20 Dollars In the name of George VI; Liberation of the Netherlands

Reverse

Designed by artist Pandora Young, the reverse features a child's eye view of the Liberation of the Netherlands in the spring of 1945. Standing in a crowd of cheering Dutch civilians, a young girl offers a tulip to the Canadian infantryman seated on the carrier, while others have climbed onboard to celebrate freedom.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
LIBERATION OF THE NETHERLANDS - LIBÉRATION DES PAYS-BAS
PY
1945 CANADA 2020

Designer: Pandora Young

Edge

Serrated

Comment

Our ninth Battlefront coin steps away from the battle to show a child's eye view of the Liberation of the Netherlands (1945). The commemorative design shows Canada's troops receiving a hero's welcome at the end of the Second World War, when a lasting bond was formed between two nations. And like all coins in our 2020 V-E Day collection, the obverse includes a special Victory privy mark.

"I'm so honoured to be working on the Liberation of the Netherlands coin because of the special relationship Canada shares with the Dutch. I grew up in rural Ontario with a high Dutch immigrant population and I remember the harrowing stories my friends would tell me of their grandparents struggling to survive under the Occupation. Those stories stayed with me. On an artistic level, I was thrilled to get this project because of the technical challenges of sculpting children's faces. A child's face is plump and full of expression, and when you add the architecture in the background, this coin has it all. Really, it was a wonderful exercise in sculpting a layered relief despite having a height of only 0.35 mm to achieve this scene." Matt Bowen: Engraver
"Having been in Amsterdam on Remembrance Day and Liberation Day in 2019, I was struck by the stoicism and solemnity of the Dutch people when looking back on the Occupation. They acknowledge the past and learn from it, passing the lessons down to each new generation. Still today, they have a great respect for the Canadians, Americans, Polish, and British who contributed to the Liberation." Jamie Desrochers: Product Manager

Did you know…
The surrender on May 5 did not put an immediate end to the violence. Newspaper reports on May 6 announced the Canadians would arrive in Amsterdam the next day but a reconnaissance unit felt the situation was too tense. On May 7, enemy troops fired on the crowd that had gathered in Dam Square to celebrate the Liberation, resulting in the deaths of more than 30 people.
It's been called the last battlefield in Europe: the Dutch island of Texel was the site of an uprising that continued after the war ended. On April 6, hundreds of Georgians stationed on the island turned on their German officers and seized military installations. The fighting continued well past V-E Day and only ceased when Canadian troops arrived on the island on May 20, 1945.
More than 7,600 Canadians died fighting in the nine-month campaign to liberate the Netherlands.
Solemn commemorative ceremonies are held annually on May 4, which is Remembrance Day (Dodenherdenking) in the Netherlands. May 5 is Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag), a day for celebrating freedom, and it is a national holiday once every five years (including 2020).
Still today, local schoolchildren are continuing the tradition of tending to the graves of fallen Canadian soldiers, including the more than 2,300 who are buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, near Nijmegen. In the war cemetery at Holton, schoolchildren from Deventer place a candle on all 1,394 Canadian graves on Christmas Eve.

Packaging:
Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded clamshell with a custom beauty box.

Interesting fact

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
2020	7500	-	-	-	-	-	-

Values in the table are based on evaluations by sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only for 20 Dollars (In the name of George VI; Liberation of the Netherlands) 2020 coin.