Behind the Designs of the Five Coins for Canada’s 150th Year of IndependenceBehind the Designs of the Five Coins for Canada’s 150th Year of IndependenceBehind the Designs of the Five Coins for Canada’s 150th Year of Independence

A look behind the designs of the five coins for Canada’s 150th year of independence

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Last updated on April 16th, 2020 at 06:55 am

Last Updated on April 16, 2020 Posted by Colonial Acres Coins

To commemorate the 150th anniversary celebrations of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint decided to create special coins for the occasion. A contest was held in 2015 to allow the public to take part and each 150th anniversary coin from this set has a unique design that was chosen as part of the contest. Known as My Canada, My Inspiration, this contest allowed individuals to take part in Canada 150 celebrations by creating new coin designs.

The coin designs fit into five categories to coincide with five coins: Our Wonders, Our Achievements, Our Character, Our Passions and Canada’s Future. Canadians were able to vote on which bullion piece was their favourite in September of 2015 and by November of 2016, the Mint unveiled the coin designs. Now, coin collectors have the ability to collect the coins from this unique contest.

Getting to Know the Designs

For the contest, those participating could create a new design for the 5 cent, 10 cent, 25 cent, one dollar and two dollar coins. Participants were to stay in line with the theme for each coin and then the public had the ability to choose their favourites.

Our Passions: The Five Cent Coin Design

Starting with the lowest denomination, the five cent coin still features the iconic beaver, just in a new way. The beaver is swimming under water as designed by Gerald Gloade. The designer stated upon winning that he had always treasured the original beaver design by Alex Colville since he was a young boy and his Mi’kmaw heritage allowed him to reimagine the design in a new way.

Our Character: The Ten Cent Coin Design

The ten cent piece was designed by Amy Choi and is titled Wings of Peace. The design features a maple leaf as interpreted as dove wings. Choi hopes the maple leaf can one day be considered a symbol of peace much like the olive branch.

Canada’s Future: The Twenty-Five Cent Piece

Joelle Wong was only eight when she designed the twenty-five cent piece to depict an image of how we should protect nature. With help from a teacher, Joelle learned more about native wildlife and indigenous art to be able to create the unique design.

Our Achievements: The One Dollar Coin

This coin was designed by Wesley Klassen to depict the Loonie as well as the engineering achievements of Canada. The coin highlights such achievements including Lion’s Gate Bridge, Quebec City’s Chateau Frontenac Hotel and more.

Our Wonders: The Two Dollar Coin

For the two dollar coin, Dr. Timothy Hsia designed a new coin known as Dance of the Spirits. The coin depicts the northern lights as Hsia feels they embody the unity and beauty of the nation.

At Colonial Acres, we can help you acquire the special 150th commemorative anniversary coins or any other coin you desire for your collection. We specialize in Canadian currency and can easily appraise your collection or help you find unique coins that you wish to own. Visit our site today to see the many services we provide our customers.