01 / 04
Falco peregrinus
Peregrine Falcon
A vertical stoop, wings raised and talons extended
Emily DamstraRead the coinROYAL CANADIAN MINT · FINITE SILVER BULLION SERIES
Birds of Prey
2014—2015
Four Canadian raptors appeared across a four-coin, one-ounce silver bullion series issued in 2014 and 2015.
Precision, flight and Canadian wilderness, cut into one ounce of silver.
- 4
- releases
- 2
- coin dates
- .9999
- silver purity
- 1 oz
- fine silver
- CAD $5
- face value
- 1
- reverse artist
THE SERIES
A complete four-coin sequence
The Royal Canadian Mint opened the programme with the Peregrine Falcon in 2014 and closed it with the Great Horned Owl in 2015.
Two designs appeared under each coin date. Every reverse is by Emily Damstra and every obverse carries Susanna Blunt's effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The compact run makes changes in posture, direction and visual weight unusually easy to compare.
THE COMPLETE SET
Four hunters, four distinct silhouettes
In series order, the standard reverses depict the Peregrine Falcon, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and Great Horned Owl.
02 / 04
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Bald Eagle
Level flight with a fish secured below
Emily DamstraRead the coin
03 / 04
Buteo jamaicensis
Red-tailed Hawk
A broad diagonal descent with both talons lowered
Emily DamstraRead the coin04 / 04
Bubo virginianus
Great Horned Owl
Frontal wingspan with prey held beneath
Emily DamstraRead the coinFLIGHT STUDY
From a steep stoop to a frontal encounter
The four reverses move from a steep vertical dive to lateral capture, diagonal descent and a frontal spread. Posture and direction provide the clearest points of comparison.
Vertical
The Peregrine compresses speed into a narrow top-to-bottom attack.
Lateral
The Bald Eagle stretches capture across the full width of the coin.
Diagonal
The Red-tailed Hawk makes wing length and controlled descent the dominant line.
Frontal
The Great Horned Owl ends with symmetry, eye contact and a wall of feathers.
TWO YEARS · TWO RELEASES EACH
A short series with a clear cadence
Two 2014-dated coins were followed by two 2015-dated coins, creating a four-step sequence from Peregrine Falcon to Great Horned Owl.
- 01
Peregrine Falcon
A vertical stoop, wings raised and talons extended
- 02
Bald Eagle
Level flight with a fish secured below
- 03
Red-tailed Hawk
A broad diagonal descent with both talons lowered
- 04
Great Horned Owl
Frontal wingspan with prey held beneath
ONE REVERSE ARTIST
Emily Damstra across all four reverses
The consistent hand makes the changing aerial grammar visible. Susanna Blunt's obverse portrait provides a stable counterpart across the complete set.
EDAcross the four reverses, fixed legends frame four changes in direction: vertical, lateral, diagonal and frontal.
World Coin Book · design comparison
SHARED SPECIFICATION
One physical standard
The four coins share the same bullion format.
- Composition
- .9999 silver
- Fine weight
- 1 troy ounce
- Recorded weight
- 31.11 g
- Diameter
- 38 mm
- Face value
- CAD $5
- Finish
- Bullion
- Edge
- Reeded
- Obverse
- Queen Elizabeth II · Susanna Blunt
MINTAGE RECORD
Maximums are not always final totals
Launch material set a maximum of one million per design. The Bald Eagle has an explicit official sell-out statement for all one million; the other records remain qualified.
| No. | Date | Issue | Product | Published quantity | Source meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 2014 | Peregrine Falcon | 126085 | Maximum 1,000,000 | RCM later described the issue as approaching sell-out; no final per-issue total was located. |
| 02 | 2014 | Bald Eagle | 130579 | 1,000,000 sold | RCM announced that all one million Bald Eagle coins had sold out. |
| 03 | 2015 | Red-tailed Hawk | 134672 | Maximum 1,000,000 | No final per-issue total was located in the available official record. |
| 04 | 2015 | Great Horned Owl | 146739 | Maximum 1,000,000 | No final per-issue total was located in the available official record. |
SOURCES
Documenting the four-coin series
Royal Canadian Mint product pages and releases name the four coins and their specifications; the 2014 annual report records the programme's launch. APMEX product records preserve identifying standard-issue photographs.
- Royal Canadian Mint · Birds of Prey launchAccessed 22 Aug 2026
- Royal Canadian Mint · Bald Eagle releaseAccessed 22 Aug 2026
- Royal Canadian Mint · Bald Eagle sold outAccessed 22 Aug 2026
- Royal Canadian Mint Annual Report 2014Accessed 22 Aug 2026
- RCM · 2014 Peregrine FalconAccessed 22 Aug 2026
- RCM · 2014 Bald EagleAccessed 22 Aug 2026
- RCM · 2015 Red-tailed HawkAccessed 22 Aug 2026
- RCM · 2015 Great Horned OwlAccessed 22 Aug 2026