2018-12-25 Tue

On 4th December, the Royal Canadian Mint released a 10-ounce silver coin with gold plating featuring a Lion Statue guarding the Central Block entrance of Canadian parliament in Ottawa. It’s the last coin from Keepers of Parliament series. The series comprises of four coins honouring the important statues at the Parliament building. The mint would now be introducing the Zodiac series of $5 coins in 2019.

A fire had destroyed the Parliament building in 1916 and the lion statue was built after the tragic event. Many such stone gargoyles and friezes can be seen in the Gothic style hall. A Unicorn statue can be seen facing the Lion statue. Lion statues are also built in the government chambers, indicating that Canada was closely related to England.

The lion holds a Union Jack in one hand and Canada’s national shield in the other. These two design elements are highlighted using gold plating. The obverse features a gilded bust of Queen Elizabeth II. The rims of obverse and reverse are also gilded.

Other coins in the series feature the beaver, a soldier in World War I uniform and unicorn. All of them have gold plating on some sections, the rims, and the bust of Queen Elizabeth on the obverse. Each coin in the series is priced at $949.95 Canadian.

12 silver $5 coins will be released on a monthly basis in 2019. The coins will feature the constellation representing a particular sign in colour. The first one was released on 4th December 2018 showing the Zodiac sign Capricorn. The dark-blue night sky marks the Capricorn constellation with yellow-coloured stars along with other white-coloured stars. A ring of Swarovski crystals is embedded around the circular enamelled region. Each coin from the Zodiac series can be purchased for $54.95 Canadian.

Image Courtesy: Royal Canadian Mint