Coin and Bank Note Set - $2 - 1996 - Canada's $2 Proof Coin and Bank Note Set.
Mintage - limited to 30,000 worldwide.
Diameter - 28 mm.
Weight - 7.3 g.
The $2 coin has been minted to the finest proof quality. The outer ring is 99+% nickel and the inner core consists of 92% copper, 6% aluminum and 2% nickel.
Your set also includes a new $2 bank note printed for the Bank of Canada. The "X" in the third position of the serial number denotes that this note is the replacement for one which did not meet the high quality standards set by the Bank of Canada. As such, replacement notes rarely enter circulation.
Designed to replace the $2 bank note, the new bi-metallic $2 coin was issued on February 19, 1996. Featuring the polar bear, it continues the wildlife theme tradition preferred by Canadians.
The reverse of the $2 coin, designed by wildlife artist, Brent Townsend, presents an adult polar bear in early summer, hunting along the edge of an ice floe in proximity of the coast. He is paused, frozen in his tracks, concentrating on a distant movement of fresh scent. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Dora de Pedery-Hunt.
The $2 note face features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II updated and enlarged for this series, a small engraved vignette of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, and the Coat of Arms of Canada. The note bears the signature of Gordon G. Thiessen and Bernard Bonin, Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, respectively. The back features two robins against s stylized sky incorporating the word Canada.