2025 Canada $20 The Sundial Fine Silver Coin

Make time to admire this functional sundial—a Mint first! Order today!

More than just an eye-catching garden adornment, the sundial is humanity’s oldest known timekeeping device—one that functions just as well today as it did in ancient times. An elaborate and functional showcase of craftsmanship, this limited collectible adds a working sundial to your coin collection. Its embellishment is a rhodium-plated brass gnomon that, when placed in view of the sun and in the direction of true north, casts an angled shadow onto the elaborately engraved 99.99% pure silver base to indicate local solar time.

A functional sundial coin—a Mint first! Order today!

One of the oldest sundials in Canada is located across the street from our Ottawa facility, at the corner of Bruyère Street and Sussex Drive, where a matching pair of vertical sundials built in 1851 served as Ottawa’s first public timepieces.

A functional sundial for mid-northern latitudes, the coin’s time-keeping reverse was designed by Canadian artist Anna Bucciarelli. Serving as the base, the reverse is ornamented with acanthus leaves and edged with Roman numerals indicating the hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. At the bottom, a stylized sunflower—a heliotropic flower and a beloved symbol of the sun—supports the gnomon, which harnesses the power of sunlight and casts the measured shadow that helps determine the time of day. The obverse features the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III by Canadian artist Steven Rosati.

Specifications:
RCM Number: 248108
Mintage: 5,000
Composition: 99.99% pure silver, cast embellishment: rhodium-plated brass gnomon
Weight: 31.39 g
Diameter: 38 mm
Face Value: $20
Finish: Proof
Edge: Serrated
Artist: Anna Bucciarelli (reverse), Steven Rosati (obverse)

Special Features:

• This sundial coin is a first for the Royal Canadian Mint. The coin’s reverse isn’t just an ode to humanity’s oldest known timekeeping device—it is an actual sundial, a Mint first!
• A 3D embellishment. Standing upright on your coin’s reverse, the cast gnomon—the angled pointer that casts the shadow—is rhodium-plated brass and styled to complement the coin base’s ornate design.
• Interactive. This sundial is appropriate for mid-northern latitudes. To use your coin as a sundial, place it on a flat surface in direct sunlight and with the gnomon pointing north. Take note of where the shadow’s outer edge lines up, and that should indicate the approximate local solar time. (Like any sundial, some additional adjustments may be required due to longitude and the time of year.)
• Frosted to perfection. The acanthus leaf motif has a timeless look that harkens back to a bygone era, while various frostings highlight different design elements and give the coin a more brushed appearance.
• Specially encapsulated. Each coin has been carefully placed inside a taller capsule that can accommodate the additional height of the gnomon.
• Low mintage. Only 5,000 sundial coins are available to collectors worldwide—order today!

Packaging
The coin is encapsulated and presented in a black Royal Canadian Mint-branded clamshell with a black beauty box.

Disclaimer: Colonial Acres Coins does not recommend leaving this coin exposed to sunlight for any period of time, as it will cause toning.