After about six years of lobbying by an interest group, the Canadian horse, the country’s national breed, is being honoured this year on two coins produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.
That the coins were released on the 350th anniversary of the breed’s arrival in Canada was just a coincidence, said Brenda Pantling of Hidden Meadow Farms in the Town of Erin.
She was one of the Upper Canada District Canadian Horse Breeders who put the original proposal together.
“We started working back in 2008, 2009 … when we were doing the initial proposals and stuff,” she said.
“We had hoped it would be out long before this but it was complete coincidence that it came out this year.”
The group originally began the proposal to bring more attention to the Canadian horse.
“Because it’s the national horse and it’s about time it got some recognition,” Pantling said. “People don’t even know we have a national horse.”
The mint has produced two coins featuring the Canadian horse breed. One coin (right, top coin) is worth $1,000 and that’s the largest denomination the mint has ever produced, Pantling said. According to the mint website, 1,000 coins were produced.
The face of the coin was designed by Canadian artist Michelle Grant and shows three Canadians running through a cascade of maple leaves, with a stallion prominently placed in the foreground.
The other coin (bottom coin) holds a $100 value and according to the mint’s website 97 per cent of the 45,000 coins produced were sold at press time. The designer of this single-horse coin was Claudio D’Angelo.
Both coins are made from 99.9% pure silver.
