Description
Canada’s smallest gold coin issued in 2012 features an iconic sailing ship, which has also appeared on Canada’s 10 cent coin since 1937. This Bluenose gold coin has a nominal face value of 50 cents, weighs 1/25 of an ounce and is struck in .9999 pure gold. It is double struck with a near perfect frosted cameo finish, and comes presented in an attractive burgundy case appropriate for display or gift giving. Mintage 15,000. HST/GST exempt.
The Bluenose:
The original Bluenose was a fishing and racing schooner launched at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on March 26, 1921. In October of that year, Bluenose won her first of many International Fishermen’s Trophy series of races. Almost immediately, the ship became an important symbol of excellence in ship design, shipbuilding and seamanship for Nova Scotians and, eventually, for all Canadians.
Bluenose went on to serve actively as a fishing vessel. Her designer, William J. Roué, and her stalwart crew, under Captain Angus Walters, became known and admired around the world. When the global economy faced stormy waters in the 1930s, Bluenose increasingly served as a cultural and tourism promotion vessel. Although Canadians lobbied strongly to preserve the ship as a national symbol, Bluenose was sold in 1942 and worked as a freighter in the Caribbean. On January 28, 1946, the ship was lost off the coast of Haiti. A replica—Bluenose II—was launched in 1963 and gifted to the Government of Nova Scotia in 1971.
