Description
This 2014 stunning, beautifully illustrated coin is not only a stand-alone work of art that describes the legend of the spirit bear, but a substantial coin on its own: it features a diameter of 60mm, a face value of $500, and generous five ounces of 99.99% pure gold. Polished to proof perfection with an extremely limited mintage of only 50. HST/GST exempt.
The Design:
The artwork by Coast Salish First Nations artist Darlene Gait illustrates the legend; for a long time, the spirit bear was tied to the mysticism of the Gitg’at and Kitasoo First Nations peoples. The story goes that after a period of time, when the glaciers of ice dissolved from the earth, the Raven came along to make everything green. The Raven also decided to make one in ten black bears white, as a reminder of an era when the world was cold with snow and ice. In the image, a raven stretches its wings to throw colour onto the world, as retreating glaciers reveal a lush new land. Earth mounds and canoes are used by people who now move about freely; a prophetic bear totem blocks the sun, while a brown bear at rest in the bottom of the image is turned to white.
