Stanley Witten

Stanley Witten
Witten addressing at the 2011 Highway of Heroes coin unveiling in Trenton, Ontario.
Born
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupations
  • Engraver
  • artist
Notable work

Stanley Witten is a Canadian artist and engraver. Witten has received national recognition in Canada for his coin designs, including Big Maple Leaf in 2003, and the Terry Fox loonie in 2005.[1][2][3]

History

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Stanley Witten has worked for the Royal Canadian Mint since 1990 and became Senior Engraver in 2002.[4]

In 2005, the design of Witten's Terry Fox loonie was unveiled.[5] The coin depicts the Canadian cancer research activist and athlete Terry Fox.[6] After the coin was unveiled, Witten explained to the Ottawa Citizen that "while sculpting the design, I wanted to capture Terry fighting the elements, running against the wind, towering over wind-bent trees on a lonely stretch of Canadian wilderness".[1] As a result of die polishing, some strikings of Witten's design are without grass.[7]

In 2018, Witten designed Canada's first 99.99% gold coin; following the unveiling of the design, Maclean's Magazine wrote that Witten had "slaved over the minute detailing on both sides of the coin".[8][9][10]

Recognition

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In 2007, Witten received a Guinness World Record for designing the world's largest gold coin.[11][12]

In 2009, Witten received the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association's Presidential Award.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope Commemorated on New $1 Coin". The Ottawa Citizen. March 15, 2005. p. 6.
  2. ^ "Stan Witten | The Terry Fox one-dollar Commemorative Circulation Coin. In Memory of a Canadian Hero". mint.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  3. ^ "Meet The Artist | Stan Witten". www.mint.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  4. ^ Cummings, Melanie (May 3, 2005). "Witten Considers Fox $1 Proudest Accomplishment". Canadian Coin News: 18. OCLC 1081135869.
  5. ^ "Terry Fox Loonie (2005) | The Royal Canadian Mint". www.mint.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  6. ^ "Dollar coin honours Terry Fox". CBC News. March 14, 2005.
  7. ^ Mosiondz, Peter (Jr) (April 9, 2013). "Silver Dollars Morphed Into Modern Day Loonies" (PDF). Canadian Coin News: 21.
  8. ^ "The saga of Canada's stolen million-dollar coin - Macleans.ca". www.macleans.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  9. ^ Mint, Royal Canadian (2018-04-12). "UFO-Themed Coin Adds New Dimension to Royal Canadian Mint's Latest Offerings". CoinWeek. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  10. ^ "Canadian Gold Maples Information". YouTube. Chards Coin and Bullion Dealer. March 30, 2015.
  11. ^ "WORLD RECORD - Guinness recognizes 100-kg gold coin". Canadian Mining Journal. 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  12. ^ "Royal Canadian Mint Wins Guinness World Record! | The Royal Canadian Mint". www.mint.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  13. ^ "2009 Edmonton RCNA Convention - Award Winners | RCNA". www.rcna.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
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