RCM New Releases: 2017 Pure Gold Coin - Great Canadian Explorers Series: Alexander Mackenzie

Royal Canadian Mint - Designed by Canadian artist John Mantha, your coin features a full-length portrait of the great explorer, Sir Alexander Mackenzie. Painstakingly engraved in meticulous detail, the scene captures Mackenzie's expedition at the westernmost point of their transcontinental voyage, in a breathtaking inlet surrounded by rocky peaks. Here, the waters of the Pacific in the background seem to sparkle with a golden gleam, thanks to the coin's surface and the polished finish. In the foreground, Mackenzie stands at the water's edge where he has inscribed the words "Alex Mackenzie from Canada by land 22d July 1793" on a large rock, as evidence of the explorer's passage and his epic journey. Instrumental to the success of this expedition is a Nuxalk guide, who is pictured at bottom left with his back turned to the viewer; to the right of Mackenzie stands a member of his expedition, while another helps to carry the dugout canoe loaned by the Nuxalk over the shallow water. The entirety of your coin's design boasts a high degree of historical accuracy—particularly in its depiction of the clothing worn by the voyageurs and the traditional cedar hat of the Nuxalk; the coin truly shines as an artistic piece, and an everlasting snapshot of a historic moment in Canadian history.

2017 Pure Gold Coin - Great Canadian Explorers Series: Alexander Mackenzie


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