As residents of Eastern Canada know all too well, there are few displays of nature’s unpredictability quite like a mid-winter freeze. This weather phenomenon may be treacherous as it transforms roads and fields into veritable skating rinks, but this icy veneer also adds an undisputable beauty to the winter landscape. With this fine silver coin, the Royal Canadian Mint captures nature’s beauty and resilience in the aftermath of an icy mid-winter freeze.

The reverse image by Canadian artists Tony Bianco and Arnold Nogy features three evening grosbeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus) as they move along ice-covered branches. Selective colour allows for the birds, and berries in the foreground to stand out from the engraved countryside in the background, while the addition of high gloss overlay recreated the glistening ice veneer of a winter freeze.

A valued gift for any bird-watcher, art appreciator, weather-watcher, or anyone with an appreciation for nature’s fury and beauty, even in winter.