- Country:Canada
- Collection:Silver Commemorative $20
- Metal:Silver
- Year:2015
- Denomination:$20
- Finish:Complete
- Weight (oz):1.009
- Purity:0.9999
- Mintage:2865
- Product type:Coin
A beautiful historical coin!
As Canada prepares to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation in 2017, the Royal Canadian Mintproudly celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of the nation's primary architect and firstPrime Minister: Sir John A. Macdonald.
An ideal gift for someone you know who enjoys Canadian history.Order yours today!
Special features:
¥ Your proof-quality coin celebrates Sir John A. Macdonald, one of Canada's most important architects of Confederation.
¥ Your coin features a striking portrait of Sir John A. Macdonald against the backdrop of the original Canadian Parliament Buildings, lost in the Great Fire of 1916, in Ottawa, Ontario.
¥ This proudly patriotic coin features a beautiful corona of maple leaves symbolically representing the foundation of Canada. It also includes a banner engraved with the former Prime Minister's name.
¥ GST/HST exempt.
Design:
Your coin features a portrait of Sir John A. Macdonald. Inset in the centre of the reverse within a circular engraved frame, Macdonald is presented in three-quarter profile. The beautifully rendered portrait is engraved in exquisite detail, bringing life to the gaze of this powerful figure in Canadian political history. Behindhim we see part of the fa ade of the original Centre Block at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. The engraved circle framing this inner portrait is finely decorated with stylized maple leaves of varying sizes flanking its left and right sides.
About Sir John A. Macdonald:
On July 1, 1867, the Dominion of Canada was created, and SirJohn Alexander Macdonald, a key architect of Canadian Confederation, became the new nation's first Prime Minister. Knighted by Queen Victoria for hisrole in Canadian Confederation, Sir John A. Macdonald led the nation until his death in 1891, with only a single interruption in his leadership, from 1873 to 1878.
John Alexander Macdonald was born on January 11, 1815, in Glasgow,Scotland. He and his family immigrated to Kingston, Upper Canada in 1820. With a successful law practice, and having held political office at the municipal level in Kingston, Macdonald joined the Upper Canada cabinet in 1847, serving as receiver general and commissioner of Crown Lands. In 1854, he entered the cabinet of the United Province of Canada, serving as Attorney General for Canada West. Taking on aheavy portfolio of legislative work and providing important legal counsel to various departments of the government, his responsibilities grew until he and George- tienne Cartier were jointly leading the Government.
By the 1860s, it was clear that some form of constitutional change was necessary. John A. Macdonald, alongwith George Brown, Cartier, and their colleagues presented a vision of a united British North America to the leaders of the Maritime colonies at the Charlottetown Conference in September 1864. They ultimately achieved their goal on July 1, 1867, when the Dominion of Canada was created-with Macdonald, its key architect, as the new nation's Prime Minister.
Macdonald's tireless work sowed the seeds of the sovereign nation of Canada.
