This 2017 $10 pure silver coin is the final coin in the Birds Among Nature’s Colour series, and features the white-breasted nuthatch, amid the deep green hues of Canada’s boreal forest.  Named for its habit of pecking at its meal, the Nuthatch is a bundle of energy that thinks nothing of creeping down a tree headfirst, or hanging upside down from a vertical branch. As a pure silver coin struck by the Royal Canadian Mint, this item is HST/GST exempt.

The Design:

The reverse design by Canadian artist Derek C. Wicks features a precision-engraved portrait of a female white-breasted nuthatch. This little songbird is positioned in a way that offers a side profile view of its facial features as it lifts its long bill upwards; meanwhile, an overhead view of its back and wing plumage reveals a patterned appearance that is artfully conveyed by the detailed engraving. Selective colour recreates the effect of sunlight alternately illuminating and casting shadows along the needled branch of a white spruce, where a cone provides a sense of the nuthatch’s size. The front of the coin is engraved with the face value of “10 DOLLARS.”