Five circulating coins to mark Parks centennial

By Serge Pelletier

Representatives of the Government of Canada, Parks Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mint revealed five new commemorative circulation coins during a ceremony at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que., on Oct. 7.

Billed as part of the centennial celebrations of Parks Canada, the series is composed of $1 and $2 coins and three 25-cent pieces, all with environment-related designs.

"This new series of commemorative coin from the Royal Canadian Mint captures the essence of Canada's natural, historical, and cultural treasures," said Peter Kent, environment minister and minister responsible for Parks Canada.

The $1 coin, which was put into circulation on Oct. 7, commemorates the centennial of the founding of the Dominion Parks Branch in 1911 with a busy design that features "stylized land, air, and aquatic fauna; varieties of flora; a symbolic park building; and the silhouette of a hiker framed by a snow-capped mountain range." The word "DOLLAR" is at 3 o'clock. Below it, one can read "PARKS / CANADA / PARCS / CANADA" in four lines with "1911 / 2011" in two lines to the right. The legend "CANADA" is along the beading between noon and 3 o'clock in a font size smaller than the rest of the text. The mintage has been set to five million pieces.

The $2 coin depicts our boreal forest to mark the declaration of 2011 as the International Year of Forest by the United Nations. The boreal forest is the world's largest ecosystem. Half of Canada's landmass is covered by boreal forest from New Brunswick to the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. The boreal forest is defined by coniferous and hardy deciduous trees adapted to long winters and short growing seasons. The coin shows different tree species flanked by the silhouettes of a man and a bird. The legend "BOREAL FOREST" follows the edge of the centre portion of the coin from 8 to 11 o'clock. The French equivalent, "FORÊT BORÉALE," is displayed from 1 to 4 o'clock. The outer ring bears the normal legend of "CANADA," from 10 to 2 o'clock and "2 DOLLARS" from 8 to 4 o'clock. Five million pieces will be put into circulation in November.

The three 25-cent pieces depict indigenous Canadian animals in an aboriginal style. Half of the pieces put into circulation will be colourized.

The first 25-cent piece features a wood bison. Though far less prominent than its cousin, the plain-dwelling North American bison, the wood bison was reduced to mere hundreds by over-hunting. Thanks to the tireless work of Parks Canada in Wood Buffalo and Elk Island national parks, the nearly extinct wood bison population has bounced back to more than 10,000 strong. This 2011-dated coin will be put into circulation in February 2012.

The second 25-cent piece features an orca, better known as a killer whale. This iconic inhabitant of Canada's Pacific waters also visits the Atlantic shorelines. It has a great cultural significance for First Nations people of the West Coast. Also endangered, large pods of this highly social marine mammal find sanctuary near the British Columbia mainland in places such as the Gulf Island National Park Reserve of Canada and the Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve. This 2011-dated coin will be put into circulation in March 2012.

The last 25-cent piece features the peregrine falcon, which was nearly wiped out by the use of DDT in the 1950s and 1960s. But countless volunteer efforts in cities across Canada and protected wilderness habitats such as New Brunswick's Fundy National Park have saved this bird species. The peregrine falcon is equally at home in urban and natural environments, making it one of the rare wildlife inhabitants in city skyscrapers. This 2011-dated coin will be put into circulation in April 2012.

The mintage for each of the 25-cent coins has been set at 12.5 million pieces, half of which will be enhanced by the addition of colour behind the animal: green for the bison, blue for the orca, and yellow for the falcon.

November 8, 2011 to November 21, 2011 issue of Canadian Coin News