The Story Behind the Royal Canadian Mint Juno Coin, Designed by Glen Loates

This year, the Royal Canadian Mint presented two collectible coins in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy. The silver coin face value is minted at three dollars. The gold, one hundred dollars. The artist commissioned to design them was our very own, Glen Loates. Dated 1944 - 2019, the ¼ oz. fine silver and gold collector coins feature a beautiful imprint of a soldier's boot on the sands of Juno Beach. The silver coin has a mintage of 100,000 and the gold is minted to only 1,200.

The Canadian troops played a significant role in the historical D-Day victory. Of the 150,000 troops who were on the Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches, 14,000 were Canadian. There were also 110 ships and 10,000 sailors from the Royal Canadian Navy, and 15 Royal Canadian Air Force fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons supporting troops on the ground. On Juno Beach, where the 3rd Canadian Infantry landed, 359 soldiers died, and 715 were injured on the first day alone.

"Ever since our very first Poppy coin in 2004, the Royal Canadian Mint has proudly issued special circulation coins to help Canadians remember the service and sacrifice of Canada's veterans and active military," said Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "D-Day lives on as one of Canada's greatest military achievements of the Second World War and our veterans' role in this crucial Allied victory will be remembered for generations through our new $2 circulation coin."

Canadian artist Glen Loates has been consistently commissioned by the Royal Canadian mint to design special coin editions. This year, he also designed the 2019 $50 Fine Silver Coin - Maple Leaf in Motion, which features a first-time combination of pink and yellow gold plating. In 2018, Loates designed the 2018 $20 Fine Silver Coin Frozen in Ice – Scimitar Sabretooth Cat.

The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. The Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale.

For more information about Glen and his work, visit his official site at glenloates.com