50 Cents - Elizabeth II Wood Ducklings

The 1996 Canadian fifty-cent silver coin featuring wood ducklings was part of the RCM's ongoing wildlife series that drew serious collector interest throughout the 1990s — a period when the mint was aggressively expanding its numismatic programs to offset declining circulating coin revenues. These were sold directly to collectors and never entered general circulation, which is why worn examples essentially don't exist.

Wood ducks nest in tree cavities, sometimes well over a mile from water, and the newly hatched ducklings must leap from heights of up to 60 feet on their first day of life. The RCM's choice of this subject was deliberate — charismatic wildlife sold.