929) Canada's Vikings of Vinland: The Viking Age: "Norse Gods" 3-Coin Series: The first 20 Dollars Silver Coin (with selective Gold plating) issued by the Royal Canadian Mint:
The Royal Canadian Mint has begun the three Coin Series titled "Norse Gods" with the issue of a 20 Dollars Silver Coin (with Gold plating) titled "Thor".
This coin commemorates Canada's old Norse and Viking past and is a fitting tribute to the many Scandinavian settlers who came to North America and made Canada their home during the Viking Age. The tales of Viking gods and giants represented tradition to the Vikings of Vinland and folklore to Scandinavian settlers in Canada.
Norse mythology has influenced the way several Canadian stories and some Viking words have made their way into present day Canadian usage.
About Vinland:
Vinland is the territory of coastal North America which was explored by Norse Vikings, where Lief Ericson first landed around 1000 AD, over five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot.
Vinland was the name given to the part of North America now known as Newfoundland, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as far as North-eastern New Brunswick and where traces of Viking settlements were discovered in 1960.
References of the land of Vinland have been found in Old Norse writings around the same time that the lands of Greenland and Iceland were discovered by the early Viking explorers and placed on old maps.
The Coin:
The Reverse of the Silver (with selective gold plating) Coin shows Thor fighting with "Jormungandr", the serpent that wraps itself around Midgard (Earth), shown against a background of lightning and thunder, as Thor is also a quick-tempered God o the weather.
Thor:
The first coin in the 3-Coin Series depicts Thor the Norse God who represents strength and is also the God of agriculture and fertility. He is the ultimate Norse warrior whose courage makes him the ideal defender of Asgard - one of the nine worlds of and home of the Aesir Gods - Odin, Frigg and others. He was the quick-tempered son of Odin and Jord and is one of the most admired figures of Norse faith and lore.
He functioned as the cosmic protector of both man and gods alike. He was widely venerated as the God of thunder and lightning as well as the weather.
Thor's "Expedition to Utgard" and the cosmological myth called "Thor's fishing" recounted in many tales and bardic ballads are two of the most popular folklore tales.
Thor has three key possessions - "Mjollnir" (Thor's giant slaying hammer) which is primarily used to defend the gods and their world. It always returns to his hand after being thrown. This hammer is made by a dwarf in a bet with Loki. His second key possession is "Jamgreip" (his iron gloves) and "Megingjoro" (his belt), which doubles his physical strength.
Thor represents the "good versus evil" and he has an arch-enemy who was "Jormungandr" (a giant sea-serpent) that wraps itself around "Midgard" (or "Earth"). The middle child of Loki and Angrbooa, "Jormungandr" battles Thor during the Ragnarok, in which the Norse thunder god kills the serpent, but ultimately falls victim to the serpent's venom after walking nine paces.
In Southern Germanic areas he is known as "Donar", the Anglo-Saxons called him "Thunor" and in Vikng Age Britain (Eighth to Eleventh Centuries) he was called "Thur" or "Thor", closely following the Scandinavian form of the name. It is from him that many cultures derive the word "Thursday" (meaning "Thor's Day").
Thor and his hammer became religious symbols and many Viking tombstones show his hammer or invoke Thor to "hollow there runes".
The Reverse of the Gold plated, Silver 20 Dollars Coin shows the battle between Thor and Jormungandr at Ragnarok - an end-of-days event in Norse mythology. The
Clad in the finest clothing and armour of the Viking ear, the Norse God of Thunder stands with his hammer raised, ready to strike the coiled serpent.
Selective Gold plating highlights Thor's hammer, iron gloves and belt.
A Norse-inspired pattern lines the periphery on both faces of the coin.
The Gold plated goat heads represent "Tanngrisnir" and ""Tanngnjostr" (the goats which pull Thor's chariot, while the Gold-plated hammer the Mjollnir is based on a 10th Century silver pendant.
The Ragnarok:
In Norse mythology, the Ragnarok is a catastrophic event which will happen at a future day and time.
It is said that when Heimdall, the God who guards the entrance to Asgard blows his trumpet, it will sound the beginning of the Ragnarok. The fate of the gods was predestined - at a future time, there would be a great battle - gods against monsters and giants and humans against humans, in which most would be destroyed.
It is said that the great battle will begin thus: "After a winter lasting three years, wolves will devour the sun and moon. Loki and his children. the Goddess Hel and Fenrir the wolf, will be released by earthquakes.
With the frost giants, they will sail to meet the gods in battle. The Midgard serpent, another of Loki's children, will swell the waves and the water will engulf the land.
Warned by Heimdall's horn, the gods with the fallen warriors gathered at Valhalla in Asgard will advance with Odin at their head. Most will die in the battle and a great fire will sweep the earth. Only the sons of Odin and Thor and the daughter of the sun will survive . Baldr and his blind brother will be freed from hell and the world will begin again." (This tale tells of a catastrophe which will befall the inhabitants of Earth and our Solar System at a future date).
The Obverse of the Gold plated Silver 20 Dollars Coin shows an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, designed by Susanah Blunt.
The peripheral inscriptions are - ELIZABETH II.D.G.REGINA".
The specifications of this coin are:
Denomination: $ 20 Canadian; Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag) with selective gold plating; Coin Quality: Proof; Diameter: 38.0 mm; Weight: 31.39 grams; Edge: Serrated; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Serialised; Designer: Alexandra Lefort (Reverse).
Remarks: The Coin is encapsulated and is presented in a Royal Canadian Mint branded clamshell with a black beauty box.
The other two gods who will be covered in this 3-coin Series are Thor and Frigg.
For other interesting posts on the Coins and Banknotes of Canada, please visit the following links:
16) Viola Desmond, Civil Rights Activist and the first Canadian woman to feature on a circulation Banknote: A $10 Polymer Banknote issued bt the Bank of Canada on 19.11.2018: Canada's first vertically oriented Banknote issuedby the Bank of Canada on 19.11.2018
17) 90th Anniversary of the Armistice of 1918: A Commemorative Circulation 25 Cents coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa in 2008
18) Canada's Vikings of Vinland: The Viking Age: "Norse Gods" 3-Coin Series:The first 20 Dollars Silver Coin (with selective Gold plating) issued by the Royal Canadian Mint
17) 90th Anniversary of the Armistice of 1918: A Commemorative Circulation 25 Cents coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa in 2008
18) Canada's Vikings of Vinland: The Viking Age: "Norse Gods" 3-Coin Series:The first 20 Dollars Silver Coin (with selective Gold plating) issued by the Royal Canadian Mint
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