2019-01-07 Mon

The Royal Canadian Mint will be releasing $1 and $2 circulating commemorative coins in 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality and to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, respectively. The $2 coin would be released in two versions, one would be plain and the other one would be coloured. The obverse side of all three coins would feature the common portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

The D-Day coins will feature four Canadian soldiers and one sailor in a landing craft, just about to land on the French beach which was code-named Juno Beach. A Royal Canadian Navy destroyer and two Royal Canadian Air Force barrage balloons and Spitfire are also depicted in the design. Other inscriptions in the reverse side include D-DAY, LE JOUR J, REMEMBER and SOUVENIR. The helmet of the middle soldier would be rendered in olive green in the coloured version. The text might also be inscribed in colour.

The reverse side of the $1 coin will feature two human faces overlapping each other inside a circle. The left half of the left face will face the front side and the right face will face left. The intersection of two faces forms a frontal face. The left ear of this face will feature a hoop earring. Other inscriptions include the texts EQUALITY and EGALITE. The Treasury Board Secretariat and the Privy Council Office’s LGBTQ2 Secretariat have come together to create this design.

There is a high demand for circulating commemorative coins as they are available at face value. Several such coins are not found in circulation as they are collected by coin lovers. Financial institutions will be distributing the new coins and some of them will be reserved for coin exchanges.

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