Commems Collection Canadian: 2002 Battle Of Vimy Ridge 85th Anniversary

Continuing my look at some of Canada's non-circulating legal tender ("NCLT") five-cent coins...


In 2002, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a NCLT commemorative five-cent coin to mark the 85th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge during World War I ("WWI"). The Battle took place from April 9, 1917 to April 12, 1917; it claimed the lives of ~3,600 Canadian soldiers and an overall Canadian casualty count of more than 11,000.

The Battle primarily pitted Canadian forces against a German Army entrenched upon the strategic Vimy Ridge, but British troops served in various supporting roles.

From the Canadian War Museum web site:

"The seven-kilometre long Vimy Ridge in northern France, near Arras, held a commanding view over the surrounding countryside. Previous unsuccessful French and British attacks had suffered over 150,000 casualties.

In early 1917, British High Command ordered the Canadian Corps to capture the position as part of a larger spring offensive in the Arras area. In the coming campaign, British forces to the south would have limited success, and the French would fail badly, with many of their units reduced to mutiny. The Canadian attack against Vimy Ridge would be spectacular by comparison."

The success of the Canadian forces - all four Canadian divisions fought together for the first time in Word War I - shouldn't be underestimated. Once again, from the Canadian War Museum web site:

"The victory at Vimy was a defining event for Canada, considered by many contemporaries and later scholars to be a significant event in Canada's progress to full independence from Britain."

For a great overview of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, I suggest:

- The Vimy Foundation - History of Vimy Ridge

The obverse of the coin features the Dora de Pedery-Hunt portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (facing right).

The reverse design presents the twin pylons of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial (in France) in the background; one pylon represents Canada, the other France - they stand side-by-side representing the friendship between the two nations and the common sacrifices they each experienced in World War I.

Also depicted (at left) is a close-in view of "Canada Bereft" - a statue of an allegorical figure representing a young Canada facing east and mourning over the loss of many of Canada's fallen WWI soldiers; it stands in the center at the front of the Memorial. The coin's imagery is based on the Memorial's designs by Canadian artist/sculptor Walter Seymour Allward (b. 1874; d. 1955); it was engraved by Susan Taylor of the Royal Canadian Mint.

The pylons stand 100 feet (30 meters) above the Memorial's base. The "Canada Bereft" statue is ~10 feet tall (~3 meters).

The coin had an issue price of $16.95 (CAD) and has a published final mintage of 22,646 coins (Maximum Mintage: 40,000). Its composition is Sterling Silver (92.5% Silver, 7.5% Copper), with a diameter of 21.20 millimeters and a weight of 5.35 grams.

2002 Battle of Vimy Ridge 85th Anniversary Five Cents Coin


2002 Battle of Vimy Ridge 85th Anniversary Five Cents Coin - Outer Sleeve



Other of my posts about commemorative five-cent pieces can be read here:

- 2001 Royal Military College 125th Anniversary
- 2004 60th Anniversary Of D-Day - Coin & Medallion Set
- 2005 60th Anniversary Of V E Day - Coin & Medallion Set


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more Canadian numismatics stories, see: Commems Collection