5 Cents - Elizabeth II The Beaver

The beaver nickel it references dates to 1937, when the Canadian government commissioned artist Emanuel Hahn to redesign the circulating coinage. His beaver reverse was chosen in part as a deliberate assertion of Canadian identity distinct from purely British iconography — the animal had been a national symbol since the Hudson's Bay Company era and appeared on Canada's first adhesive postage stamp in 1851. This oversized .9999 fine silver restrike belongs to the RCM's ongoing bullion and collector series revisiting classic circulation designs at substantial scale.