1954 Canada Elizabeth II 10 Cents

About the 1954 Canada Elizabeth II 10 Cents

The obverse carries the portrait sculpted by Mary Gillick, depicting Elizabeth II wearing a laurel wreath rather than a crown, a youthful and graceful image surrounded by the legend ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA. The reverse retains Emanuel Hahn's celebrated design of the Bluenose, the Lunenburg fishing and racing schooner that became a symbol of Nova Scotia's seafaring heritage and of Canadian pride after its triumphs in international schooner races. Struck by the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa in .800 silver alloyed with .200 copper, this type belongs to the era when Canadian small change still carried intrinsic precious metal value, which gives it lasting appeal to both type collectors and silver enthusiasts. Collectors value the series for its combination of a beloved maritime motif with the 1st portrait of a monarch whose reign would span generations of Canadian coinage, and they pay close attention to strike quality and to fine details in the Queen's hair and the schooner's rigging and sails. These points help distinguish sharper examples within this classic and historically meaningful issue.