This $20 pure silver coin commemorates the 100th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Empress of Ireland on the St. Lawrence River on May 29, 1914, after being struck by a Norwegian collier in the dense fog.  The loss of the Empress of Ireland remains the greatest maritime disaster in Canadian history, with a loss of lives approaching that of the Titanic just two years earlier.  (1,012 perished, including 134 children)

The coin combines selective colour, an artistic design, edge lettering, and an extremely low mintage of just 7,000 coins. As a pure silver coin struck by the Royal Canadian Mint, this item is HST/GST exempt.

The Design:

The unique full colour design created by artist John Horton captures a terrifying moment in time on the morning of May 29, 1914.  The shadowy image of the Norwegian collier Storstad is seen emerging from the fog at the far right of the coin, its sharp bow in line to make contact with the Empress's starboard side. The collision is imminent and unpreventable.  The passenger ship's stern and funnels are partially unobstructed by the fog, providing a final glimpse of the liner before tragedy would send it to its final resting place on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River. The top and bottom of the coloured portion of the coin feature the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence where the ship went down. The edge lettering on this commemorative coin displays the ship's name, as well as a bell: one of the recovered artifacts from the wreck. The coin is engraved with the word “Canada”, the date “2014 and face value “20 Dollars”.