Canada 1 Kilo Silver 2019 coin: “A Snapshot in Time”

D-Day, 6 June 1944, a day during the Second World War where allied forces actioned an invasion of northern France through beach landings in Normandy. This is a day marked in history as the turning point of World War II.

The general idea of D-Day, 6 June 1944, is often centered around the bravery of the Americans storming Omaha Beach and the British attacks at Gold and Sword. However, there is a courageous element that is so often overlooked, and that is the role the Canadian military played at Juno Beach, where Canadian soldiers had frontline views of D-Day. To honour the courage and bravery of the Canadian troops that battled it out - and on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings - a silver commemorative coin has been released in a magnified size, symbolising the magnitude of the D-Day invasion.

This 2019 commemorative coin minted by the Royal Canadian Mint in a full kilo of 99.99% pure silver, “A Snapshot in Time” is a coin celebrating this victorious day. This is a large legal tender with a design carefully crafted to capture the bird’s eye view of the Juno Beach as one would see it from the fighter planes flying overhead. Captured in the design are soldiers from Canada’s 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade storming the shores from their aircrafts.

The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, affectionately known as the “Water Rats” for their successful endeavour to clear the channel ports following the D-Day invasion, this division was actually formed to serve in World War I. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division was summoned to fight through World War II, liberating Nazi concentration camps through their mission.

The illustration of the design gives a 3D effect of a topographical map, with an antiqued finish to further add character to this coin.

The reverse side is designed by Royal Canadian Mint engraver Traian Georgescu, who drew on wartime photography, maps and documentations from World War II. Georgescu has designed a coin in ultra high relief that shows the D-Day invasion site after the first line of enemy defences were defeated at Bernières-sur-Mer. He has incorporated the Canadian troops disembarking from the landing craft vessels of the Royal Canadian Navy. The words “JUNO” and the 75th anniversary commemorative dates, "1944 – 2019", are engraved on the coin, in a military stencil font.

The obverse features the effigy of King George VI by T. H. Paget.

This integral operation required over a year of planning and training, each detail of the mission was crucial to the success of the invasion. Just as attention to detail is depicted in the coin’s glorious design, where even the smallest feature has a large historical importance.

With a mintage of only 400 of these significant coins released worldwide, this is a rare coin to add to any coin collection.