2005 $5 Silver Proof Coin – Saskatchewan Centennial

SPECIAL EDITION

FROM MANY PEOPLES STRENGTH - CELEBRATING 100 YEARSS OF SASKATCHEWAN PRIDE AND OPTIMISM

The early development of Canada was driven in large part by the fur trade as it expanded west across the continent.  In 1867, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec were entering Confederation, but the West was still in the throes of European settlement.  Any land beyond Ontario fell under the jurisdiction of the Hudson’s Bay Company and did not have provincial status.

However, the fur trade had begun its fatal downturn and the Hudson's Bay Company sold its territories to the Government of' Canada.  The timing was perfect. Canada had been feeling expansionist pressure from the United States, now it could solidify its claim to the West by settling the land with wheat fields.  Sowing wealth from the stubborn prairies was not for the faint of heart. Still immigrants flooded in and those that came were strong and fiercely independent people. A mosaic of' cultures began to cover the prairies, and as communities grew, so did the need for provincial self government.

After more than 30 years of confident growth, the region that was then known as the North-West Territory was divided into two provinces - Alberta and Saskatchewan. They joined Confederation on September 1, 1905.

Designed by Canadian artist Paulett Sapergia, the coin depicts a meadowlark standing on a fencepost with Saskatchewan’s prairie in the background. Behind the Rockey Mountains with the foothills and the prairie in the foreground. The obverse shows the effigy of Queen Elizabeth by Susanna Blunt.

The coin is encapsulated and presented in a Royal Canadian Mint-branded maroon case and protected by a black beauty box.

Denomination - Canadian Five Dollars

Composition - Silver Proof (99.99%)

Weight - 25.175g

Diameter - 36.07mm

Worldwide Mintage Limit - 20,000

Mint - Royal Canadian Mint