Description
This 2013 proof $200 pure gold coin features Jacques Cartier standing flanked by French soldiers and aboriginal guide. Jacques Cartier laid the groundwork for trade and settlement due to his discovery and exploration of the St. Lawrence. Mintage is limited to 2,000. As a pure gold coin, this item is GST/HST exempt.
The Design:
The outer frame is engraved with the word "CANADA," the date "2013," and the face value of "200 DOLLARS." This coin weighs 15.43 grams.
Jacques Cartier:
Jacques Cartier was born in Saint-Malo, France, in 1491, at a time when the humanist ideals of the Italian Renaissance were beginning to spread throughout Europe. In the second decade of the sixteenth century, Francis I (François Ier) ascended to the throne of France. He was a great patron of arts, letters and discovery and, inspired by humanist influences but also by his desire to enrich France's wealth and power, Francis I sought to find a northwest passage to the riches of the Orient. Having heard that areas of North America were abundant with gold and gems, he enlisted the services of Jacques Cartier to find them and locate a passage to Asia.
Although Cartier was not the first European to visit eastern Canada, his discovery and exploration of the St. Lawrence laid the groundwork for centuries of trade and settlement to follow. He is counted among the great explorers of his era and it is from his map design and other records that Europeans gained some of their earliest understanding of the landscape of North America and the customs of its aboriginal residents.
If you already own the Vikings coin, the first in the Great Explorers series, then you must purchase this coin!
