2017 $15 CELEBRATION OF SPRING: LILAC BLOSSOMS FINE SILVER COIN

One of the loveliest signs of spring, the lilac blooms as the weather warms! Its showy blooms add a sweet perfume to the gentlest breeze while peppering the landscape with lush sprigs of purple, pink or white. This fine silver coin presents a colourful celebration to that harbinger of warmer days, the lilac, whose clustered blossoms lead the charge of May and June's flowers in Canada.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
SRP: $69.95
Item Number: 159083
UPC: 6-23932-08335-6
Composition: 99.99% pure silver
Mintage: 10,000
Weight (g): 23.17
Diameter (mm): 36.07
Face Value: $15
Finish: Proof
Edge: Serrated
Artist: Jan Poynter
Packaging: Maroon clamshell with black beauty box

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Celebrate the colourful beauty of the season with an equally colourful coin!
• Detailed engraving presents the lilac in a traditional style. It’s a fitting ode to a plant species steeped in history around the world, but also in Canada, where a uniquely Canadian variety was introduced almost 100 years ago!
• The application of soft mauve and deep green colour recreate the pleasing hues of a lilac shrub in full bloom—you can almost smell its sweet fragrance in the close-up view of the bloom’s perfectly curled petals!
• A marvellous addition to any floral or nature-themed collection, and a superb gift for the nature lover in all of us!

DESIGN
The reverse design by Canadian artist Jan Poynter combines life-like colour and detailed engraving to recreate the springtime display of a lilac in full bloom. This depiction showcases the Preston lilac (Syringa x prestoniae), which was created in 1920 at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Ontario, by Canada’s first female hybridist: Isabella Preston (1881-1965). The realistic representation of this late blooming, Canadian variety is in keeping with the style of traditional botanical illustrations, which is particularly fitting given the lilac’s rich history. The application of vivid mauve and deep green colours capture the magnificence of the blooms and foliage; but a separate depiction of a branch beneath the shrub highlights the more tubular, open-flowering nature of the Preston ‘Isabella’ (Villosae Group) blossoms. To the left is a close-up view of the purple blooms that have become synonymous with the uplifting fragrance and colours of spring.