With sunlight spilling onto its colourful wings, the butterfly is arguably the winged jewel of the insect world. It is a timeless symbol of love, hope and change, and a thing of great beauty on the reverse of this fine silver coin, where a gamut of gems adds incomparable sparkle to a captivating butterfly.
The first pairing of a gemstone-adorned butterfly on a 99.99% pure silver coin, each butterfly features an array of precious and semi-precious gemstones (black sapphire, amethyst and rhodolite) that have been carefully applied by hand. Like a timeless piece of jewellery, the butterfly is meticulously positioned over an elaborately engraved floral pattern, whose etched curls are beautifully enhanced by the pristine proof finish.
The highly stylized reverse design by Canadian artist Jori van der Linde offers a multi-dimensional approach to celebrating the luminous beauty of a butterfly. Inspired by daffodil flowers and curly pea vines, a contemporary floral pattern provides a fanciful garden setting that includes five-petalled flowers, floral buds, leaves and sweeping curly flourishes. All are meticulously engraved and well defined in a proof finish that enhances both the natural light and the sparkle of the butterfly. The jewellery-like addition catches the eye with its mix of semi-precious and precious gemstones, including: a round black sapphire as the butterfly’s head; four pear-shaped amethyst stones that add a violet-coloured accent to each wing; and an arrangement of rhodolite stones that add a rich, raspberry-red colour.