Canada again issued collectible coins in the form of Ukrainian pysanka
The tradition of the Canadian mint is already 8 years old. Coins made of gold and silver are globally popular.
Every year, since 2016, Canada has been issuing unique coins in the form of a Ukrainian pysanka — Easter egg with traditional ornaments. This year was no exception.
To celebrate the arrival of spring, the season of renewal and rebirth, and the return of the sun to the expanses of the Northern Hemisphere, the Canadian Mint has once again minted collector coins in the shape of an egg, decorated with traditional patterns that reproduce the painting of Easter eggs in Ukraine. The coins were issued in limited editions — 275 gold and 7500 silver.
This year, profits from the sale of the coins will go to the charitable foundation Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The fund provides humanitarian aid to Ukrainians in need — food, shelter, hygiene products and medicines.
Pure Gold Pysanka Coin
All of the gold coins sold out on the first day of the official launch. Each coin cost $6,999.95 CAD for a face value of $250 CAD. It could be purchased in installments for 6 months. The monthly payment would be $1,166.66 CAD.
The obverse of the coin depicts Elizabeth II. On the reverse is a sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine, which symbolizes the warmth and brightness of the sun. According to the author of the design, artist Dave Melnychuk, he put two meanings into this image at once — the cycle of life and Ukrainian traditions.
The coins are 99.99% pure gold and weigh 58.5 g — nearly 1.9 troy ounces. Its dimensions are 45x33 mm.
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Pure Silver Colored Coin — Pysanka
The silver pysanka coins are available for pre-order on the official website of the Canadian Mint. The cost per coin is $139.5 CAD.
As in the case of the gold coin, the obverse of the silver one depicts Elizabeth II. The reverse of the coin is decorated with a symbolic ornament that goes back to the times of the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age Tripolye culture on the territory of modern Moldova and Ukraine.
The creator of the design, Natalie Kit, was inspired by preserved earthenware from those times. According to the artist, her work reflects the endless flow of time and the river of life, which always returns to the beginning in infinite harmony, as well as the sky, which gives life through rain and light, and the fertile earth, which gives food.
The coins are 99.99% pure silver. Their face value is $20 CAD. Weight — 31.82 grams — more than 1 troy ounce. Dimensions — 45x33 mm.
Prehistory of Canadian pysanka coins. Background
As mentioned above, for the first time silver coins in the form of pysanka were minted in 2016, and since then they have become an annual tradition. Collectors liked them so much that the circulation almost doubled in 10 years: 4,000 copies in 2016 turned into 7,500 coins in 2023. Gold pysanky coins were first issued in 2019, and their number increased by 10% in 5 years, from 250 to 275 pieces.
The idea for the design for the coins came from the largest painted Easter egg in the world, created in 1975 in the city of Vegreville, Alberta, where a significant number of ethnic Ukrainians live. In this way the authorities of the city celebrated the Ukrainian immigrants who moved here in the 1890s. The landmark is made of aircraft wreckage, weighs almost 2.5 tons and is 9 meters long.
