Pure Silver Coin - Multilayered Cougar - Mintage: 1,500 (2021)

One coin, multiple layers of engraved art.

New technology alert! How do you draw equal attention to a portrait's subject and background? You treat them as independent layers of art!

Thanks to a new advanced minting process, this piedfort-sized coin has two distinctly separate layers of engraving on its reverse: a cutout, and a background etched on the coin's interior surface. This is Multilayered Engraving, a groundbreaking approach that was previewed in early 2020 as part of the From R&D Lab collection.  It's about unlocking additional design space on a standard coin blank.  By using specially manufactured dies, we're now able to engrave behind the reverse's top plate—in this case, the cougar that cuts away to a sweeping view of its forest surroundings. 

Diameter:  55mm or 2.17 inches
Composition:  99.99% pure silver proof coin
Weight:  105.62g or 3.4 Troy Ounces

Special features:

• NEW MULTILAYERED ENGRAVING! Pioneered by the Royal Canadian Mint's R&D researchers, Multilayered Engraving is a revolutionary new technique that unlocks additional design space by engraving behind the top plate, on the coin's inside surface.
• THE FULL POTENTIAL OF A WORLD FIRST! Multilayered Engraving was first unveiled to the world in early 2020 as part of the From R&D Lab collection. This fine silver coin is the first to show the full potential of this groundbreaking technique.
• A DRAMATICALLY DIMENSIONAL DESIGN! The background offers a sweeping view of the forest—it doesn't just stop where the subject (the cougar) begins. It's a more dimensional approach to coin design, all while working with the traditional weight and precious metal volume of a standard coin blank. 
• A 3D LOOK! By extending the art as close to the edge as possible, the engraved cougar cutout has a more 3D-like appearance—with its intense gaze, it looks ready to pounce!
• AN OVERSIZED PIECE! With its 55 mm diameter, this larger-sized 99.99% pure silver coin is sized like a piedfort coin.
• INCLUDES SERIALIZED CERTIFICATE! The Royal Canadian Mint certifies all of its collector coins.

Design:
On the reverse, a wildlife portrait by Canadian artist Denis Mayer Jr. is enhanced with Multilayered Engraving that divides the art into distinct layers. A top plate features a cutout of a cougar (Puma concolor) perched on a branch. Behind it, the coin's interior surface provides a separate base layer for an engraved rendering of a forest setting in Western Canada. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.

Did you know?

• The cougar is Canada's largest wild cat and the second-largest in the Western Hemisphere (the jaguar is bigger).
• Given that its range extends from the Yukon-British Columbia border to southern Argentina, the cougar is known to occupy a variety of habitats—from deserts to tropical rainforests, and the coniferous forest shown on this coin. 

Packaging
Coin is encapsulated and presented in a black Royal Canadian Mint-branded clamshell with a black beauty box.