125 Dollars - Elizabeth II UNESCO

Reverse

Designed by artist Rebecca Yanovskaya, the time-travelling reverse offers an artist's rendition of the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Norse explorer Leif Erikson stands inthe foreground, where he observes the activities ofhis crew and proudly surveys the settlement he founded around the year 1000. Selective gold plating highlights the ornamental flourishes, which are inspired by Norse art and wood carvings. The word "CANADA" is inscribed in a runic font along with the double dates "1945 – 2020" which flank the UNESCO logo to commemorate its 75th anniversary.

Scripts: Latin, Runic

Lettering:
CANADA
1945 - 2020
RY

Designer: Rebecca Yanovskaya

Edge

Serrated

Comment

It all began in 1968 when Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, discovered a small bronze cloak pin and the remnants of a Viking encampment on the shores of Epaves Bay. Subsequent excavations, led by Dr. Bengt Schönbäck and Dr. Birgitta Wallace, uncovered hundreds of Norse artefacts and clarified L'Anse aux Meadows' place in the Vinland sagas. The eight timber-framed turf structures (three dwellings, one iron forge and four workshops) were built in the same 11th century style as those found in Greenland and Iceland. Evidence of activities indicate the location served as a base camp for further exploration south, which seemingly confirmed the journeys described in the Old Norse Sagas. In 1975, the archaeological site was established as a National Historic Site of Canada before being declared the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

"The archaeological discoveries at L'Anse aux Meadows allowed us to connect the Vikings to Newfoundland and Vinland to Canada." Dr. Birgitta Wallace : Archaeologist

"I wanted to show as much of the scene as I could—from the expedition's arrival to their settling, and finally to their stamping of the land with the name Vinland. The scope of their achievement for the time is incredible. It was also important for me to include Leif Erikson because he, of all the settlers, most embodied the spirit of the expedition. I designed his pose to be magnanimous yet in control, alert but at rest, strong but humble. It was an honour to depict these discoverers of North America. It's a history forgotten or unknown by many."
Rebecca Yanovskaya: Artist

Did you know…
In 1978, L'Anse aux Meadows became one of the first 12 places inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Today, UNESCO preserves more than 1,000 World Heritage Sites in 167 countries.
The encampment at L'Anse aux Meadows likely corresponds to Straumfjord ("Fjord of Currents"), a settlement in northern Vinland, as described in the Saga of Erik the Red.
Even though L'Anse aux Meadows was a short-lived encampment, the Vikings weren't the first to occupy the site. Artefacts have been traced back to several different groups including the Dorset Paleo-Inuit, who preceded the Vikings by about 200 years.
Leif Erikson's voyages to Vinland (tentatively assumed to be Newfoundland) were described in two Icelandic Sagas: The Saga of Erik the Red (Erik the Red was Leif's father) and The Saga of the Greenlanders. They were written in the 13th or 14th centuries and are based on stories preserved by the Icelandic oral tradition. The two sagas provide different accounts of Leif's voyage to Vinland, but both credit him as one of the first Europeans to set foot on our shores.

Packaging:
Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded wooden case with black beauty box.

Interesting fact

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
2020	300	-	-	-	-	-	-

Values in the table are based on evaluations by sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only for 125 Dollars - Elizabeth II (UNESCO) 2020 coin.