Canadian circulating $2 coin marks Battle of Atlantic

By Jeff Starck

Published: Nov 12, 2016, 3 AM

2016-canada-two-dollar-coin-battle-of-atlantic-lead

The Royal Canadian Mint honors the anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II with a circulating commemorative ringed-bimetallic $2 coin.

Images courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint.

Battle of the Atlantic veterans aboard HMCS Sackville on Oct. 20, 2016, for the Royal Canadian Mint’s unveiling of the $2 circulation coin commemorating the 75th anniversary of the battle are, from left, Norman Crewe (Canadian Merchant Navy), Capt. Angus McDonald (British Merchant Navy), J. Vernon Toole (Royal Canadian Navy) and Capt. Earle Wagner (Canadian Merchant Navy). Each man holds an example of the 2016 anniversary coin.

Image courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint.

For the second time in three years, the Royal Canadian Mint has issued a circulating commemorative $2 coin with a World War II theme.

The RCM on Oct. 20 unveiled a 2016 $2 coin honoring the pivotal role of the Battle of the Atlantic in the worldwide warfare pitting Allies against Germany and the other Axis Powers. The coin marks the 75th anniversary of the battle.

This coin joins the 2014 Wait For Me Daddy $2 coin.

The $2 coin is Canada’s highest coin denomination in circulation.

The RCM on Oct. 20 unveiled the coin at a special ceremony in Halifax, Nova Scotia, held aboard HMCS Sackville, the last of 123 Canadian corvettes to sail in World War II. Guests included veterans of the war who served in the Atlantic.

The Battle of the Atlantic raged for six arduous years, from the earliest days of World War II to the final hours of the conflict in Europe.

Sir Winston Churchill called it “the dominating factor all through the war.”

According to the RCM, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau said, “Canada emerged as a leader in the Battle of the Atlantic, to protect the shipping lanes essential to the Allied war effort and help ensure victory in the Second World War.”

The reverse image of this new circulation coin features the artwork of Canadian maritime artist Yves Bérubé. It depicts the many crucial actors in Canada’s victory in the Battle of the Atlantic: an anti-aircraft gunman positioned on the deck of a corvette; an Allied aircraft hunting enemy submarines; and a merchant ship whose vital cargo is protected by a nearby navy vessel on convoy duty.

The obverse carries the Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.

In total, 5 million of the $2 coins have been struck for release into circulation through normal coin circulation channels, the RCM’s boutiques in Winnipeg, Vancouver and Ottawa, and through the RCM’s website (for Canadian residents only).

The ringed-bimetallic coin has a nickel ring and a center composed of copper, aluminum and nickel.