An Equine Commemorative

The Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled a commemorative recognizing the Sable Island horse.

Sable Island horses have occupied Sable Island for nearly 300 years and have been largely untouched by human influence. The small, feral horses were first released on the island in the late 1700s. Immense public opposition followed a proposed removal of the animal. Formal protections for them followed in 1961. The horses’ history represents strength and resilience, and the animal was last featured on a Canadian coin in 2006.

The 2026 coin’s reverse depicts a Sable Island horse galloping along a beach. The scene is inspired by a photograph taken by Sand Sharkey in 2014. The denomination appears below, with CANADA and the year above. The obverse bears Steven Rosati’s effigy of King Charles III. The .9999-fine silver commemorative has a mintage of 7,000 and is available on the Royal Canadian Mint’s website.