CANADA
2015
Dragonfly Pygmy Snaketail
$10 Fine Silver Coin
Specification:
RCM Number: 124565
Face Value: 10 dollars
Mintage: 10,000
Composition: 99.99% Fine Silver 1/2 oz
Weight: 15.87 g
Diameter: 34.0 mm
Edge: Reeded
Finish: Proof Coloured
Artist: Suzanne Taylor (Reverse) Celia Godkin (Obverse)
The beautifully coloured pygmy snaketail (Ophiogomphus howei) is a rare sight in most areas—except for those lucky enough to spot it near the fast-moving rivers of New Brunswick and northwestern Ontario. But with this dazzling holographic coin, the brightly-coloured dragonfly is forever immortalised for all to admire!
Special features:
• The third coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's exciting Dragonflies series, whichfeatures painted images of dragonflies set againsta hologram background image of their natural habitat.
• As the coin is tilted back and forth, the hologram technology—which represents its natural habitat—captures the full rainbow spectrum of colours from any light source.
Design:
Designed by Canadian artist Celia Godkin, your coin offers a rare opportunity to view the pygmy snaketail (Ophiogomphus howei), as it would appear in its natural habitat. This painted dragonfly faces the viewer and seemingly peers out from the image with its large eyes; its beautiful green colouring extends from its head through its thorax towards its dorsal abdomen, where the green is replaced with yellowmarkings along the side. The dragonfly's delicately veined wings are fully extended as it basks in the warming rays of the mid-June sun amidst the green leaves and violet-blue flowers of the pickerelweed. In the background, a shimmering full-colour hologram recreates the pygmy snaketail's naturalhabitat, adding movement to the design.
Did you know…
• This rare dragonfly species spends much of its adult life in the forests, not far from the water where it lived for two years as a larva.
• As a flying adult, the pygmy snaketail will only live 6 to 8 weeks; most become prey to birds, wasps and larger dragonflies.
• The first sighting of this species in Canada was reported in 2002, when it was identified along New Brunswick's Saint John River.
• When reproducing, thefemale dips her abdomen into the water to lay her eggs; these are then carried downstream by the current before they eventually sink into the riverbed!
• During the day, pygmy snaketail larvae burrow into the sand or gravel; they surface again at night, drifting with the current and feasting on other invertebrates and fish larvae.
Packaging:
Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal CanadianMint-branded maroon clamshell with a protective sleeve.
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