar iconography;
- The 2019 $20 Fine Silver
Coin - Sky Wonders - Fire Rainbow,
the first in a new weather-themed series designed by Tony Bianco, featuring naturally occurring
optical illusions that appear in Canadian skies;
- The 2019 $30 Fine Silver Coin –
Birds in the Backyard, featuring four different species of birds in
a colourful design by artist Neil
Hamelin;
- The 2019 $20 Fine Silver Coin -
Norse Gods – Odin, artist Alexandra
Lefort's tribute to the mythology well-known to Canadians of
Scandinavian descent;
- The 2019 $20 Fine Silver Coin -
The Sleeping Beauty, a Tony
Bianco-designed rectangular coin depicting a ballerina,
accented in pink and gold colour, gracefully dancing one of the
world's most famous ballets;
- The 2019 $100 Fine Silver Coin -
Into the Light – Lion, a gold-plated 10 oz. silver coin featuring
one of wildlife artist Robert
Bateman's masterpieces of the African savannah;
- The 2019 $5 Fine Silver Coin -
This is Canada! a coloured, glow-in-the-dark silver coin
designed by Tony Bianco;
- The 2019 $3 Fine Silver Coin –
Celebrating Canadian Fun and Festivities – Coastal Drive, designed
by Steve Hepburn; and
- The 2019 $5 Fine Silver Coin –
Zodiac Series: Cancer, designed by Jori Van
Der Linde.
Mintages, pricing and full background information on each
product can be found on the 'Shop' tab
of www.mint.ca. Coin images are available here.
All of these products can be ordered directly from the Mint at
1-800-267-1871 in Canada,
1-800-268-6468 in the US, or on the Mint's website. The coins are
also available at Royal Canadian Mint' boutiques in Ottawa and Winnipeg, as well as through our global
network of dealers and distributors, including participating Canada
Post outlets.
About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for
the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. The Mint is
recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the
world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage
products and related services on an international scale. For more
information on the Mint, its products and services,
visit www.mint.ca.
Contact:
Alex Reeves
Senior Manager
Public Affairs
Tel: +1(613) 949-5777
reeves@mint.ca