50 cents – Bluenose

Raise the golden sails of Canada’s seafaring treasure.

This intricately-engraved pure gold coin features the famous fishing schooner that has graced Canada’s 10-cent circulation coin since 1935. It is the Bluenose, Canada’s quintessential symbol of speed and grace on the open sea.

Canada’s maritime heritage is centuries old. By the early 1900’s, there was a strong tradition of friendly competition between American and Canadian schooners—a rivalry so captivating that a Halifax newspaper established a formal race series.

The Bluenose captured the International Fishermen’s Trophy in her first race and did not surrender it for the duration of her 18-year racing career. She became the enduring symbol of excellence in ship design, ship-building and seamanship; yet, despite her fame, was sold to carry freight and ultimately foundered on a reef in 1946.

In 1963, shipbuilders in Lunenburg (Nova Scotia) launched Bluenose II, an exact replica of the original Bluenose that continues to celebrate the legacy of Canada’s seafaring treasure.