Royal Canadian Mint

5 dollars

8,5 g

28 mm

Silver 999°, outer coreNiobium, inner core

7500 pcs.

Distinct and innovative minting process, insert - Niobium

John Mantha

Royal Canadian Mint

The obverse features the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, by Susanna Blunt. On the reverse there is an image of a wolf against the background of a full moon, the inscriptions in a circle: at the top the - «CANADA», at the bottom - the face value “5 DOLLARS”. January is the quintessential month of snow and ice. Its full moon is known as Snow Moon or Old Moon, but the most common name is Wolf Moon to reflect the fact that wolves are often heard howling outside First Nations villages, the sound amplified by the crisp, open air—a beautiful song of longing inspired by the ever-changing cycle of life.

In North America, the First Nations tribes that comprise the Algonquin people used the lunar cycle as a celestial calendar to track time. They assigned a name to every full moon to reflect the seasonal activities that accompanied its specific cycle. The Algonquin people lived across a vast territory from Lake Superior to the Atlantic—and the geographical difference between them produced a variety of names for each full moon.