Obverse. Photo © Royal Canadian Mint
  • 2 Dollars 2017, KM# 2325, Canada, Elizabeth II, 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge
  • 2 Dollars 2017, KM# 2325, Canada, Elizabeth II, 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge
  • 2 Dollars 2017, KM# 2325, Canada, Elizabeth II, 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Specially sealed keepsake
Description

Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge with limited edition $2 circulation coin. Honour the solidarity, bravery and sacrifice of Canadians who fought together to take Vimy Ridge.

In the spring of 1917, the Allies launched a new offensive on the Western Front, where all four divisions of the Canadian Corps were ordered to capture the heavily fortified German-held fortress of France's seven-kilometer-long Vimy Ridge. For the first time ever, regiments from all across Canada fought side-by-side to secure victory using an innovative tactic known as a creeping barrage. After four hard fought days, soldiers from across Canada seized the ridge. Nearly 11,000 died in the battle. The Battle of Vimy Ridge stand as one of the most significant events in Canadian military history, and is an enduring symbol of Canada's contributions during the First World War.

Obverse

Fourth portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II, when she was 77 years old, facing right and surrounded with the inscription. A maple leaf above, country name and denomination below.

Dei Gratia Regina (often abbreviated to D. G. Regina and seen as D·G·REGINA) is a Latin title meaning By the Grace of God, Queen.

Engraver: Susanna Blunt

ELIZABETH II D·G· REGINA
SB
CANADA 2 DOLLARS

Reverse

Depicts the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Vimy, France flanked by a First World War soldier on the left and a veteran soldier on the right.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a war memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. The monument is the centrepiece of a 100-hectare (250-acre) preserved battlefield park that encompasses a portion of the ground over which the Canadian Corps made their assault during the initial Battle of Vimy Ridge offensive of the Battle of Arras. France ceded to Canada perpetual use of a portion of land on Vimy Ridge on the understanding that Canada use the land to establish a battlefield park and memorial.

The project took designer Walter Seymour Allward eleven years to see built. King Edward VIII unveiled it on 26 July 1936 in the presence of French President Albert Lebrun and a crowd of over 50,000 people, including 6,200 attendees from Canada.

Engraver: Tony Bianco

VIMY
TB
REMEMBER 2017 SOUVENIR

Edge
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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Nickel Plated Steel
Center Brass Plated Aluminium Bronze
Weight 6.99 g
Diameter 28 mm
Thickness 1.8 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Canadian Mint (RCM)

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