Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Cents - Elizabeth II Vancouver Island Marmot
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2019 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Cents |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The obverse features the fourth effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt, depicting the monarch as a mature woman facing right, bare-headed, wearing a necklace and drop earrings. The legend ELIZABETH II D•G•REGINA arcs along the upper periphery, while the denomination 50 CENTS appears in the lower field. The initials SB, denoting the engraver Susanna Blunt, are present near the truncation of the portrait. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a finely detailed, naturalistic rendering of a Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) depicted in profile facing left, seated on a rocky outcrop. The animal's dense, dark-brown fur is rendered with fine engraving lines conveying texture and volume. The legend CANADA arcs boldly along the upper periphery, the date 2019 appears to the right of the central device, and the binomial scientific name Marmota vancouverensis curves along the lower field in italic lettering. The engraver's initials JK are visible in the lower right field. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Vancouver Island marmot is one of the rarest mammals in the world, with wild populations collapsing to as few as 30 individuals in the early 2000s before an aggressive captive breeding program — coordinated through the Marmot Recovery Foundation and multiple Canadian zoos — began reversing the decline. By 2019, numbers had climbed back above 200, making this coin's issue year a meaningful marker in that recovery arc rather than an arbitrary selection.