Canada has a mesmerizing new 3D coin of the country's national animal
Canada’s national animal just got its very own coin, and you can own it for a hefty price.
The Royal Canadian Mint recently released the Canadian Symbol: The Beaver – Fine Silver Coin with a cool 3D design inspired by the semiaquatic rodent.
“An official emblem of Canada since 1975, the beloved beaver is a natural ecosystem engineer, known for altering the environment to suit its needs,” reads the coin description.
“Though many of Castor canadensis’ busy building activities are obscured from our land-based view, its labours are front and centre on this coin, where the two-sided design welcomes you into the beaver’s secret world by presenting different views of the same scene.”
Royal Canadian Mint
The design
Canadians who decide to add this coin to their collection will essentially get two designs in one.
The reverse shows a birds-eye view of a family of beavers — an adult male and female, and their two kits — building a lodge. The obverse depicts what’s happening underwater out of our eyelines, showing the underbellies of the beavers and their lodge.
The beavers are engraved in Extraordinarily High Relief (EHR) and plated with yellow gold.
Artist Maurade Baynton designed the coin, who says she first rendered the design in clay.
Royal Canadian Mint
“It gave me the opportunity to line up and view the elements three-dimensionally, both above the waterline and below,” she explained.
Baynton collaborated with 3D artist-engraver Aida Alves to bring the beavers to life.
“Maurade Baynton’s clay sculpture served as my main reference, and I enjoyed translating her detailed art into engraved relief,” said Alves.
“I feel like my addition of the lily pads and ripples in the water not only made the design more production-friendly, it also made the beavers’ environment more authentic and realistic. This was a true blend of artistic vision, engineering precision and teamwork, which made this project both challenging and fun!”
How Canadians can collect this coin
Royal Canadian Mint
Collectors can purchase this coin on the Mint’s site, but it’ll cost more than the change in your wallet. It has a mintage of 2,750 and is being sold for $479.95.
If you don’t want to pay half of your rent for this, you can also wait for the Mint’s latest circulation coin to land in your change.