Stanley Witten is a Canadian artist and engraver. Witten has received national recognition in Canada for his coin designs, including

Big Maple Leaf The Big Maple Leaf (BML) is a $1 million ( CAD) gold coin weighing (3,215 troy ounces). A set of five of these coins was produced by the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) in 2007, at their Ottawa facility where the first BML produced remains in storage. ...

in 2003, and the Terry Fox loonie in 2005.

History

Stanley Witten has worked for the

Royal Canadian Mint The Royal Canadian Mint () is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The mi ...

since 1990 and became Senior Engraver in 2002. In 2005, the design of Witten's Terry Fox loonie was unveiled. The coin depicts the Canadian cancer research activist and athlete

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

. After the coin was unveiled, Witten explained to the

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

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". As a result of die polishing, some strikings of Witten's design are without grass. In 2018, Witten designed Canada's first 99.99% gold coin; following the unveiling of the design,

Maclean's Magazine ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

wrote that Witten had "slaved over the minute detailing on both sides of the coin".

Recognition

In 2007, Witten received a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for designing the world's largest gold coin. In 2009, Witten received the

Royal Canadian Numismatic Association The Royal Canadian Numismatic Association was founded in 1950. It is a nonprofit association for coin collectors and other people interested in Canadian numismatics. It has members throughout Canada and in other countries. At times, it also works ...

's Presidential Award.

References

External links

Official webpage
1963 births Coin designers 20th-century Canadian engravers 21st-century Canadian engravers Canadian male artists Living people Artists from Edmonton Canadian currency designers {{coin-stub