2025 Canada $2 Coloured Celebrating the Life and Art of Daphne Odjig Special Wrap Roll of 25pcs

2025 Canada $2 Coloured Celebrating the Life and Art of Daphne Odjig Special Wrap Roll of 25pcs

Art as a force for change: Daphne Odjig.

Daphne Odjig (1919-2016) was not only one of the most celebrated artists active in Canada in the 20th century, but a pathbreaking advocate for Indigenous art and culture. Her immense portfolio includes everything from minimalist fine-line sketches to massive paintings blazed with bold colour.

The recipient of some of Canada’s highest honours, and the first First Nations woman artist to be represented on a Canadian circulation coin, Daphne Odjig is honoured on all 25 coins contained in this Special Wrap Roll. Enhanced with colour, each $2 coin’s reverse pays tribute to her legacy as a creative force for change.

Celebrate the artist and cultural activist who reshaped perceptions.

In addition to being celebrated for her decades-spanning portfolio, Daphne Odjig was a founding member of the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. (PNIAI)—a collective that redefined the place of Indigenous art in the art world – and established one of the first Indigenous-owned art galleries in Canada.

Layers of meaning
On the reverse, the outer ring includes Odjig’s drawing of a fisher, as it appears above her signature on her 1978 masterpiece The Indian in Transition, where it serves as a visual representation of her surname (the anglicized version of “Odjig” is “Fisher”)

A view of the reverse design, visible on one or both ends of the roll.
Each coin included in the Special Wrap Roll has a reverse and obverse design. The production process and quality assurance for uncirculated Special Wrap Rolls allows for either the reverse design on both ends, or the reverse design on one end and the obverse on the other. It is not possible for the Mint to guarantee or foresee which of the two versions will be shipped.

The reverse design is based on the artwork Folk Singer by acclaimed First Nations artist Daphne Odjig (1919-2016). Enhanced with selective colour on the colourized coin, the centre features a cropped view of the female figure holding a drum, while the outer rim bears an engraved reproduction of the artist’s drawing of a fisher (the anglicized version of “Odjig” is “Fisher”), as it appears above Odjig’s signature on her 1978 masterpiece The Indian in Transition, which hangs in the Canadian Museum of History. The obverse features the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III by Canadian artist Steven Rosati.

Specifications:
RCM Number: 250985
Composition: Outer Ring: Three-ply nickel-plated steel; Inner Core: Three-ply brass-plated aluminum bronze
Mintage: 15,000
Weight: 6.99 g (per coin)
Diameter: 28 mm (per coin)
Finish: Circulation
Edge: Interrupted serrations
Face Value: $2 (per coin)
Artists: Daphne Odjig (reverse), Steven Rosati (obverse)

Special Features:

• Exceptional art, exceptional artist. This $2 commemorative circulation coin honours one of the most important artists active in Canada in the 20th century: Daphne Odjig, who, through her colourful works and advocacy, worked to put Indigenous art on an equal footing with other fine art.
• A first for a Canadian circulation coin. This is the first circulation coin to focus on the life and work of a First Nations woman artist.
• Painting a story. Selectively enhanced with vivid colours, the $2 coin’s reverse design is based on Odjig’s Folk Singer, which is representative of the bold line and colour work that characterized much of the artist’s work.
• Collect Canada’s circulation coins by the roll. Each Colourized Special Wrap Roll contains 25 selectively coloured $2 Celebrating the Life and Art of Daphne Odjig commemorative circulation coins, which come in a custom paper wrap. A Non-colourized Special Wrap Roll of engraved-only $2 coins is also available—collect both versions!
• All are uncirculated coins. Inside each Special Wrap Roll, all 25 coins are uncirculated: they all have a newly minted quality and feature the same colour-enhanced reverse design.
• Limited supply. Only 15,000 rolls available.

Folk Singer and the fisher as it appears in The Indian in Transition are adapted with permission from Stan Somerville.