2010 1/4oz $3 RETURN OF THE TYEE FINE SILVER COIN

Since time immemorial, the salmon has been an essential food source for the Northwest Coast people. A few weeks of intense work harvesting fish during the salmon run usually produced enough stores to meet their needs for the upcoming year enabling them to enjoy their leisure time.
There are many different species of salmon, each with its unique characteristics but all species begin their lives in freshwater streams, lakes or rivers, migrate to the ocean where they mature and return to their birthplace to spawn and die.
The largest species of Pacific salmon is the Chinook or Black Salmon. First Nations people called it the Tyee (meaning King). It generally weighs between 30 and 40 lbs and can measure 40 to 60 inches at maturity.
It is this predictability and rhythm that made the salmon highly symbolic as the “giver of life,” of prosperity, steadfastness and dependability. The salmon was often depicted in pairs as a sign of good luck.

specifications:

Face Value: 3 dollars
Mintage: 15,000
Composition: 99.99% pure silver
Weight (g): 7.96
Diameter (mm): 27
Edge: Serrated
Finish: Proof with selective gold plating (pink and yellow)
Certificate: Serialized

Special features:

•  Reverse is plated in pink and yellow gold.
•  Design is based on an original wood carving by Canadian artist Jody Broomfield.
•  Two Tyee salmon are positioned to represent the circle of life surrounded by a decorative band.