A work by famed Canadian aboriginal artist Bill Reid is featured on a new first-of-its-kind collector coin just released by the Royal Canadian Mint.
The coin is the world’s first 10-kilogram gold coin of 99.999 percent purity. Its $100,000 face value also makes it the world’s highest denomination 10 kg gold coin and highest denomination non-circulation coin.
Measuring 180 millimetres (7 inches), the coin is large enough to do justice to Reid’s sculpture “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii,” which is featured on the reverse side. The obverse shows the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, by Susanna Blunt.
It was back in 1985 that Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson commissioned Reid to produce a sculpture for the new Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. The result was “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Black Canoe,” which is cast in bronze and represents Reid’s largest and most complex sculpture standing almost four metres in height and weighing 4,900 kilos.
Recognized for inspiring a renaissance in Haida art, Reid, who died in 1998, is an internationally celebrated sculptor, carver, and master goldsmith. He was a member of the Haida First Nation and had a fascination with the Haida art tradition, making it his creative subject matter.
Over the course of his life, Reid created more than 1,500 works. “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii” is considered his masterpiece and brought him international acclaim.
A second casting of Reid’s sculpture, named “The Jade Canoe,” graces the terminal of the Vancouver International Airport. The original plaster pattern of the monument is displayed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.
“The Spirit of Haida Gwaii” and another of Reid’s sculptures, “Raven,” were featured on the $20 note in the Bank of Canada’s 2004 Canadian Journey issue.
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii collector coin was on display at various Mint boutiques across the country on Oct. 22 and 23, and is available directly from the Mint in Canada and the U.S.
The price of the coin is a combination of the gold market rate at the time of purchase plus a premium for its manufacturing and very limited mintage, according to the Mint. No more than 15 of the exclusive coins will be crafted.
Between October 2011 and January 2012, the Mint will also release five new circulation coins celebrating Parks Canada’s centennial year.
The commemorative coins aim to immortalize Canadians’ pride in their natural heritage and capture their trademark passion for the great outdoors. The coins will include the 2011 Parks Canada Centennial one-dollar coin, the 2011 Boreal Forest two-dollar coin, and three new 25-cent coins featuring the orca, the peregrine falcon, and the wood bison.
The one-dollar coin began circulating in mid-October, and will be followed by the remaining coins later this year and in early 2012.
