Hot Air Balloons - 2017 Canada 1 oz Pure Silver Coloured Coin - Royal Canadian Mint

Join the adventure in the sky with this brightly coloured coin that takes you high above the ground to celebrate the many festivals that fill Canada's skies with breathtaking colour and shapes each year. Even the coin itself is specially crafted to echo the balloon's inverted teardrop shape!

Extremely fine detailing and tilt-shift perspective deliver a remarkable depth of field that will make you feel as if you're floating in a basket high above the ground, gazing out at big billowing clouds of vibrant orange, green, purple and blue as they float down the mountain valley. A red-and-white balloon salutes the rich ballooning tradition that can be found across Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia and the Far North, where passengers can experience the ride of their lives as they enjoy Canada's breathtaking landscapes in this exhilarating way—share the magic wherever you are with this original, excitement-filled keepsake!

A vibrant and energizing keepsake for balloon enthusiasts! Order today!

• A SPECIAL 2017 KEEPSAKE! Canada's balloon festivals will be extra special in 2017 to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary. Your coin is an original, must-have keepsake to mark this historic occasion!
• YOU FEEL AS IF YOU ARE RIGHT THERE! Rich, vibrant colour, exceptional detail and tilt-shift perspective draws you in. You feel as if you are right there, looking out at the world from your basket high above the ground!
• 1 OUNCE 99.99% PURE SILVER! Your coin is designed from one ounce of pure silver, with rich colour, and an elliptical shape!
• LOW MINTAGE! Your coin has no GST/HST and a limited mintage worldwide of only 5,000!

Canadian artist Calder Moore created a captivating and immersive design filled with rich, vibrant colour. The compelling tilt-shift perspective uses strategic sizing and placement of the balloons—a larger balloon extending beyond the field of the coin, and progressively smaller balloons disappearing in the distance—to create an exceptional depth of field that draws the viewer in, as if they are in a basket, gazing out at dozens of other balloonists out for a ride down a mountain valley. Majestic mountains in the distance enhance the sense of depth, while a red-and-white maple leaf balloon salutes Canada's rich ballooning tradition.

Beautiful colour has been a signature feature of hot air balloons since the first flight of 1783. Inventors Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier worked with wallpaper manufacturer Jean-Baptiste Réveillon to build their 1,700 m³ taffeta envelope, and Réveillon brought a strong sense of aesthetics to the project when he created a blue and gold design of flourishes, suns and zodiacs–and that is likely how the tradition of beauty took off.

The first passengers aboard a hot air balloon were a sheep, a duck and a rooster. They took to the air on September 19, 1783, two months before the first manned flight in Paris.

First hot air balloon in Canada was launched during the War of 1812 as a military post to observe American troops along the Quebec border.

Record-breaking landings in Canada took place in 1991 and 1995 when British billionaire Richard Branson and Swedish co-pilot Per Lindstrand made the first transpacific crossing in a hot air balloon and landed on a frozen lake 240 km west of Yellowknife (NT). Four years later, American businessman Steve Fossett completed the first solo flight across the Pacific when he landed his helium-filled balloon in a muddy field near Leader (SK).

The only Canadian ever to be honoured with a Montgolfier diploma, the most prestigious international hot air balloon award from the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale), is the Ottawa balloonist Sandra Rolfe. Her 7 1/2-hour flight in February 2015 set a world record for the longest time aloft in a balloon of its class. She holds more than 30 Canadian and international ballooning records and, in September 2016, managed to be back in the sky while still recovering from a severe stroke suffered in October 2015.

Four-season ballooning is an amazing adventure to be experienced anywhere in Canada, provided the snow isn't blowing. In fact, during winter, hot air balloons can take to the sky any time of day, unlike summer when flights usually take place in early morning or late afternoon when gentle breezes are prevalent.

Every year, brightly coloured hot air balloons fill the sky right across Canada as ballooning festivals attract thousands of visitors from around the globe.

• 1783 – First manned flight
• 1785 – Crossing the English Channel
• 1793 – Lift-off in North America. George Washington was present.
• 1932 – Manned flight to the Stratosphere
• 1978 – Atlantic Ocean (helium-filled balloon)
• 1981 – Pacific Ocean (helium)
• 1987 – Atlantic Ocean (hot air)
• 1991 – Pacific Ocean (hot air)
• 1999 – Around the world
• 2016 – Record-breaking solo flight around the world. The pilot was 64-year-old Fedor Konyukhov, a Russian priest who completed the 34,000 km journey in 11 days. Riding as high as 10,000 m above the Earth, Konyukhov battled temperatures as low as -56°C as he travelled faster, farther, and succeeded on his first attempt.

Warm air is lighter than cold air. Lift-off is achieved by heating the air within the envelope. The hotter the air, the higher the balloon will go.

The balloon descends by releasing air through a valve at the top.

Going up or down is easy enough, but what about direction? This is where the pilot's mastery comes in as he reads changing wind speeds and direction, and takes the balloon up or down to catch the breeze that will take him in the right direction. To keep the flight stable, the pilot fires the burner at regular intervals throughout the voyage.

Despite modern materials like aluminum and composite plastics, woven cane is still the preferred choice because it is extremely strong and flexible to handle the constant shifting, and relatively lightweight.

Initially, balloonists would burn materials on board to generate the heat to propel the envelope upward. Then, hydrogen and helium were introduced as a safer option to an open flame. Hot air came back into favour about 50 years ago and is now produced using propane burners.

Balloons are used today as heavy-lift vehicles in remote areas (eg: logging operations), to broadcast aerial views during sporting events, and as advertising billboards.

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

Order your coin today!