he Canadians who have fought so gallantly for our liberties and those of the world, and who have given to our country a great place among the world's nations, will return to Canada with a wider vision and with a higher appreciation of the opportunities that lie before them.
- Sir Robert Borden
At 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the battlefields suddenly fell silent after four calamitous years that forever changed the world. The armistice signed near Compiègne, France, marked the beginning of the end of the First World War, as diplomatic wrangling replaced armed conflict in the quest for a much-desired peace that, sadly, would prove to be imperfect and short-lived. Far beyond re-defined borders, the story of Canada in the First World War is one of mud-soaked valour and misery in the trenches; of the introduction of new combat tactics and the modern machinery of war; and of individual contributions and collective sacrifices that led to the costly allied victory. When our combatants came home in 1919, they found a Canada that had been transformed by the war experience, emerging as fledgling nation whose international reputation was forged in battle at places such as Neuve-Chapelle, Ypres, the Somme, Passchendaele and Vimy, and during Canada's Hundred Days.
Specifications
No. 147832
Mintage 10,000
Composition 99.99% pure silver
Finish proof with selective gold plating
Weight (g) 31.39
Diameter (mm) 38
Edge serrated
Certificate serialized
Face value 20 dollars
Artist William McMillan (reverse), Sir E.B. MacKennal (obverse)