On the morning of July 10, 1943, Canada came ashore near the Sicilian town of Pachino. Code-named “Operation Husky,” the Invasion of Sicily was the Canadian Army’s first large-scale campaign of the Second World War.  This coin honours the contributions of the 25,000-strong Canadian contingent at Sicily, including the dispatch riders who risked it all to deliver vital information. 

The coin is dated 2018 with a $20 denomination and weighs one ounce of pure silver.  Adding to its collectability, the mintage is limited to just 7,500.  As a pure silver coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint, this item is HST/GST exempt.

The Design:   

The reverse image by Valentine De Landro travels to a Sicilian town during the Allied Invasion of Sicily. Viewed from a ground-level perspective, a Canadian dispatch rider (DR) races to deliver a vital message; he wears a typical DR uniform, with high boots, a round helmet, goggles, a leather vest and a leather dispatch bag slung across the body. The motorcycle is a British-built model, featuring a “blackout” headlamp; built for service overseas, the motorcycle’s reliability and extra ground clearance made it ideally suited for the fast-paced work of a dispatch rider, but was also used for training, reconnaissance and escort duties. The scene has an added sense of urgency and motion, as the motorcycle kicks up a cloud of dust while racing past the buildings. The obverse features the effigy of King George VI by T. H. Paget.