History and culture run deep in Canada’s North, where the ice-carved landscape is beautiful, fearsome and endlessly fascinating. With its selectively gold-plated reverse, this second coin in our square-shaped Canadian Coasts series heads due north, to the home of the stately caribou and the Inuit landmarks that traditionally guide the way.

A familiar feature of navigational charts, a compass rose lies at the centre of the Arcticthemed reverse by Maurade Baynton, where it represents a history of exploration in Canada’s North. Two finely engraved icons of the Arctic surround the compass rose: the caribou and the inunnguaq, a form of inuksuk. Seen in profile, the antlered icon of the northern wilderness is a fundamental part of the traditional way of life in many communities, where the caribou has sustained life for millennia. Selective gold plating frames the reverse and also places special emphasis on the inuksuk, a stone landmark that has traditionally carried spiritual and practical meaning for the Inuit. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.

CANADIAN COASTS - TRUE NORTH - 2018 CANADIAN COINS 02 is categorised COINS AND PAPER MONEY / 08- ROYAL CANADIAN MINT / 10- FLORA, FAUNA & NATURE and sold by l'Imaginaire, a store and specialised website.