Canada
2012
200th Anniversary Of The War 1812
$1 Sterling Silver Coin
Specification:
RCM Number: 116864
Face Value: $1
Mintage: 40,000
Composition: 92.5% Silver/ 7.5% Copper
Weight: 23.17 g
Diameter: 35.9 mm
Edge: Serrated
Finish: Proof
Artist: Ardell Bourgeois (reverse), Susanna Blunt (obverse)
The War of 1812 – Building unity: the seeds of a nation
For Canadians, the War of 1812 conjures a rich historical moment steeped in both fact and myth, full of heroes, villains, disastrous defeats, and glorious victories. While the conflict did not predestine the emergence of Canada as a nation, outcomes like the sustained sovereignty of British North America and the collaborative experience of resisting American forces would eventually help to feed Canada's transition from British colony to dominion to independent nation.
English and French Canadian colonists and First Nations alike recognized that American invasion threatened their own independence and way of life. They had good reason to fret: the United States continued to expand relentlessly south and westward throughout the nineteenth century. The war was hard fought on both sides for two more years, over which time some of Canada's proudest moments arose.
The hard lessons learned in the War of 1812 further strengthened the physical and economic ties between Upper and Lower Canada, driving greater colonial unity. More viscerally, the conflict spawned shared stories and heroes that represent a common thread in the histories of all of Canada's founding peoples