Description
This 2015 $25 pure silver coin from the Royal Canadian Mint is the first in a four part series which tells the Native Canadian story of how the stars of the night sky came to form the Big Dipper. The coin features exceptional full colour art and glow in the dark technology. Mintage is limited to just 7,500. As a pure silver coin struck by the Royal Canadian Mint, this item is HST/GST exempt
The Design:
The Star Charts series coins tell the story in four parts, each beautifully represented on a $25 pure silver coin containing just over an ounce of pure silver. Each coin features a vibrant and artistic full colour image, and utilizes glow in the dark technology for the first time ever on a Canadian silver coin. When the lights go off, the stars glow brilliantly, forming an image the three great hunters and the bear, or the big dipper. Even the packaging for this set is beautiful, with the outer boxes joining together to form one cohesive story, including glow in the dark imagery.
This first coin shows the hunters answering the elders’ call to stop the bear before it kills all the animals in the forest and brings starvation to the people. The coin features an image of a hunter in traditional dress, face paint and ceremonial shield with a bear claw motif. In the background the Big Dipper shines brightly.
The Big Dipper:
The seven stars that make up the Big Dipper are arguably one of the most recognized formations in the night sky. They are visible year-round from northern latitudes, and have inspired countless legends around the globe. Many First Nations legends describe the Big Dipper as a great bear who is hunted ceaselessly by three hunters.
The story told through this series is about three great hunters who set out in pursuit of a great bear. “That bear is killing all the animals and our people will starve. We must stop it,” the elders said. Three great hunters set out in pursuit of the great bear. They tracked it for many moons, across the earth and up into the sky. To this day, you can still see the great bear running across the sky with three hunters close behind. We usually call this formation “The Big Dipper”.
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