On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns finally fell silent across the Western Front. The Armistice of 1918 signalled the end of a conflict that changed the world and claimed the lives of nine million combatants, including 66,655 Canadians. A century later, we honour the memory of all Canadians who served in the Great War with our most unusual shaped coin yet: a replica of a soldier’s Mark I steel helmet. Your coin’s extreme curvature and antique finish leave a lasting impression, especially with added engraved touches that give the helmet a realistic, battle-worn appearance—Lest We Forget.
Add a realistic re-creation of a 1916 helmet-shaped coin to your war-themed collection. Order today.
Resembling the 1916 Mark I model worn by Canadian combatants, your combat helmet-shaped coin is the result of a careful collaboration between Royal Canadian Mint engravers and engineers. Your coin’s unprecedented, extreme curvature allows for a realistic re-creation (on a much smaller scale) of the bowl-shaped headgear issued to Canadian troops and all British Empire forces in 1916. The reverse provides a view of the top of the now-iconic steel helmet, whose battle-worn appearance is the result of engraved “cracks” and “markings” beneath the antique finish that gives it all a distressed look. Along the brim that helped protect soldiers from airborne debris, the heartfelt assurance “LEST WE FORGET N’OUBLIONS JAMAIS” is flanked by engraved poppies, while the double dates “1918” and “2018” mark the centennial of Armistice. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt engraved deep in the recessed circular crown, while the legend and face value are engraved on the brim.
The Mark I steel helmet was the standard-issue headgear of the Canadian troops during the Great War — but not until 1916.
France was the first to mass-produce steel headgear designed for this modern war, having introduced the M15 Adrian helmet in 1915. A design patented by John L. Brodie (hence the name “Brodie helmet”) soon offered a few advantages over the French model, namely a streamlined construction from a single sheet of strong Hadfield’s steel; it, too, would be superseded by the improved Mark I model distributed to British Empire forces in 1916.
Deeper than Brodie’s original design, the Mark I had a two-part liner, a rolled rim and a less reflective finish to allow a measure of camouflage. The helmet was produced by British manufacturers and issued in late winter 1916 to Canadian troops, who welcomed the now-iconic headgear in spite of the added equipment weight of 950 grams of steel.
Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon clamshell with a black beauty box.
A symbol of soldiering, an ultimate representation of bravery. Order today.