# 570 - Lifelong Mates

This coin is the second release in the Royal Canadian Mint's four-part series featuring the iconic bald eagle as seen from four different perspectives. This is called "Lifelong Mates".

The bald eagle is North America’s largest bird of prey and the only eagle exclusive to North America.
A predator with no natural enemies, the bald eagle has long been a symbol of vision, power and stoicism.
This long-lived bird can survive nearly 30 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.
The bald eagle does not reach reproductive maturity until its fifth year of life, at which time the eagle seeks a mate that will likely become its life partner.
In some instances, mated adult eagles will seek a new partner if one of the pair leaves the region or dies, or if the pair have difficulty reproducing.

In Canada, large bald eagle populations are concentrated along the Pacific Coast; however, stable smaller populations are also found across the prairie provinces, in Northern Ontario, on Cape Breton Island, and in Newfoundland and Labrador.
At-risk populations are still found in southern Ontario and New Brunswick.

This is a 2013 $20 CAD weighting 1oz with 99.99% silver purity and Proof finish. Its mintage was 7,499 units and the issue price was $99.95 CAD.

The reverse features a pair of bald eagles perched on a rocky shoreline, surveying their territory.
One of the pair sits at the center of the image, gazing at the viewer with its left eye, its face and seated body viewed in three-quarter profile.
Slightly behind this eagle and to the left sits its mate, its back turned to the viewer and its open-mouthed profile viewed from the left side.
Behind them, a large river flows across the width of the central ground, with a long finger of land jutting out into the water from the right side of the image.
In the far background, a dense coniferous forest rises in the foothills of distant mountains, whose jagged white peaks are visible on the horizon.

The obverse shows the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, designed by Susanna Blunt.

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