The first $20 silver coin in the series - "A Day in the Life of a Bald Eagle" - was released by the Royal Canadian Mint In 2014. It was an unadorned silver coin, and followed the 2013 four-coin Bald Eagle $20 series.
Presented here is the "Bald Eagle with Fish" coin. Its reverse design presents a Bald Eagle
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in "hunter" mode just moments after catching a fish in its sharp talons; it is depicted rising from the water to return with its prey to its nest. A rocky shoreline with a few trees is seen behind the eagle in the background. Claudio D'Angelo is the Quebec-based artist responsible for the design. D'Angelo also designed the other $20 coins in the 2014 series - the colourized "Soaring Bald Eagle," and the selectively-gold-plated "Perched Eagle." (Here's a link to my post on the
Soaring Bald Eagle Coin; a post about the "Perched Eagle" will follow at a future date.)
The coin's obverse features the Susanna Blunt, right-facing portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
From the Mint's web page for the coin:
An apex predator with no natural enemies as an adult, the Bald Eagle has long been a potent symbol of vision, power,and stoicism. The adult boasts a wing span of more than 2 metres, a standing height of about 1 metre, and an average weight of up to 7 kilograms. Nesting in tall trees near large bodies of water and well away from human habitation, Bald Eagles survive on a diet of fish, birds, invertebrates, and small mammals, but are opportunistic feeders who will also steal from other predators and eat carrion.The coin was struck on a one-ounce 0.9999 fine silver planchet (31.39 grams) as a proof coin. It had a maximum stated mintage of 8,500, and, per the Mint's 2014
Annual Report, sold 7,235 units - ~85% of the Mint's stated maximum. The issue price for the coin was $89.95 (CAD) [~$73.00 USD at the time]. As with the other coins in the series, the "Bald Eagle with Fish" coin has a serrated/reeded edge and is 38 millimeters in diameter.
2014 Bald Eagle with Fish $20 Silver Coin - Reverse
For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more on Canadian commemoratives, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 10/23/2022 09:13 am
