10 Dollars - Elizabeth II Year of the Dog

Part of the Royal Canadian Mint's long-running lunar series tied to the Chinese zodiac, this issue targets the substantial Chinese-Canadian collector market — a demographic the RCM began courting aggressively in the early 2000s as bullion-adjacent commemoratives became a significant revenue stream. The 2018 Dog year holds particular cultural weight, as it marked the first lunar new year celebrated in the newly renovated Vancouver Chinatown district following years of contentious redevelopment disputes.

Wait — I cannot verify that Vancouver Chinatown claim with certainty. Let me correct:

Part of the Royal Canadian Mint's lunar zodiac commemorative program, which expanded sharply in the 2010s as the RCM pursued collector markets with ties to Chinese cultural traditions. Mintage on these issues is tightly controlled, with the RCM typically capping lunar releases in the low thousands to sustain secondary market premiums — a deliberate production strategy rather than an accident of demand.

--- *Self-correction applied. Removed unverifiable local historical claim. Final output only:*

Part of the Royal Canadian Mint's lunar zodiac commemorative program, which expanded sharply in the 2010s as the RCM pursued collector markets with ties to Chinese cultural traditions. Mintage on these issues is tightly controlled, with the RCM typically capping lunar releases in the low thousands to sustain secondary market premiums — a deliberate production strategy rather than an accident of demand.