This 2014 $5 pure silver coin is struck in two-thirds of an ounce of 99.99% fine silver, and pays tribute to those who served in the regiments, battalions and ancillary units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). The CEF was comprised of mostly volunteers, and about 50% of the Force consisted of British-born Canadian men, though French Canadians, Black Canadians and First Nations men made a significant contribution to the Force. The CEF was regarded by both their allies and enemies as the most efficient Allied Military Formation on the Western Front. So much so, in fact, that the Germans nick-named the CEF “the storm troopers”. Mintage is 10,000 coins. HST/GST exempt.

The Design:

The illustration on this coin presents a lone, kneeling foot solider; his placement here is particularly moving, as the First World War was the last conflict of that scale to employ foot soldiers in this traditional sense. A tired line of soldiers is silhouetted in the background as they march wearily ahead; behind them, a convoy of ships sits ominously on the horizon, symbolizing the ships that first brought Canadian soldiers to the war zone in 1914. The image is finished with a Maple Leaf Crest Cap Badge towards the bottom of the coin, which references the CEF.