Sporting a crest that’s as red as Canada’s flag, the pileated woodpecker plays an important role in maintaining the health of our forests. The hard-working bird is the latest species showcased in our annual specimen set, which features a set-exclusive dollar and a world-exclusive specimen finish.

Your stunning pileated woodpecker coin is exclusive tothis 6-coin specimen set! Order today!

• RARELY SEEN! Your 2019 set includes a 50-cent coin in a specimen finish! Exclusive to this set!
• A CONTINUING TRADITION! The specimen set has featured a different bird species each year since 2008. The 2019 edition continues this longstanding tradition by showcasing the pileated woodpecker, a favourite of Canadian birders and nature enthusiasts.
• ONLY AVAILABLE AS PART OF THIS SET! The bird-themed dollar coin is exclusive to this 2019 specimen set.
• A WORLD-EXCLUSIVE FINISH! All six coins feature a specimen finish, which combines brilliant and frosted relief over a lined specimen background. The Royal Canadian Mint is the only mint to offer an annual set in an exclusive specimen finish.
• SIX COINS, ONE COMPLETE SET! The set contains a total of six Canadian coins.It features the 2019 designs for the 2-dollar, 50-cent, 25-cent, 10-cent and 5-cent circulation coins, along with a special edition 1-dollar coin.
• BOOK-STYLE PACKAGING! As in previous years, all six coins are elegantly presented in book-style packaging with a removable lens.

On your special dollar coin, the artist Jean-Charles Daumas was inspired by one of his own photographs. The side-profile view of the pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) shows it vertically scaling an oak tree, where it uses its chisel-like bill to widen an oblong-shaped cavity in the trunk. The reverse includes the word “CANADA”, the year “2019” and the face value, “DOLLAR”. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.

• The pileated woodpecker is the largest of the 13 woodpecker species found in Canada.
• Ants make up a large part of the woodpecker’sdiet—anywhere from 40% to 97%.
• Excavating a nest cavity can take up to 6 weeks and it is rarely re-used. Once the hole is large enough, the woodpecker climbs in and chips away from theinside, then lines the cavity with wood chips.
• The woodpecker uses its long neck to pull back from the treebefore each blow, and uses its feet to increase thestrike force. A sticky, barbed tongue allows the bird to extract its insect prey, which includes wood-boring insects that can potentially threaten the health of our forests.

Your specimen set comes in elegant book-style packaging,with removable lens, that complements your beautiful coins.

The affordable set also makes a great gift—it is an easy way to share your passion and interests bystarting a young person on their collecting journey!

Order today!