Canada 50 Cents Silver Coin 2002 Golden Tulip
Issued in honour of the annual Tulip Festival held in Ottawa - 50th Anniversary of the Canadian Tulip Festival
Exquisite tulip blossoms are highlighted in 24-karat gold on this artistic silver coin!
This is the first entry in the very popular annual Golden Flowers series.
Obverse: Two large tulip blooms, complete with leaves and stems, are accented in 24-karat gold plating on a field of silver. A stylized “2002” appears to the right of the bunch of tulips.
Reverse: Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of England, in a crowned profile facing right. This portrait, the third effigy of the queen to appear on Canadian coinage, was executed by the artist Dora de Pédery-Hunt. The legend ELIZABETH II and denomination also appear.
Technology Note: The Royal Canadian Mint’s proprietary selective gold plating process is the most advanced in the world, resulting in unparalleled precision and beauty.
Packaging: The coin is encapsulated inside a green leatherette, clamshell-style presentation box lined with green velvet and protected by a full-color outer sleeve. An individually-numbered certificate of authenticity is included.
Mintage: 84423.
Composition: 92.5% Ag, 7.5% Cu, 22-karat gold plate on design.
Finish: proof.
Weight: 9.3 g.
Diameter: 27.1 mm.
Edge: reeded.
Face value: 50 cents.
Artist: Anthony Testa, Stan Witten (reverse), Dora de Pédery-Hunt (obverse).
The beautiful tulip is perennial plant with waxy leaves and a large, delicate flower. It is grown from bulbs in gardens all over North America. The tulip is famous for an interesting incident, the "tulip mania" of the seventeenth century. In the Netherlands, tulip bulb speculation reached an all-time high in 1636-37, with some bulbs costing more than a person's average annual income, and "tulip futures" contracts being bought and sold for tulips that hadn't even yet been grown! Needless to say, the speculative bubble burst and many were financially ruined. Today, we appreciate the tulip for its beauty, but know now that coins are a much better investment.
Tulips have a unique connection to Canada. In 1945 Canadian soldiers played a principal role in liberating Holland. Since World War II, these two nations have enjoyed a special friendship. Earlier in the war, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands sent her only child and heir, Princess Juliana, to Canada for safety, along with the current queen, Beatrix, then a young child. On January 19th, 1943, Princess Juliana gave birth to another daughter, Princess Margriet Francisca, resulting in the first royal baby ever born in North America! As a special gesture of gratitude after the war, the Dutch queen sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada, and Princess Juliana sent another 20,000 as a personal gift, with more following every year. Today, over one million tulips bloom each May in Ottawa, where the annual Tulip Festival is held. In this way these gifts of thanks became an annual bequest and transformed Ottawa into the floral showcase that is celebrated every year, the Canadian Tulip Festival, a glorious tradition!
Golden Flowers series