ROYAL CANADIAN MINT UNVEILS TWO NEW DESIGNS

On Friday morning, representatives of the Royal Canadian Mint came to Guelph and unveiled two new designs for a $2 coin and a quarter to be released into circulation. The big reveal was held at the McCrae House at 10 a.m. and around 100 people were in attendance.

The new quarter features a natural-looking poppy in the foreground surrounded by smaller poppies in the background. The mint will circulate around 12.5 million of these new quarters. Half of them will be in colour, with the poppy standing out in bright red.

The $2 coin features Lt.-Col. John McCrae writing the poem "In Flanders Fields" in 1915. Rows of crosses are seen in the background and a lark is also seen flying by. A total of five million of these coins will soon be circulating throughout the country.

The coins were created in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the writing of "In Flanders Fields" by McCrae, a native of Guelph.

Former cabinet minister and Second World War veteran William Winegard said the city was proud of McCrae and happy to have such a role in the unveiling of these coins.

"Guelph and Ottawa now have statues of McCrae actually writing the poem, but now with your help, the whole country can see John McCrae and can see the poppy," he said.

Reeves wouldn't reveal the cost of creating these coins, but said the public could pick them up at face value.

Ten-year-old Tate Oldreive attended the event with the rest of his classmates from John McCrae Public School. Emptying a small plastic bag into his hands, he counted out $5 in change and handed it over to a man distributing the new coins.

He picked up two commemorative booklets, each one containing the new toonie and the two quarter designs.

"They're cool," he said, adding he was going to give one to his parents.

Eleven-year-old Alexandra Petrie said she was really excited to take home these new coins. The student said she is an avid coin collector, just like her father, with 50 or so coins in her collection.

"These are going to be the best in my collection," she said, looking down at the coins and smiling.

The designs of these coins represent an important part of Canadian history and contribute to the Canadian identity, she said. The poppy in particular illustrates how we as Canadians value our past and how important it is to never forget.

To read the complete article, see:
Guelph’s McCrae and the poppy to be seen on coins throughout the country (www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/6033133-guelph-s-mccrae-and-the-poppy-to-be-seen-on-coins-throughout-the-country/)

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