Canada coin pair recalls D-Day landing
Seventy-five years ago on Tuesday, June 6, 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history took place when Allied troops stormed ashore in Normandy. The operation to liberate German-occupied France had…
Seventy-five years ago on Tuesday, June 6, 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history took place when Allied troops stormed ashore in Normandy. The operation to liberate German-occupied France had begun.
Among the allies were 14,000 Canadians who landed at Juno Beach.
To mark the 75th anniversary of this event, the Royal Canadian Mint has launched two coins. Top of the line is a 27 mm, 12 g, .583 fine gold $100 proof. The reverse design by Glean Loates shows a boot print in the sands of Juno Beach. Mintage is 1,200.
Second is a 36.07 mm, 23.17 g, .9999 fine silver $1 proof. Tony Bianco’s highly detailed design puts a human face on history. It shows the apprehension on one young Canadian soldier’s face as he leaves his landing craft for that frantic 45-meter dash through cold surf and the mad race across the open beach to the seawall.
The scene is taken from a moment caught on film when the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment landed on Nan Red Beach (La Rive Plage).
Mintage is 20,000.
A selectively gold-plated version of the proof dollar is included in the 2019 pure silver proof set.
As an aside, one of the Canadian Sherman tanks that landed at Juno, the M4A3 Sherman Bomb, fought all the way into Germany.
Today, it is preserved at Sherbrooke, Quebec.
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