In Stock and Ready for Immediate Shipment!

Long SOLD OUT at the Royal Canadian Mint!

Amasterworkof wildlife fineart, a beaver family by artist Emily Damstra, is intricately renderedin puresilver on this meticulously engraved, HUGE and low mintage (1,500) fiveounce pure silver proof beauty!

Talisman Coins is proud to bring you the latest in the Royal CanadianMints CanadianWildlife Exploration Program, featuring realistic, naturalisticrepresentations of some of Canadas best-known animals! Theseoutstanding wildlifedesigns recall those found on oneof the most popular programs ever from the Royal Canadian Mint - the Wildlife Coin & StampsSets! Next up is thebeaver,one of the official national symbols of Canada,representative ofindustrious nature! Following hot on the heels of the extremelysuccessful introduction of the RobertBateman Moose Series (with coins available in silver, gold andplatinum), the beaveris certain to be as popular!

Investment Note—Wildlifethemes are always popular, and thisis the very first wildlife-themedfive ounce pure silver proof in Canadian history! The originalwork of art depicts a beaver family, and the mintage limit is low—sovery low, in fact (only 1,500 total), that we expected (and the Mint confirmed) a quick sell out!

A Highly Detailed, Original Work ofArt!
Thedesign by Canadian artist Emily Damstra features a portrait ofa beaverfamily,its members immersed in the work of felling trees for their dam, lodge,and food cache. On the left side of the image, a large beaver standsupright, hard at work chewing the trunk of a birch tree with its sharpincisors. Wood shavings cover the ground beneath the beaver’sfeet and around the base of the tree. Thebeaveritself stands on its back paws, counterbalanced by its large flat tail,holding the tree trunk with its dexterous front claws. Its small ears,eyes, and nose (which can seal themselves under water) are exquisitelyrendered in exceptionally fine detail. On the right side of the image,behind and to the side of the upright beaver, another adult beaver andsmall kit (cub or young beaver) work on either side of a felled log,trimming away bark and preparing the log for use. On the extreme leftof the image, the base of this felled tree is visible. The backgroundof the image reveals a large pond backed by mountainous forest. Thebeavers’ food cache emerges from the center of the pond.

Canadas First Currency!
"Busyas a beaver" refers to the hardworking and industrious nature of thisfurry critter. Along with theMountieand the mapleleaf, the beaverisconsidered one of the three iconic symbols of Canada. Its not widelyremembered today, but during the 1830s and 40s there was a fashioncraze in Europe for beaver-fur hats. This provided the livelihood forthe fur-trapping mountain men (voyageurs),who sold them to fur companies.These groups, including the HudsonBayCompany, in turn shipped millions of beaver pelts across the Atlantic -so many, in fact, the the beaver grew scarce and was endangered.Fortunately, the fashion died out in time for the beaver to be saved,allowing it to continue to dam streams and create new habitat for manyother creatures.

When trappers would bring their furs to the trading posts, somethingwas needed to represent the value of the pelts. At first, everythingfrom porcupine quills, ivory discs and bits of wood or bone wereused - anything that that the trapper and merchant agreed upon.

Asthe industry became more sophisticated, trade tokens began toappear. As the two parties went through the furs, tokens would beplaced on the counter. Once done, the trapper would use them topurchase goods from the store. Some trade tokens were square. Othersfeatured the prize of the fur trade that also reigns asone of Canadas earliest forms of currency - the beaver! A symbol ofearly Canadian frontier life, the beaver building a dam was featured onthe very first Canadian postagestamp in 1851! To this day, thebeaveris featured on the Canadian 5 cents (nickel) coin!

InvestmentNote
Thebeaveris one of the most popular of all Canadian animals, as featured on itslegal tender coinage and its postage stamps. In fact, the beaver is oneof the official symbols of Canada.This fiveounce, puresilver coin has a total mintage limit of only 1,500, the absolutelowest ever for a Canadian $50 5 ounce silverproof! Webelieve that this will be a very scarce issue, difficult to find in theaftermarket, once it is sold out atthe Mint.

TechnologyNote - Purity
The RoyalCanadian Mint refines the purest silver in the world. The RCM is alsothe only mint in the world to issue commemorative coinsin a.9999fineness.Thisfiveounce silver coin is 99.99% pure!

Ameticulously detailed and finelyengraved detail of a beaverfamily, felling a tree.The artistryis sosubtle and intricate that the individual hairs on the beavers fur coatcan be clearlydistinguished under a loupe. The traditional-styleengraving hasproduced a magnificent work of beauty. The date and denomination arealsoindicated.

Her Majesty, QueenElizabeth II, in profile facing right. This portrait, the fourth effigyofthe queen to appear on Canadian Coinage, was executed by the artistSusanna Blunt. The legend reads ELIZABETH II D. G. REGINA ("ElizabethII, Queen by the Grace of God").

The coin is encapsulatedinside aburgundy leatherette, clamshell-style presentation case, lined withblack velvet and protected by a full color, custom box. Anindividually-numbered certificate of authenticity is included.

Specifications

Canada’s National Animal: The Beaver
Along with the Canadian horse, the beaver is one of Canada’s twonational animals. While the beaver became an official symbol of Canadain 1975, its use as a symbol of this land goes back to thecountry’s earliest roots. In fact, a beaver appears on the firstcoat of arms associated with the land now known as Canada, dating backto the early 1620s.

Castor Canadensis played a major role in Canada’s colonialhistory, becoming one of the primary motivators for the Europeanexplorers of the 17th century to forego their search for a passage toAsia and focus instead on the natural resources offered by the NorthAmerican continent. With fur at its zenith in European fashions, beaverpelt hats became a product lucrative enough to feed settlement of the“new” continent by England and France.

The fur trade has long-since ended, and efforts to protect this amazinganimal began near the end of the 1800s, when beaver populations were indecline because of over hunting. Weighing up to 32 kilograms andmeasuring up to a metre in length, the beaver is the largest rodent inNorth America. Its sharp incisors fell about 200 trees annually, itspaddle-like tail acts as a rudder in the water and a counterweight onland, and its adaptations to its semi-aquatic lifestyle are striking.Transparent eye membranes allow beavers to see as well underwater as onland, while specialized ears and nostrils completely close underwater.Its webbed hind feet make excellent swimming paddles and its web-free,sharply clawed forepaws are extremely dextrous, allowing this engineerof the animal kingdom to build its own bodies of water using dams, thenconstruct an architecturally sound underwater lodge and mid-lake foodcache, as well as canals where necessary. Its savvy forepaws are alsohelpful for careful fine-tuning, digging, and transporting itsconstruction materials.

Found throughout Canada from the 49th parallel to the Arctic Ocean, thebeaver prefers water courses bordered by deciduous trees and shrubs.

The Coin
This 50-Dollar coin is certified to be 99.99% pure silver with adiameter of 65 millimetres and a metal weight of 5 ounces.

The reverse design by Canadian artist Emily Damstra features a portraitof a beaver family, its members immersed in the work of felling treesfor their dam, lodge, and food cache. On the left side of the image, alarge beaver stands upright, hard at work chewing the trunk of a birchtree with its sharp incisors. Wood shavings cover the ground beneaththe beaver’s feet and around the base of the tree. The beaveritself stands on its back paws, counterbalanced by its large flat tail,holding the tree trunk with its dextrous front claws. Its small ears,eyes, and nose—which can seal themselves under water—arerendered in fine detail. On the right side of the image, behind and tothe side of the upright beaver, another adult beaver and small kit workon either side of a felled log, trimming away bark and preparing thelog for use. On the extreme left of the image, the base of this felledtree is visible. The background of the image reveals a large pondbacked by mountainous forest. The beavers’ food cache emergesfrom the centre of the pond.

The image occupies the entire reverse field and is engraved with theword “CANADA,” the date “2013,” and the facevalue of “50 DOLLARS.” The obverse features the effigy ofHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.