Commems Collection Canadian: 2014 Perched Bald Eagle Silver $20

Here's the third of three $20 silver coins from the series - "A Day in the Life of a Bald Eagle." As with the other two $20 coins, it was released by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2014. Setting it apart from the other silver coins in the series is its selective gold-plating which is used to highlight the Bald Eagle.

The coin's reverse design presents a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) as it is about to bring its catch back to its nest in a pine tree. It follows in activity sequence the "Bald Eagle with Fish" coin I previously posted. The design presents the Bald Eagle with its wings uplifted as it slows to land on the tree seen at left. The high elevation of the Eagle's nest is alluded to via the stylized - but unadorned - clouds presented in the background.

Once again, Claudio D'Angelo, a Quebec-based artist, was responsible for the design. D'Angelo designed all three of the 2014 $20 silver Bald Eagle coins of the "A Day in the Life" series - the colourized "Soaring Bald Eagle" and the unadorned "Bald Eagle with Fish." (See below for links to my previous posts on the Bald Eagle $20 coins.)

The coin's obverse features the Susanna Blunt, right-facing portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

From the Mint's web page for the coin:

Bald Eagles nest across much of Canada, from the Yukon eastward to Newfoundland. They are most common along the Pacific coast, but concentrations also occur in the prairie provinces, northwestern Ontario, parts of Quebec, and on Cape Breton Island. Bald Eagles are protected in Canada and the United States.

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 8,329 units - a near sell-out. The issue price for the coin was $114.95 (CAD) [~$93.00 USD at the time]. As with the other coins in the series, the "Perched Bald Eagle" coin has a serrated/reeded edge and is 38 millimeters in diameter; the edge is gold-plated.

I enjoy having the three coins of the Mint's "Day in the Life of a Bald Eagle" in my collection. I find their designs interesting and well-executed, and I like their use of three different presentation styles: unadorned, colourized and selectively gold-plated. I also like the fact that they combine to tell a cohesive story.

2014 Perched Bald Eagle $20 Silver Coin with Selective Gold-plating


To read about the other two $20 silver coins in the "A Day in the life of a Bald Eagle" series, check out:

- 2014 Soaring Bald Eagle
- 2014 Bald Eagle with Fish


For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more on Canadian commemoratives, see: Commems Collection.