Post Your "Coins With Hands"

A circle of hands!

However, I think the nickel edges it out when you consider the hand size to coin diameter ratio.

Back to the subtle hands.

Here's Canada's 2014 silver $5 commemorative coin to celebrate Alice Munro winning the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature.

The coin's commemorative reverse depicts an open book with English prose on the left page, and the same passage in French is on the right. The text is handwritten, and a hand holding a pen and actively writing in the book is seen at the bottom of the design. A whispy image of a young woman is shown rising from the pen/page; it is meant to be symbolic of the many female characters in Munro's stories.

The coin's design is the work of Laurie McGaw, an artist who has created the design for more than 20 coins struck by the RCM.




For more about the coin:

- 201 Alice Munro $5.00 Silver Commemorative Coin

Two hands, two drumsticks and a drummer ready for a solo!

This 2013 coin from Canada and the Royal Canadian Mint (R C M) was struck to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Louisbourg. The original settlement grew into a fortified city that was an important military post and busy center of trade.

The $10 silver coin was available only in a proof version; it is one ounce of 0.999 fine silver with a diameter of 40 mm.

The first coin of the "Exploring Canada" series struck by the Royal Canadian Mint (R C M), this $15 silver coin is named "The Voyageurs." It presents a dynamic scene of five men shooting the rapids in a canoe that was typically used by those in the fur trade - the men in the canoe were voyageurs (aka travelers) who explored Canada, often in search of areas rich in animals (e.g., beavers) that could be hunted for their fur.

Both hands of all five men are holding oars and are actively engaged in steering or propelling the canoe through the river rapids they've encountered. A definite intense focus of "all hands" coin design!

I've always liked the energy of the scene portrayed on the reverse of the coin, and very much appreciate the design work of Canadian artist John Mantha.



If you'd like to learn more about the voyageurs and this coin, check out:

- 2014 Silver $15 - The Voyageurs

Vatican Pope Paul VI La Pieta medal.