In addition to silver dollars, I also make a habit of collecting
RCM coins that depict the bald eagle in a natural setting. In 2019, the
RCM issued two such coins. One was the Valiant Eagle $20 piece (you can read my post about it here:
2019 Valiant Eagle), the other was its Bald Eagle Reflection Silver $20 coin.
I'm not generally a fan of colourized coins and have never purchased one of the Mint's coins that requires a black light to experience the coin's special effects. I've made an exception regarding coloured coins within the
RCM's series of bald eagle coins because the design on each has included extensive engraving vs. just a flat painted-on image. When the Bald Eagle Reflection coin came out, I gave it a quick look but didn't buy it from the
RCM because I felt it was a bit pricey at $119.95 (~$94 USD) and it seemed to rely too much on technology vs. traditional engraving for its design. My stance softened over time as I looked at it more closely and began to appreciate the level of engraved detail that I initially overlooked. I decided that if I someday came across the coin at a more budget-friendly asking price I would go for it.
While searching
ebay recently for something else entirely, I came across an auction for one of the Bald Eagle Reflection coins with a very low starting price of just $0.99 USD; the current bid on the coin was $8.00. The auction had a few days left, so I expected the price to advance but decided to keep an eye on it in case its high bid remained low. When I went back to check on the coin the day it closed, the leading bid amount had, as expected, increased but had risen to just over $20 USD. I went back to the lot at its closing time, jumped in and wound up winning the coin for just $28.74 USD (~$36 CAD). At about 30% of issue, I feel I got a great price - I was willing to pay more!
The coin's eagle side was designed by Julius T. Csotonyi. Mr. Csotonyi, per his web site, is a "paleoartist (dinosaurs and prehistoric subjects), wildlife artist and scientific illustrator." He has designed more than two dozen coins for the
RCM, most of which are in his core areas of focus; many of the coins are colourized. You can learn more about him at his web site here:
https://www.csotonyi.com (though it does appear to be a bit out of date). If you search the
RCM web site for "Csotonyi" you can view the various coins he has designed.
(Note: Most of his coins have been archived, so you will need to view the "Archives" tab of the search results.)The coin depicts a bald eagle swooping down with its talons extended in a position to grab a fish from the lake beneath it. Translucent blue enamel is used to create the sense of water but it does so without obscuring what lies beneath the lake's surface - fully-engraved fish and plant life are clearly visible. The landscape behind the eagle is unadorned and finely engraved.
The coin's colourization is directed toward the bald eagle and to creating a bright blue sky.
The coin came with a blacklight flashlight that is used to change the colours visible on the coin. When the blacklight is turned to the coin, its blue sky turns into one of various shades of red, orange and yellow as is often seen with a setting sun; the orange-tinged sky is visibly reflected on the surface of the lake. I can say with certainty, I won't be a regular user of the blacklight - my viewing of the coin will almost always take place under normal light conditions!
The coin was struck on a one-ounce 0.9999 fine silver planchet with a proof finish; its diameter is 38 millimeters and its edge is reeded/serrated. The
RCM web site lists the coin's mintage limit as 4,000. It's unclear to me if sales of the coin reached the maximum before it was removed from sale - I saw the status of the coin go from "Add to Cart" to "Awaiting Stock" to "Archived" without making a stop at "Sold Out." The coin had just completed a year of being on sale when it was archived - maybe the
RCM took the coin off sale prior to it selling out because its sales period expired?
Overall, I believe the coin is a nice addition to my Bald Eagle coin collection and one that came at a great price! There are definitely bargains out there for the Canadian NCLT collector who surveys today's marketplace!
Posted 01/30/2020 10:42 pm
