The Royal Ranadian Mint Reinvents the Coin With its First-ever Collectible in the Shape of a Real Cut Diamond

Ottawa, Ontario, March 3, 2020 – Breaking the mold to prove there can be more than two sides to a coin, the Royal Canadian Mint has proudly created a collectible in the three-dimensional shape of a real cut diamond. The 2020 $50 Fine Silver Diamond Shaped Coin – Forevermark^© Diamond is crafted from three ounces of 99.99% pure silver and is adorned by a 0.20-carat diamond from Northern Ontario's Victor Mine. The Mint's R&D team overcame many challenges to flawlessly strike this dramatically contoured coin and produce a luxury collectible that is also a unique engineering feat. This extraordinary creation, along with many other finely crafted collectibles, is available to the public as of today.

Yet another numismatic evolution comes from the Mint's R&D Lab Collection. The 2019 $2 Fine Silver Coin - Multilayered Polar Bear. The coin reinvents artist Brent Townsend's iconic $2 circulation coin polar bear design, as the design elements of its reverse appear on distinctly separate layers of engraving: the polar bear and outer ring area appear to float above the arctic seascape that is home to this icon of Canadian currency.

Turning to the past, the Mint has issued new coins recognizing symbols of history with the half-kilogram 2020 $125 Fine Silver Coin – 75^th Anniversary of UNESCO, featuring L'Anse aux Meadows Historic Site. The archeological remains of Canada's famous authenticated Viking settlement, located at the northwest tip of Newfoundland, come back to life on an illustration of bygone village life imagined by artist Rebecca Yanovskaya. This selectively gold-plated coin features a UNESCO privy mark, along with runic-style script and Viking scrollwork.

Fast-forwarding to early French and English settlement of Canada, the 2020 $10 Fine Silver Coin – 350^th Anniversary of Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) recreates HBC's trade token featuring the company's coat of arms, and is struck in a style that mimics the minting process of the period. The 2020 $10 Pure Gold Coin Relics of New France: Louis XIV 15 Sol, revives the regal elegance of a 450 year-old piece of colonial numismatic history, on a quarter ounce of
99.99% pure gold.

Other coins launching in March include:

• The 2020 $20 Fine Silver Coin – Mother Earth: Home, a Jamie Desrochers designed coin featuring a coloured view of Earth from the silvery surface of the moon, with black light technology that intensifies the Milky Way illustrated in the background;
• The 2020 $20 Fine Silver Coin – Bejewelled Bugs – Labybug, featuring the artwork of Jori van der Linde, adorned by a black and white rhodium-plated ladybug encrusted with garnet and sapphire gemstones;
• The gold-plated 2020 $50 Fine Silver Coin – Real Shapes: Beaver;
• The 2020 $50 Fine Silver Coin – Courageous Bald Eagle featuring artist Steve Hepburn's graceful perspective of an eagle soaring above a Canadian coast line;
• The 2020 $3 Fine Silver Coin – Floral Emblems of Canada – Ontario: White Trillium, the first of 13 Lisa Thomson-Khan-designed coins illustrating the official flowers of all of Canada's provinces and territories;
• The 2020 $10 Fine Silver Coin – Congratulations on Your Graduation, featuring the artwork of Jori van der Linde;
• The 2020 25-Cent Coin Set – Connecting Canada, a Tony Bianco-designed trio of coins celebrating each of Canada's three coasts;
• The 2020 Special Wrap Roll Collection – First Strikes, a set featuring special-wrapped rolls of every circulating coin denomination; and,
• The crystal-enhanced 2020 $5 Fine Silver Coin – Birthstones: March, featuring the artwork of Pandora Young.

Mintages, pricing and full background information on each product can be found on the "Shop" tab of www.mint.ca. Coin images are available here.

All of these products can be ordered directly from the Mint at 1-800-267-1871 in Canada,
1-800-268-6468 in the US, or on the Mint's web site. The coins are also available at Royal Canadian Mint boutiques in Ottawa and Winnipeg, as well as through our global network of dealers and distributors, including participating Canada Post outlets.

About the Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. The Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca. Follow the Mint on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

For more information, please contact:

Alex Reeves
Senior Manager, Public Affairs
Tel: (613) 884-6370
reeves@mint.ca