Seated at the very heart of the National Capital on a high promontory overlooking the mighty Ottawa River and the ancient Gatineau Hills beyond, Canada’s Parliament Buildings represent the centre of our unique democracy. Their hallowed walls house a stunning collection of thousands of works of Canadian sculptural art. The Royal Canadian Mint proudly showcases one of the many delights that grace these spaces with the first coin in its series featuring carvings inspired by the sculptural art of Parliament in 99.99% pure silver.

Own some of Canada’s most storied sculptural art! Order today!

• 99.99% PURE SILVER! Each piece in this three-coin series is engraved in ultra-high relief in 99.99% pure silver and features pieces from the East Block of Parliament,reinterpreted by Dominion Sculptor Phillip White. Coins in the series include:
• Coin 1: Grotesque Wild Green Man
• Coin 2: Grotesque Foliated Green Man
• Coin 3: Unveiling July 5th
• ULTRA-HIGH RELIEF! This expressive image seems to emerge from the coin face thanks to detailed engraving in ultra-high relief.
• EACH COIN HAS BEEN CAREFULLY CRAFTED TO REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE ORIGINAL SCULPTING TECHNIQUES! Royal Canadian Mint engravers worked closely with the Dominion Sculptor to interpret the designs, including reviewing the tools and techniques that would have been used to carve this type of art instone.
• Your coin is GST/HST exempt!

Design:
Engraved in ultra-high relief, your coin was inspired by pieces from the East Block of Parliament, reinterpreted by Dominion Sculptor Phillip White. This fierce and wild-eyed figure has ancient links to pre-Christian mythology and is believed to symbolizegrowth and rebirth, the cycles of life. He is often depicted with dense foliage, and here, his hair, brows, moustache and beard are made of leaves—a wildly mysterious grotesque exquisitely crafted in ultra-high relief.

Did you know…
The buildings that make up Parliament Hill represent some of the world’s most important examples of the Gothic Revival architectural style. The Centre Block, East Block, and West Block combine elements of this style, born in Medieval Europe, in a way that is uniquely Canadian—applying Canadian imagery and materials to the Gothic form’s characteristic buttresses, pointed archways, and extensive stonework. Canadians might be surprised to learn that there are thousands of works of carving and sculpture in and on the Parliament Buildings (about three thousand on the exteriors alone). This work includes sculptures of mythical animals and Canadian flora and fauna; decorative and ornamental carvings on doors, spandrels, and panels of stone and wood; wrought iron figures, finials, and grates; coats of arms and badges; high- and low-relief panels depicting historical figures and events (including a 16-panel frieze exploring 25,000 years in the history of the Canadian landmass and nation); busts, statuary, and likenesses; elaborately decorated vault ceilings; stunning stained glass works; and untold numbers of carved maple leaves.

The buildings also feature hundreds of grotesques, or carved fantastical ornamental figures, in wood and stone. In Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture, monsters and mythical creatures were a preferred subject for these grotesques. The design for this coin is drawn from a grotesque of a Wild Green Man figure found on the East Block of Parliament Hill. Generally comprising a man’s face made of or appearing within dense foliage, theGreen Man motif is said to symbolize annual and seasonal cycles and, more broadly, the notions of growth, rebirth, and resurrection. The wild, hairy, andmysterious Wild Man is a closely linked figure, also drawn from pre-Christian European mythology. In the Gothic Revival context, these carved figures areoften presented with ominous or humorous overtones.

• Hidden among the hundreds of carvings in theParliament Buildings are unicorns and dragons; whimsical likenesses such as those of ThomasFuller, the original architect of the first Centre Block, and John A. Pearson, who designed its replacement after it was gutted by fire on February 3, 1916; senatorial owls wearing wigs and holding shields; snarling gargoyles and chimeras; dinosaurs; winding telecommunications cables; figures from First Nations mythology; a senator playing golf; a three-tongued Member of Parliament giving a speech; a face with its finger beforeits mouth warning MPs to guard their secrets; and much more.
• For much of Parliament’s history, the Parliamentary carving shop was located in the basement of the Senate Chamber (Centre Block). Masons and carvers would work on site in summer when Parliament was not sitting, or at night—a work environment rife with irregularity and interruption. Eventually, the shop was relocated off site so that workers could retain regular working hours and work in natural light.
• The Centre Block’s carving work began in 1916 andis still underway. About 170 stone blocks included in the building’s original design have yet to be carved. The Canadian Parliament Buildings are the only North American federal government structures that still host this kind of full-time carving work beyond ongoing restoration.
• Canada has had five official state sculptors (known as the Federal Government Sculptor or the Dominion Sculptor), who are tasked with completinginterior and exterior décor, restoration, and preservation of the Parliament Buildings: Cléophas Soucy (1936-1949), William Oosterhoff (1950-1962), Eleanor Milne (1962-1993), Maurice Joanisse (1993-2006), and Phillip White (2006-present).
• In the 1990s, Dominion Sculptor Maurice Joanisse undertook the sizeable task of cataloguing every work of art on the exterior of the East, West, and Centre Blocks. He photographed and listed the condition, measurements, and history of each of these works. Some were in such poor repair that he was forced to stop his cataloguing process and fix them immediately. He ultimately compiled a database of more than 3,000 works on the exteriors of the buildings alone.

Packaging:
Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon clamshell with a black beauty box.

Order your coin today!