2244) "Underground Railroad", Canada: "Commemorating Black History Coin Series": Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has issued a $20 (Twenty Dollars - CAN) depicting the famous network of safe houses and secret routes, which helped enslaved people of African Descent to escape the freedom in Canada: Year of Coin issue: 2022:
The Numismatic Document issued by the royal Canadian Mint (RCM)
Commemorating Black History Featuring the "Underground Railroad":
The Underground Railroad helped many people of African descent escape enslavement in the American South, but until the 19th century, slavery existed in British North America (Canada) too.
While anti-slavery measures had already been enacted in some Canadian jurisdictions, the Slavery Abolition Act, 1833, that came into effect on 01.08.1834 abolished slavery across most of the British Empire, including present-day Canada.
In reality, freedom came more gradually to some and equality was far from assured. But the imperial statute represents a monumental milestone in Black Canadian history, and it shaped the view of Canada as a safe haven and a popular terminus for those who travelled the "Freedom Train."
To maintain secrecy and avoid capture or punishment, the Underground Railroad used a "system of code words based on railroad terminology".
Financial benefactors were known as "stockholders," while "ticket agents" helped freedom seekers connect with the "conductors" who guided or transported the "passengers," "cargo" or "freight" - those escaping slavery - along the "line" or route to freedom in the northern United States and Canada. Located in "terminals" (cities or towns), a "station" or "depot" was a temporary safe house run by a "station master," who hid the fugitives and provided meals and clothing. The enslaved persons risked it all for the promise of freedom at the end of their long journey, and that freedom had a name: "the promised land" in present-day Canada.
Travelling at night, these freedom seekers were guided by the "Big Dipper" appearing in the night sky, where the stars directed them north to freedom and a new life in Canada.
The ladle-shaped asterism known as the Big Dipper was dubbed the "drinking gourd." To those who escaped and travelled at night, the "drinking gourd" served as a point of reference in the night sky.
Many did not get to complete the journey and faced the same hardships what they left behind. The ones that made it built their legacies and shaped the mosaic that Canada is today.
From the early 1800s through 1865, at least 30,000 enslaved people of African descent fled to British North America by way of a covert network of routes and safe houses. Many of these freedom seekers - men, women and children - travelled by foot, and often at night to avoid re-capture.
Once in Canada, they found refuge in Black communities and settled in parts of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where they were secure in their freedom, but not free from discrimination.
The Coin:
The Underground Railroad is the theme of the Royal Canadian Mint’s (RCM's) release in its ongoing "Commemorating Black History Coin Series".
Issued in conjunction with the start of Black History Month, this silver collector coin designed by Toronto artist Kwame Delfish (We found out during our trip to Ghana in 2013 and our researches that Kwame is an Akan name given to male children "born on a Saturday". Traditionally in Ghana, a child would receive their Akan day name eight days after they were born).
Kwame's design portrays in a unique perspective the human side of the perilous northward migration, which reached its peak in the 1850s and 1860s.
Design:
The Reverse of the $20 (Twenty Dollars - CAN) Silver Proof Coin is an ode to the "Gospel Train" or "Underground Railroad", the pathway to freedom for enslaved people of African descent in the 19th century.
The placement of men, women and children along the coin's edge creates a sense of circular motion to represent a long, continuous journey. The tall trees and rocky terrain are a reminder of some of the challenges they faced in the wilderness, where they often battled the elements while avoiding capture.
Travelling at night, these freedom seekers are guided by the Big Dipper appearing in the night sky, where the stars directed them north to freedom and a new life in "CANADA".
The Obverse of the $20 (Twenty Dollars - CAN) Silver Proof Coin features a maple leaf pattern, the year "2022", a denomination of "20 DOLLARS" and the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.
The specification of the Silver Coin are:
Country of issue: Canada; Date/Year: 01.02.2022; Coin Series Theme: "Black History Coin Series"; Coin Theme: "The Underground Railroad"; Denomination/Face Value: $20 (Twenty Dollars); Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 1.00 Troy Oz or 31.39 grams; Diameter/Size: 38.00 mm; Edge: serrated; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mint: Royal Canadian Mint (RCM); Mintage: 5,500 pieces; Presentation Box/Case: Yes; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes, Serialised; Modifications/Special Features: MAPLE LEAF PATTERN. The Coin features a symbol of Canada on its Obverse, where the maple leaf forms a repeating pattern that fills the field; Designer: (Reverse) Kwame Delfish, (Obverse) Susanna Blunt; Packaging: The coin is encapsulated and presented in a black Royal Canadian Mint-branded clamshell with a black beauty box.
Canada's Unexplained Phenomena Coin Series Posts on this blog:
31) North-west Territories, Canada: 150th Anniversary (1870-2020): A $30 (Thirty Canadian Dollars) Silver Proof Coin minted by the Royal Canadian Mint, celebrates the milestone: Year of Coin issue: 2020
32) An "Inuk" and a Quilliq", Canada: New 1/20 Ounce $10 Coins minted in Arctic Gold by the Royal Canadian Mint symbolise cultural diversity in Canada and features deeply symbolic elements that are important expressions of Inuit identity: Year of Coin issue: 2020
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