This 2017 Canadian $8 fine silver coin features Pi Yao - the ultimate Feng Shui cure to draw wealth from all directions. This celestial guardian and symbol of fortune is one of several powerful motifs that come together beautifully on the coin’s reverse and obverse, where a square hole through the center completes the powerful celebration of Chinese tradition in Canada. HST/GST exempt.
The Design:
Canadian artist Charles Vinh combines a number of auspicious Chinese motifs to confer a powerful blessing for everlasting prosperity and fortune. At the center is a feature that sets this coin apart: a square hole, which represented the land in traditional Chinese minting. Two Pi Yao figures stand on either side of the hole and are viewed in profile, with one facing left and the other facing right. Enhanced by different finishes, the intricate engraving re-creates the elaborate appearance of this mystical protector and symbol of wealth. The rounded shape of the Wu Lou gourd is depicted on the reverse and the obverse, where this centuries-old symbol of longevity and health appears alongside the ornamental Chinese knots that speak of never-ending felicity. These “endless” knots also complement the stylized scrollwork on the unique obverse, where a smoothly polished circle bears the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.