2013 1 oz Canadian Silver Wood Bison Coin Wildlife Series

Sixth and final coin in the Royal Canadian Mint’s Bullion Silver Maple Leaf Wildlife series – the Wood Bison. The Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae), a subspecies of the American Bison, is Canada’s largest terrestrial mammal. It lives in parts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory, and Northwest Territories where it favors the wet meadows found in open boreal and aspen forests. The wood bison is protected under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, which lists it as Threatened. This engraved fine silver coin has a diameter of 38 millimeters. The reverse image, designed by Canadian artist Emily Damstra, shows a wood bison galloping – its strength and endurance on display. A bison herd would run from any animal that might be a real threat to a small or weak member of the herd, though a healthy adult male such as the one shown is not likely to be attacked. The reverse is engraved with the word CANADA and the words FINE SILVER and ARGENT PUR. The obverse features the date 2013 the face value of 5 DOLLARS and the effigy of Her Majesty Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt. The wood bison is uniquely Canadian: in its natural state, it only occurs in Canada. It is also the largest land mammal in North America often reaching two metres in height and weighing over 900 kilograms, mirroring our vast land’s massivity and power. Despite their great size and abundance—its population was once over 168,000—these great foragers were reduced to a few hundred at the dawn of the twentieth century. In Wood Buffalo and Elk Island National Parks, the Parks Canada Agency has worked with great care and tenacity to bring the wood bison back from the brink of extinction, successfully growing their number back to over 10,000. Long an example of humanity’s destructive power, the bison has, for far longer, been a Canadian icon, symbol of the West, and a core component of the pantheon of Canadiana. Through its successful rehabilitation, the story of the wood bison may now also become one of Canadian conservation’s success stories. Emily S. Damstra is a natural science illustrator who draws and paints zoological, botanical, anthropological, and paleontological subjects. Her illustrations may be seen on interpretive signs in museums, zoos, and natural areas as well as in many different publications, including the books Guide to Great Lakes Fishes by Gerald R. Smith (University of Michigan Press 2010) and The Atlantic Coast; A Natural History by Harry Thurston (Greystone Books 2011). She has a Master of Fine Arts degree in science illustration and her works have won awards in the juried natural science exhibits of the New York State Museum (Focus on Nature) and the Botanical Artists of Canada. Emily has always lived in the Great Lakes Region, where time spent gardening, hiking, and reading fuels her deep appreciation for the local environment. She works out of her home studio in Kitchener, Ontario. The Coins will come in Direct-Fit Air-Tite Plastic Holders, 15 Coins or more could be shipped in original Canadian Mint Tube upon request. Face Value: 5 dollars Composition: 99.99 % pure silver Diameter (mm): 38 Edge: Serrated Finish: Bullion Artist: Emily Damstra