Campbell River watercolour artist Caren Heine recently had a fourth collector coin featuring her artwork released by the Royal Canadian Mint.
Launched on May 16, the half-kilo silver coin depicts a meticulously handcrafted monarch butterfly in Murano glass from Italy. It includes Heine's rendering of milkweed and the perennial wildflower menzies larkspur in the background. The beautiful botanical artwork is influenced by Heine's original watercolour painting and milkweed from her garden.
"Being a monarch, its favourite habitat is the milkweed, so I did in the background milkweed and I chose a flower that I am comfortable with from B.C. that I have often painted," she said. "It's called a menzies larkspur."
With only 800 of these collector coins produced, the coin, which made of 99.99 per cent silver, costs $2,099.95. It is 85.52 millimetres in diameter.
The Mint’s “Murano Monarch Butterfly – Half Kilo Fine Silver Coin” is "truly unique to your selectively gold-plated coin, which, from start to finish, celebrates art in its many forms – from the original watercolour painting that the design is based on (as seen on the accompanying art card), to the delicate butterfly that is sure to inspire."
"Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy one as an artist," said Heine, chuckling. "They never give us a free one."
Heine, a local artist who has lived in Campbell River for the past 15 years, is the daughter of well-known marine artist Harry Heine.
Both her and her father's work has been shown in galleries across Canada, including Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria.
Heine has designed three other coins with the Royal Canadian Mint, including a gold coin of the B.C. Dogwood, the N.W. T. Mountain Avens, and a maple path with a Swarovski crystal.
