200 Dollars - Elizabeth II Culture and Traditions

Reverse

The reverse design by Canadian artist Hélène Girard features a grade AAA rose cut blue sapphire at its centre, where the gemstone’s blue hue represents Canada’s Francophone spirit.

Script: Latin

Lettering: HG

Engraver: Cecily Mok

Designer: Hélène Girard

Edge

Serrated

Comment

About
The gemstone is surrounded by an engraved arrangement of repeating ornamental flourishes and emblems associated with French heritage in Canada, including: the fleur-de-lis, a symbol that evokes the wider French-speaking community; the blue flag iris, the floral emblem of Quebec; the purple violet, the floral emblem of New Brunswick; and maple leaves that represent all Francophone communities in Canada. The iconic ceinture fléchée (arrow sash) surrounds the design, embracing all the individual elements as a whole.

"As a Francophone artist who is part of Canada's diversity, I was honoured to work on the design of this coin to celebrate French Canadians. I wanted to incorporate the ceinture fléchée (arrow sash), which is part of our culture’s traditional costumes, and the floral emblems of Quebec and New Brunswick. The delicateness of my subjects, that truly express the beauty of this culture, has helped me realize my goal."- HÉLÈNE GIRARD, ARTIST

“The challenge here was to ensure all the individual elements formed a unified whole. Some of the elements were sculpted with minimal thickness to ensure fluid lines and a smooth transition from one point of interest to another. We also added tiny flourishes to the large fleurs-de-lis, as a way of enhancing the relief when viewed from different angles.”- CECILY MOK, ENGRAVER

Designed to captivate
Crafted in 99.99% pure gold, this 1 oz. coin features a highly intricate design on its reverse, where the engraved arrangement is a proud celebration of Canada’s rich cultural diversity.

A stunning sapphire
Your coin features a grade AAA natural blue sapphire. The 0.75 carat rose-cut gemstone adds a captivating colour to this design while representing Canada’s Francophone spirit.

A symbolic arrangement
Canada’s Francophone communities use diverse emblems to express their identity and pride, and some of those symbols have been combined on your coin’s reverse, where the iconic ceinture fléchée wraps around and embraces them as a whole.

DID YOU KNOW?
Sapphires come in a variety of colours ranging from violet to orange, and even brown or black. As a type of corundum, sapphire is one of the world’s hardest minerals, second only to diamonds!

New Brunswick is Canada’s only officially bilingual province, and that’s why its provincial flower (the purple violet) appears alongside Quebec’s provincial flower (the blue flag iris) on this coin’s reverse.

While the majority of French-Canadians live in Quebec, you’ll find proud Francophone communities all across Canada, with Franco-Ontarians forming the largest community (744,000) outside of Quebec. With approximately 500,000 Acadians in Canada, many reside in the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

 While there is some debate about the exact origins of the ceinture fléchée, French-Canadian, Indigenous and Métis communities all share the arrow sash as a key cultural symbol. After 1835, sashes produced in Canada primarily came from the region of Assomption, Quebec; known as the Assomption sash, its standard design—herringbone stitching with red, blue and white colours—makes it instantly recognizable.

Packaging
The coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded clamshell with a graphic beauty box.