2013 1oz $20 CANADIAN MAPLE CANOPY: SPRING FINE SILVER COIN

Theme:
This coin is the first in the Royal Canadian Mint’s exciting new series showcasing Canada’s magnificent maple trees from an entirely new and unique perspective, adding creative interest to this ever-popular Canadian icon.

Description:
This coin is certified to be 99.99% pure silver with a diameter of 38 millimetres and a metal weight of 31.39 grams. The reverse design by Canadian artist Emily Damstra presents the classic Canadian maple from a novel angle, looking upward at the trunk and tree canopy from below. The lower half of the reverse image is dominated by the gnarled trunk of a massive maple tree. Its thick branches reach upward and outward toward the canopy which, in the perspective of the image, appears in the distant background against the sky. Trunk, branches, and leaves are rendered in textural and tonal detail to reinforce the image’s sense of height and depth. The design fills the entire reverse field and is engraved with the word “CANADA,” the date “2013,” and the face value of “20 DOLLARS.” The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.

Special Features:

• This is the first coin in a new series by the Royal Canadian Mint showcasing Canada’s magnificent maple trees from unique perspectives.
• A stunning depiction of an important Canadian icon, the Sugar Maple Tree.
• A coin that is both engraved and coloured to provide the optimal balance and beauty the image has to offer.
• An excellent gift and beautiful addition to any collection featuring natural imagery, unique artwork, or Canadianna

Product Specifications:
Face Value:20 dollars
Mintage:7,500
Composition:99.99% fine silver
Weight (g):31.39
Diameter (mm):38
Edge:Serrated
Finish:Proof
Certificate:Serialized
Artist:
Emily Damstra

Packaging:
Coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint- branded maroon clamshell case lined with a black flock and protected by a black sleeve.

Finished Packaging Size: 67 mm x 67 mm

Advertising Date: April 2, 2013
Launch Date: April 9, 2013
Future Coins: 2013 $20 Fine Silver Coin - Canadian Maple Canopy (Fall)

Complete Certificate Text:

A Fresh Perspective on An Old Friend
The Maple

OH, tenderly deepen the woodland glooms,
And merrily sway the beeches;
Breathe delicately the willow blooms,
And the pines rehearse new speeches;
The elms toss high till they brush the sky,
Pale catkins the yellow birch launches,
But the tree I love all the greenwood above
Is the maple of sunny branches.

Let who will sing of the hawthorn in spring,
Or the late-leaved linden in summer;
There’s a word may be for the locust-tree,
That delicate, strange new-comer;
But the maple it glows with the tint of the rose
When pale are the spring-time regions,
And its towers of flame from afar proclaim
The advance of Winter’s legions.

And a greener shade there never was made
Than its summer canopy sifted,
And many a day as beneath it I lay
Has my memory backward drifted
To a pleasant lane I may walk not again,
Leading over a fresh, green hill,
Where a maple stood just clear of the wood—
And oh, to be near it still!

-- Canadian poet Charles G.D. Roberts in Orion, and Other Poems (1880)

To perch on a moss-covered boulder in the heart of the woods, lean against the broad trunk of a towering sugar maple, and gaze up at the green vault above: this is to experience the Canadian forest at its finest. Idling away a few careless moments in the presence of this wise old species allows us to journey backward in our own memories, to explore a daydreamed future, and to rest in the serenity of the present. The maple canopy connects land and sky, shade and light, tree and tree, human and heavens.

In a land dominated by vast woodlands, it is no surprise that the maple is considered a national treasure and symbol of a people. It has played a key role in Canada’s development as a nation. From the earliest First Nations peoples to the European explorers, the settlers and, ultimately, those who manage today’s forestry and tourism industries, Canadians have always found the maple to be a beautiful and important resource.

For approximately 200 years, the maple leaf symbol has been associated specifically with Canada and Canadians. In 1965, the maple leaf became the centrepiece of Canada’s most important national emblem—the Canadian flag. On April 25, 1996, the Deputy Registrar of Canada proclaimed the maple tree (genus Acer, representing the 10 species found in Canada) the country’s official arboreal emblem, citing the maple leaf’s historical role as a symbol of national identity, the important part the genus has played in the country’s historical and commercial development, the maple’s aesthetic importance to Canadians, and the tree’s role as an important environmentally
sustainable economic resource.