Simply stunning and quite possibly the most beautiful coin we've seen this entire year! Autumn Bliss, indeed! All we can say is, get yours now - it's already sold out at the Mint!

Canadian artist Tony Bianco has created a masterpiece - a striking autumn scene on a still Canadian lake. A red canoe sits on a shoreline of tall yellow grasses and white late-summer flowers, beside a golden-leaved aspen stand. The canoe floats in the shallows of a still lake, its bow drawing the eye towards the opposite bank. This far shore is lined with brilliant pops of bright red, green and yellow that are reflected in the lake below. On the horizon, indigo mountains rise toward a peaceful autumn sky. Above, an osprey spreads its wings and soars majestically on this work of exceptional, detailed artistry. Devised to benefit from the coin’s silver surface, the design combines deft use of hues and superior engraving to create a painterly scene that captures the magical mood of this ephemeral moment.

This eye-catching, one troy ounce pure silver coin showcases the beauty of Canadian autumn, rendered with world-class artistry and skillful melding of design, color and engraving.

Autumn Bliss
With a graceful pageantry that has long captured the imagination of poets and artists, the brilliant foliage of autumn in Canada has made the nation a fall destination for visitors from around the world. As the final harvest nears an end, flushed from coast to coast with showy russets, warm coppers, intense purples, vibrant golds and glossy greens, Canada’s beauty in autumn is perhaps surpassed only when this riot of color is doubled in the silver mirror of a still lake.
The season itself results from the annual shifting of the planet’s northern pole away from the sun. This shift attenuates the intensity of the sun’s rays in Canada and other northern countries, resulting in the reduced daylight and colder weather that triggers processes such as the changing of the leaves. The colors we see lining the shore as we quietly paddle a canoe across a crystalline lake result from chemical processes in the leaves, with different chemicals producing distinct colors. Triggered by autumn’s reduced daylight hours, deciduous species like aspen, maple, larch, oak, beech, poplar and birch begin to shut down photosynthesis for the oncoming winter, when the tree will live instead on stored food reserves. As a tree stops producing chlorophyll —the biomolecule that gives leaves their green color—other tones reveal themselves. In many maple species, this reduction of photosynthesis produces anthocyanin pigments that turn leaves bright red and purple. Brown leaves, such as those on beech and oak trees, result from waste products like tannins. Yellow poplar leaves reveal the presence of xanthophyll and orange maple leaves contain carotene—pigments that are present in the leaf throughout the growing season, but are normally concealed by chlorophyll.

These chemical processes not only help to prepare and preserve the trees for the long, cold winter to come, but create an amazing blaze of color that draws visitors from around the world. In a season when colder weather and less daylight drives Canadians to warmer indoor pursuits, the glory of autumn pulls us back outside to celebrate a landscape that is diverse and lavishly beautiful in every season.

Investment Notes
Stunning in its artistry, beauty and simplicity, this new pure silver proof ups the ante with a few twists, including lower mintage (only 7,500) and a new perspective! This is perhaps the most unique coin of the year - and a work of unparalleled gorgeousness! We believe that this coin presents an entry-level investment opportunity in a relatively low-priced proof. This coin sold out at the Mint on pre-release. Buy it. Hold it for ten years. Then, if you don't still love it, sell it. Keep it or sell it, you'll only be sorry if you don't get it while you have the chance.

Technology Note
The Royal Canadian Mint leads the world with its proprietary colorization technology, in which the color is actually sealed on the coin. The intricate detail, smooth gradients, and extreme precision of the technology create a stunning look on each coin.

Purity Note
The Royal Canadian Mint refines the purest silver in the world. This one ounce silver coin is 99.99% pure!

Obverse
A beautiful, full-color image ofa Canadian Lake in autumn. The date and denomination are both indicated.

Reverse
A cameo proof portrait of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in profile facing right. This portrait, the fourth effigy of the queen to appear on Canadian coinage, was executed by the artist Susanna Blunt. The legend ELIZABETH II D. G. REGINA ("Elizabeth II, Queen by the Grace of God") also appears.

Packaging
The coin is encapsulated inside a burgundy leatherette, clamshell-style presentation case, lined with black velvet and protected by a full color outer box. An individually-numbered certificate of authenticity is included.

Specifications

Autumn Bliss
With a graceful pageantry that has long captured the imagination of poets and artists, the brilliant foliage of autumn in Canada has made the nation a fall destination for visitors from around the world. As the final harvest nears an end, flushed from coast to coast with showy russets, warm coppers, intense purples, vibrant golds and glossy greens, Canada’s beauty in autumn is perhaps surpassed only when this riot of color is doubled in the silver mirror of a still lake.

The season itself results from the annual shifting of the planet’s northern pole away from the sun. This shift attenuates the intensity of the sun’s rays in Canada and other northern countries, resulting in the reduced daylight and colder weather that triggers processes such as the changing of the leaves. The colours we see lining the shore as we quietly paddle a canoe across a crystalline lake result from chemical processes in the leaves, with different chemicals producing distinct colours. Triggered by autumn’s reduced daylight hours, deciduous species like aspen, maple, larch, oak, beech, poplar and birch begin to shut down photosynthesis for the oncoming winter, when the tree will live instead on stored food reserves. As a tree stops producing chlorophyll —the biomolecule that gives leaves their green color—other tones reveal themselves. In many maple species, this reduction of photosynthesis produces anthocyanin pigments that turn leaves bright red and purple. Brown leaves, such as those on beech and oak trees, result from waste products like tannins. Yellow poplar leaves reveal the presence of xanthophyll and orange maple leaves contain carotene—pigments that are present in the leaf throughout the growing season, but are normally concealed by chlorophyll.

These chemical processes not only help to prepare and preserve the trees for the long, cold winter to come, but create an amazing blaze of color that draws visitors from around the world. In a season when colder weather and less daylight drives Canadians to warmer indoor pursuits, the glory of autumn pulls us back outside to celebrate a landscape that is diverse and lavishly beautiful in every season.