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500 Dollars - Elizabeth II Mythical Realms of the Haida: The Eagle
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2016 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Dollars |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse features a boldly stylized depiction of the Eagle rendered in the traditional two-dimensional art form of the Haida people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. The majestic bird is shown in a frontal, heraldic composition with wings spread and talons visible, executed in deeply incised black outlines with selectively applied red enamel highlights that accentuate key formline elements of the design. The artist's initials 'AW' appear discreetly in the lower right field. The legend 'CANADA' arcs vertically along the left border of the field, while '500 DOLLARS' and '2016' are inscribed in two lines along the right border. The entire design is set against the warm lustrous surface of the 99.99% pure gold planchet, creating a striking contrast between the indigenous artwork and the precious metal ground. |
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| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | 2016 - Proof - 50 |
| Additional information |
The Haida are a Northwest Coast people whose oral traditions predate European contact by millennia — the Eagle, one of the two primary moieties of Haida social structure, is not merely a symbol but a kinship designation that determines marriage eligibility, ceremonial role, and clan identity to this day. That the Royal Canadian Mint commissioned this series reflects a broader post-2010 institutional effort to produce collaboratively designed Indigenous issues rather than appropriated imagery, though the specific artist collaboration details for this release are not uniformly documented in public mint records.
The .9999 fine standard used here was adopted by the RCM in the 1980s and remains a point of genuine technical distinction — four-nines purity requires electrolytic refining processes that most sovereign mints do not maintain at this scale.