ROYAL CANADIAN MINT RELEASES $2 COIN CELEBRATING 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1972 SUMMIT SERIES

OTTAWA The Royal Canadian Mint is commemorating the anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series with a $2 coin celebrating Canada’s hockey triumph over the Soviet Union.

The 1972 Summit Series was an eight-game contest between Canada and the USSR, with games scheduled across Canada and in Moscow.

The mint released the commemorative toonie into circulation Wednesday, on the 50th anniversary of Canadian hockey hero Paul Henderson’s serieswinning goal on Russian netminder Vladislav Tretiak.

The coins, designed by Westport, Ont., artist Joel Kimmel, feature two hockey players representing Team Canada set against the team’s stylized Maple Leaf jersey emblem. The coaches’ initials and the jersey numbers of every player surround the core.

Three million coins have been minted, of which two million feature a fully coloured inner core.

The mint is also issuing a number of collector coins celebrating the anniversary. Net proceeds from the sale of the collector coins will be donated to the Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal.