The Royal Canadian Mint Centennial Special Edition, a 2008 silver proof 1 dollar coin from Canada.

 

 

The Royal Canadian Mint celebrates a century of growth and transformation with this special edition silver proof dollar coin with selective gold plating featuring a beautiful design of a maple leaf transforming into a common loon.

In 1908, the institution that would become known as the Royal Canadian Mint officially opened for business. Still, coin designs and tools remained the domain of the Royal Mint in London while the Canadian facility operated as its Ottawa branch. True to Canadian form, it quickly gained international recognition for the quality of its work. The RCM is a crucible of innovation. The institution created the world's first colored circulation coin—the 2004 Remembrance Day quarter featuring a red poppy. In 2007, the RCM became the first to strike a coin made of 99.999 per cent pure gold. Among the RCM's many technical innovations is a patented multi-ply plating process that creates electromagnetic signatures that can be read by vending machines.