Reverse: Along the rim at the bottom, “50 DOLLARS”. On the left, “Royal Canadian Mint”. On the right, “Monnaie Royale Canadienne”. In the center, the Royal Canadian Mint building in Ottawa and “1908”, and “2008”.

Obverse: A portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Along the rim, the inscriptions "ELIZABETH II", "CANADA", and "D•G•REGINA". At the bottom, the Royal Canadian Mint mint mark.

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.

This 9999 pure silver coin bears a $50 face value and is the third five-ounce coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint.