Despite the species’ extinction 10,000 years ago, the Scimitar Sabretooth Cat continues to inspire and intrigue many who identify it with the last glacial period.  It was fast, agile and could even climb trees. The Royal Canadian Mint celebrates this impressive mammal that once roamed parts of present-day Canada with this new 2018 $20 fine silver coin that includes an element showing the Scimitar Sabretooth Cat under a frosted chunk of “ice”.  The coin weighs one ounce of pure silver and has a limited mintage of just 5,000. As a pure silver coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint, this item is HST/GST exempt.

The Design:

The reverse design by Canadian artist Glen Loates portrays a scimitar sabre-tooth cat in standing atop a rocky outcrop in vast grassland. The image, reviewed for scientific accuracy by palaeontologists of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, presents a full-body portrait of the Ice Age predator, with its fierce teeth on display as it opens its mouth. A frosted “ice” like dome overlays the portrait. The portion of the portrait under the ice is coloured, while the remainder of the image is struck-only, giving the impression of a colourful window to our land’s ancient past. The reverse includes the text “CANADA” and the date “2018.” The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt, as well as the coin value of “20 DOLLARS.”