This 2014 $20 coin is part of a new series from the Royal Canadian Mint depicting imagery of the serene white-tailed deer of Canada, the provincial animal of Saskatchewan. The species tends to roam widely through the Rocky Mountains, but are highly adaptive to a wide variety of environments within Canada. The coin is double struck with the Royal Canadian Mint's highest quality proof finish in 99.99% pure silver. The coin has a diameter of 38mm and a weight of 31.39 grams (just over 1 ounce). Mintage is limited to 7,500 pieces. As a pure silver coin, this item is HST/GST exempt.
The Design:
The reverse design by Canadian artist Trevor Tennant features a white-tailed doe and her two young fawns in their summer habitat. In this evocative scene, the doe walks behind her two knock-kneed and spotted offspring through a grassy clearing backed by young boreal forest: the deer's preferred warm-weather habitat. In the lower left centre of the image, one young fawn glances to the left, its long ears extended back behind its head as it listens to its mother behind it. Viewed from the front with its ungainly little body in a graceful curve, the fawn's youthful spots are clearly displayed, along with its long slender legs. Its sibling walks beside it, on the right side of the image, looking toward the right. Its front left leg is raised as it takes an uncertain step forward. Like its sibling, it keeps at least one ear trained on its mother at all times. Behind the fawns, the large doe walks with her head bowed toward her offspring, her slim but muscular body presented in dimensional detail by Royal Canadian Mint engravers. Each blade of grass below them, each narrow tree trunk in the background, the gentle slope of a distant hillside in the forest: all are engraved with the finest care to bring out the full beauty of the scene.