2011 $5 Hunter's Moon - Sterling Silver and Niobium Coin
 
Theme: Calendar in the sky
We look to the sky to see if rain is coming, but there was a time when people gleaned far more information from gazing upward—particularly at night. Throughout history, cultures around the world have recognized the moon as the guardian of nature’s cycles. Its perpetual waxing and waning, ―dying‖ and reappearing, marked the passage of time—not clock time, but the rhythms of life; the ebb and flow of the sea; the birth, maturation and migration of animals; the sprouting of new plants and the scattering of seeds.
 
In North America, the First Nations tribes that comprise the Algonquin people used the lunar cycle as a celestial calendar to track time. They assigned a name to every full moon to reflect the seasonal activities that accompanied its specific cycle. The Algonquin people lived across a vast territory from Lake Superior to the Atlantic—and the geographical differences between them produced a variety of names for each full moon.
 
October is a month of falling leaves. Its full moon is known as Travel Moon or Dying Moon, but its most common name is Hunter’s Moon to reflect the fact that the animals are fattened for winter and it is time for hunters to build their provisions for the cold months ahead—a venture of patience and strength inspired by the ever-changing cycle of life.
 
Special features:
- Second coin in an exciting new Niobium insert series featuring the Full Moons of the Algonquin, to be followed by the Full Wolf Moon and Full Pink Moon.
- Low mintage coin features a niobium metal inset with unique colouring that reflects the theme of the coin.
- Distinct and innovative minting process: Niobium insert is struck into the core of a sterling silver coin and then selectively colored through a unique oxidization process made possible by the special properties of this metal.
- Unique Maple wooden flip case houses each coin or the full series.