10 Dollars - Elizabeth II Sir John Alexander Macdonald

Issued in 2015 to mark the 200th anniversary of Macdonald's birth, this coin belongs to the RCM's ongoing commemorative program honoring Canadian prime ministers. Macdonald remains a persistently contested figure — the architect of Confederation in 1867 and the National Policy, but also the driving force behind the Indian Act of 1876 and the residential school system. The RCM issued the piece without editorial comment, which itself reflects the uncomfortable duality that surrounds his public memorialization in Canada.

The selective gold plating on this issue was applied at the Royal Canadian Mint's Winnipeg facility, which has handled collector finishing work since its opening in 1976.