Young burrowing owls are featured on new silver coins from the Royal Canadian Mint, and more than 80% of the available 7,500 have already sold.
Offered as the third release in a series of collectibles depicting baby animals with the first two selling out, the 2015 $20 Baby Burrowing Owl 1 oz Fine Silver Coin is available for CAD $99.95, or about US $87.55.
"Young Burrowing Owls are particularly endearing for their extra-long legs that stick out from beneath their bodies like stilts," describes the Royal Canadian Mint on its website. "And without trees for nesting, Burrowing Owls have adapted by living underground in abandoned badger, gopher or prairie dog homes."
Designed by Canadian artist Arnold Nogy, the reverse shows an adult burrowing owl standing next to its owlet while holding a tasty offering of a grasshopper in its beak. Selective coloring highlight the young owl’s brown and white speckled plumage. Strands of grass are showcased in green while a shadowy background hints at the entrance to the pair’s burrow.
Inscriptions around the scene include 20 DOLLARS, CANADA and the year 2015. The previous two issues from the Mint’s animal series, featuring a baby beaver and a baby Atlantic puffin, each were minted for 2014.
Susanna Blunt’s effigy of Queen Elizabeth II appears on the coin’s obverse. Inscribed around the portrait are ELIZABETH II and D G REGINA.
Each Baby Burrowing Owl coin is struck from one ounce of .9999 fine silver and has the following specifications:
- Finish: proof
- Weight (g): 31.39
- Diameter (mm): 38
- Edge: serrated
- Certificate: serialized
- Face value: 20 dollars
- Reverse Artist: Glen Loates
- Obverse Artist: Susanna Blunt
Ordering
The 2015 $20 Baby Burrowing Owl 1 oz Fine Silver Coin is available on the Royal Canadian Mint’s website at mint.ca, or by using this affiliate link to its new coin releases.
Baby animal series coins are encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon clamshell with a black beauty box. A serialized certificate is also included.
