- Country:Canada
- Collection:Silver Commemorative $15
- Metal:Silver
- Year:2017
- Denomination:$15
- Finish:Proof
- Weight (oz):0.745
- Purity:0.9999
- Mintage:6500
- Product type:Coin
NEW! Enamel effect adds complex colours to owl's eyes! Order today!
At home in Canada's wooded areas, the great horned owl is equipped with enhanced night-time vision that helps make it a formidable hunter. This close-up portrait marks the debut of a new enamel effect, which adds unprecedented colour complexity to the owl's amber gaze.To complete our tribute to these nocturnal eyes, we've also added glow-in-the-dark technology to simulate them peering out from the dark-asurprise night-time encounter!
An ideal gift for someone who enjoys a fun addition to a gorgeous coin design! Order your coin today!
Special features:
FIRST COIN IN NEW SERIES! Your coin is the first in a series of three coins featuring the remarkable eyes of some of Canada's wildlife species-all beautifully engraved in outstanding detail! Future coins in series include:
Second coin: In the Eyes of the Lynx (priced at $79.95, expected ship date of November 2017)
Third coin: In the Eyes of the Wolf (priced at $79.95, expected ship date of December 2017)
NEW! DEBUT OF ENAMEL EFFECT! These animal eyes feature unprecedented depth of colour! An innovative enamel effect mimics the rich, glossy look of colour enamel, but with far more complexity in order to give the eyes a more life-like appearance.
FEATURES GLOW-IN-THE-DARK TECHNOLOGY! To complete this tribute to a nocturnal species, your coin also features glow-in-the-darktechnology! Hold your coin under a light source for 30-60 seconds then view the coin in darkness, where the colourful eyes glow-as they would during a night-time encounter with limited light!
INCLUDES SERIALIZED CERTIFICATE! The Royal Canadian Mint certifies all of its collector coins.
LOW MINTAGE! Limited to 6,500 coins worldwide.
PURE SILVER! Your coin is crafted from 99.99% pure silver.
NO GST/HST!
Design:
The indomitable spirit of the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) is evident in your coin's design by Canadian artist Curtis Atwater. The close-up portrait of its broad face features complex engraving that adds textural details throughout, especially in the rendering of its plumage. Special emphasis is placed on the owl's eyes, where an enamel effect mimics the glossy look of a traditional paint application, but with far more colour variances that give the amber-coloured irises a more life-like appearance. They are further enhanced by glow-in-the-dark technology that adds a luminous intensity to the piercing gaze, which offers the only visible proof of the owl's presence in the dark. The obverse features the effigyof Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.
Did you knowÃ
Ever notice how some animals have eyes that glow in the dark? Tapetum lucidum is a mirror-like layer in the eye that enhances an animal's vision in low-light conditions, byreflecting light back to the retinal cells for a second pass. It's also responsible for the colourful shine (eyeshine) that flashes from the eye when light is suddenly cast upon it.
Like us, the owl's forward-facing eyes provide it with a largely binocular field of view. Butunlike us, it has poor peripheral vision since its eyes cannot move from side-to-side-instead, the owl can rotate its head270 degrees to study its surroundings.
To protect its eye, the owl has three eyelids: a top lid that closes when the owl blinks, abottom lid that comes up when the owl sleeps, and athin, translucent tissue that sweeps sideways across the eye to clean and protect it. This is known as the nictitating membrane, and is common in severalbirds, fish, reptiles and mammals.
