Description
This exceptional 2018 $50 coin combines beautiful art, a concave shape creating the impression of looking out from inside the foxes’ den, glow-in-the-dark special effects, five ounces of fine silver and a low mintage of just 1,500. GST/HST exempt.
The Design:
On a dark and stormy night, the wrath of the skies can be both fearsome and captivating to curious onlookers, even animal ones. The reverse design by Derek Wicks captures the mesmerizing nature and raw intensity of a thunderstorm, as seen from a fox’s perspective. For a more immersive viewing experience, the concave shape presents a tunnel-like view of the nighttime storm from inside an underground burrow. Here, the luminous shine of the coin’s silver surface mimics the effect of flash illumination across the entrance of the fox den, which is lined with an engraved tangle of underground roots and rocks.
The reactions of four colourful fox cubs mirror our own mixed sense of awe and apprehension: three curious cubs have their backs turned to the viewer as they watch a forked lightning bolt light up the deep hued sky, while a fourth seemingly shrinks away from the scene. The integrated use of glow-in-the-dark technology also allows for an alternate view of this stormy night — this time viewed in the dark, where photoluminescence stands in for the lightning’s electrified glow. The reverse also includes the engraved word “CANADA”, the face value “50 DOLLARS” and the year, “2018”. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.
