Description
This 2014 $20 coin is part of a series of seven coins that celebrates the First Nations spiritual belief in the Seven Sacred teachings, which are Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility and Truth. These teachings have a legacy that run old and deep into early aboriginal history, and are still practised by many First Nations cultures across Canada. This one ounce coin is masterfully crafted in 99.99% pure silver with elegant selective gold plating, and features a mintage of 7,000. This limited-edition work of art is the perfect gift for anyone with an interest in First Nations spirituality, or as a surprising addition to any collection of silver coins. HST/GST exempt.
The Design:
Canadian Métis artist Nathalie Bertin has createda powerful image of a beaver offering a tree branchto an abstract figure. The beaver's size emphasizes the importance of nature to humanity's survival and represents how the beaver taught the Anishinaabe people about the poplar tree's powerfulmedicines; its bark providing the background pattern that reinforces the beaver's teachings.
This coin shows a tender, stylized depiction of a large beaver offering a human a piece of poplar tree bark, symbolizing wisdom. The beaver’s lesson is wisdom, because it encourages one to go beyond the simple acquiring of knowledge, but to draw lessons and meaning from observing the world around us. The beaver is used in this context because of the lesson it taught the Anishinaabe people about the powerful healing properties in poplar tree bark.
