The Silver Dart commemorates the February 1909 flight of the AEA Silver Dart at Baddeck, Nova Scotia — the first powered, heavier-than-air flight in Canada and within the British Empire. The aircraft was designed by a syndicate that included Alexander Graham Bell and J.A.D. McCurdy, who piloted it himself. The Royal Canadian Mint launched this $20 fine silver series in 1988 specifically to fund itself through collector premiums rather than circulation revenue, a funding model that proved durable enough to sustain dozens of subsequent issues through the 1990s.
The Silver Dart commemorates the February 1909 flight of the AEA Silver Dart at Baddeck, Nova Scotia — the first powered, heavier-than-air flight in Canada and within the British Empire. The aircraft was designed by a syndicate that included Alexander Graham Bell and J.A.D. McCurdy, who piloted it himself. The Royal Canadian Mint launched this $20 fine silver series in 1988 specifically to fund itself through collector premiums rather than circulation revenue, a funding model that proved durable enough to sustain dozens of subsequent issues through the 1990s.