2025 Canada Celebrating the Life and Art of Daphne Odjig Commemorative Collector Keepsake Card

2025 Canada Celebrating the Life and Art of Daphne Odjig Commemorative Collector Keepsake Card

Two versions of the Royal Canadian Mint's 2025 tribute to Daphne Odjig in one easy-to-display collectible.

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 and her art are honoured on the 2025 $2 commemorative coin that pays tribute to her legacy—as a creative force for change. There are two versions of the $2 Celebrating the Life and Art of Daphne Odjig, colourized and engraved only, and this affordably priced, two-coin Commemorative Collector Keepsake Card guarantees you’ll have both.

Add Daphne Odjig’s art to your collection.

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: 251416
Composition: Outer Ring: Three-ply nickel-plated steel; Inner Core: Three-ply brass-plated aluminum bronze
Mintage: 50,000
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. The $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 arts.
• New format. Redesigned in 2024 to keep the focus on the commemorative theme, each Commemorative Collector Keepsake Card contains two (2) uncirculated coins: a colourized $2 Celebrating the Life and Art of Daphne Odjig coin, and a non-colourized one.
• Affordably priced. Your two coins come in a colourful folder that presents and explains the theme, and at just $14.95, this is one of our most affordable collectibles in 2025!
• 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. The $2 coin’s reverse design is based on Odjig’s Folk Singer, brought to life by a selective application of colour on the colourized coin. It is an inspiring representation of the bold line and colour work that characterized much of her work.
• Limited supply. A total of 50,000 keepsake cards are available worldwide.

Packaging:
The two $2 commemorative circulation coins come packaged together in a colourful folder designed for easy handling, viewing and sharing.

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