A breathtaking 360-degree view of Canada’s night sky—on a coin.
Armed with a love of nature, art, and a knack for blending personal experience with national pride, Vancouver-based freelance artist and former astrogeologist Alexandra Lefort has brought a piece of Canada’s wilderness to life—this time, through the Mint’s newest collector coin, “Magic of the Northern Lights.”
The new coin, crafted out of 99.99 per cent pure silver, captures the stunning aurora borealis swirling across a panoramic wilderness scene. Thanks to vivid colour technology and a blacklight-activated glow, the green, pink, and purple hues of the northern lights come to life.
From Mars to mint
Coin designing wasn’t always in the cards for Lefort.
She worked as a satellite image specialist before transitioning to full-time freelance work in illustration, web, and graphic design.
“I’ve always drawn since I was a kid, but it was really a hobby until about 10 years ago,” she says.
In 2016, Lefort became interested in coin design while looking for freelance art work. She saw the Mint was looking for artists and brought her portfolio to a coin signing event. She was invited to enter a design competition, and she won with a design they chose to produce.
Since then, Lefort has designed nine collector coins for the Mint featuring science, historical themes, and nature.
Canadian collector coin
When it came to designing “Magic of the Northern Lights,” Lefort knew she wanted the coin to be rooted in a real experience.
“I started by thinking about the times I’d seen the northern lights myself,” she says.
But capturing the beauty of the aurora on the tiny surface of a coin—just 50 millimetres across—was no easy task.
“I design digitally on a large screen, where I can add lots of fine details, but some won’t be visible at coin size. I have to keep zooming out to check what it’ll really look like.”
To maximize the space, Lefort used a fisheye perspective, curving the landscape into a full 360-degree view—so it feels like you’re lying in the wilderness, looking up.
“I started with a more traditional landscape,” she says. “But they didn’t feel impressive enough. That’s when I realized—we needed to look straight up at the sky.”
Adding the great grey owl, Canada’s largest owl and the silent hunter known as the “phantom of the North,” gave the design a sense of life and mystery.
“The owl fits perfectly—it matches the eeriness of the northern lights,” says Lefort.
Though she often works alone, Lefort says she always seeks feedback during her process, gathering advice and opinions from her partner before finalizing a design.
The result is a coin that captures the magic of the Canadian night sky and one that pulls you right into a tiny, handheld window of the world above.
“It’s really special,” she says.
“Magic of the Northern Lights” comes in a clamshell case, with a blacklight flashlight so collectors can experience the beauty of the aurora anytime. Only 4,500 coins will be minted, priced at $259.95 each, and they’ll be available online through the Royal Canadian Mint or in person at their Winnipeg and Ottawa boutiques.
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