The Royal Canadian Mint has released a 92.5%-silver coin commemorating the Calgary Stampede, the seventh in a set of 13 coins celebrating Canadian festivals.
The Stampede was started in 1912 by Guy Weadick, a local cowboy and showman who sought to preserve the legacy of the Canadian frontier for future generations. Weadick raised $100,000 from four prominent ranchers to stage the event, and the Calgary Stampede was born.
The reverse of the coin is designed by Calgary artist Michelle Grant; it depicts a contemporary saddle bronco and rider with a chuck wagon rig thundering out from under them. The Calgary Saddledome is featured in the background. The obverse features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth by artist Dora de Pdery-Hunt.
The series started with a coin celebrating the Quebec Winter Carnival; followed by the Toonik Tyme (springtime festival) in Nunavut; the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival; the Festival of the Fathers in Prince Edward Island; the Annapolis Valley Blossom Festival in Nova Scotia; the Stratford Festival in Ontario; and Manitoba’s Folklorama.
Still to come is the coin celebrating the Squamish Days Logger Sports in British Columbia; the Yukon International Storytelling Festival; the Festival Acadien de Caraquet in New Brunswick; Back-to-Batoche in Saskatchewan; and the Great Northern Arts Festival in the Northwest Territories.
Each coin weighs 9.3 grams and contains 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.
The face value of the coin is 50, and 20,000 of the complete, 13-piece sets have been minted. A set sells for $249.95, or $21.95 individually.
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