Designing a nation's character

During the Middle Ages, any knight who went into battle needed to distinguish friendfrom foe and would paint identifying marks on his shield. Later, these markings began appearing on military surcoats and cloaks worn by royal messengers.

This is how the Coat of Arms was born - a design of heraldic symbols created to represent a monarchy, a clan, a territory or nation. Even Canada, a nation formed longafter the Middle Ages, has a Coat of Arms - as does every province and territory within its domain.

The Coat of Arms for theNorthwest Territories was granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956. Itportrays theTerritories as they existed before the establishment of Nunavut in 1999 which claimed sixty percent of its land, particularly those regionsextending far into the Arctic.

Although the Magnetic North Pole is located in Nunavut, the compass rose at the top of this Coat of Arms represents that important navigational pointer with a gold narwhal on each side standing upright on a wreath in redand white, Canada's national colours.

The shield beneaththe narwhals illustrates the Territories' northern geography. Thehorizontal section across the top symbolizes the white polar ice cap with a wavy blue line running through itscentre to depict the Northwest Passage.

The lower portion of the shield is divided diagonallyby another wavyline representing the treeline with the borealforest in the green area below and the northern tundra in the red area above. The gold billets (left) and the artic fox (right) symbolize the wealth of natural resources that played a major role in the early exploration and development of the Territories and continue to be a significant source of economic prosperity.

The Coat of Arms of the Northwest Territories does notinclude any royal symbols (i.e.a royal crown), nor does it feature a motto. This is a rare distinction shared only withthe Territory Arms of the Yukon.

This coin is the twelveth issue of the Coats Of Arms of Canada collection and contains 14 coins that have been released between 2008 and 2014.

COATS OF ARMS OF CANADA - COAT OF ARMS OF NORTHWEST TERRITORIES - 2013 CANADIAN COINS 12 is categorised COINS AND PAPER MONEY / 08- ROYAL CANADIAN MINT / 04- 14-KARAT GOLD and sold by l'Imaginaire, a store and specialised website.