2021 Canada Multilayered Cougar 3.40 oz Silver Proof Coin

New technology alert! How do you draw equal attention to a portrait’s subject and background? You treat them as independent layers of art! Thanks to a new advanced minting process, this piedfort-sized coin has two distinctly separate layers of engraving on its reverse: a cutout, and a background etched on the coin’s interior surface. This is Multilayered Engraving, a groundbreaking approach that was previewed in early 2020 as part of the From R&D Lab collection. It’s about unlocking additional design space on a standard coin blank. By using specially manufactured dies, we’re now able to engrave behind the reverse’s top plate—in this case, the cougar that cuts away to a sweeping view of its forest surroundings.

Design:
On the reverse, a wildlife portrait by Canadian artist Denis Mayer Jr. is enhanced with Multilayered Engraving that divides the art into distinct layers. A top plate features a cutout of a cougar (Puma concolor) perched on a branch. Behind it, the coin’s interior surface provides a separate base layer for an engraved rendering of a forest setting in Western Canada. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.