Canada: Timber Wolf appears on last gold and silver coins featuring extraordinarily high relief (EHR) minting technique

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The Royal Canadian Mint has released the last design in a series of extraordinarily high relief coins featuring indigenous North American wildlife. Other coins in the series included the Bald Eagle released in 2020 and Bison last year. For 2022, the timber wolf is featured, with its intelligent, expressive eyes and sharp ears; its profile is instantly recognisable. The timber wolf and grey wolf are part of the same species of Canis lupus.

The coin’s reverse is designed by Royal Canadian Mint engraver Eric Boyer, who has created a powerful portrait of the timber wolf, with strength emanating from its raised likeness. Gazing intently towards the right, the timber wolf’s features, such as its eyes, ears and snout, are prominently featured and artfully accentuated by the extraordinarily high relief engraving while the field’s high-shine finish directs light back onto the wolf’s form. As part of the Royal Canadian Mint’s production process of EHR, the timber wolf’s three-quarter facing image rises up from the coin’s mirror-like surface to reach an incredible height of over six millimetres. The year of issue 2022 is placed below the primary design.

*The obverse features the effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II created by Susanna Blunt. The denomination of 250 DOLLARS (gold) or 25 DOLLARS (silver) is shown below the Queen’s likeness.

Denom.	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Quality	Maximum Mintage
25 dollars	.9999 Silver	31.6 g	36 mm	High relief Proof	5,000
250 dollars	.9999 Gold	63.2 g	36 mm	High relief Proof	275

The gold Proof coin is encapsulated and presented in a hardwood high gloss custom case accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity. The silver Proof coin is also encapsulated and presented in a faux leather matte black custom case accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity.

*With the news of the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th September, the Royal Canadian Mint will advise about a new effigy bearing the likeness of HM King Charles III in due course following consultation with Buckingham Palace. The remaining coins dated 2022 and issued until the end of the year will continue to include the effigy of the Late Queen.

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