2011 $10 FINE SILVER COIN - WINTERTOWN

A sleepy snow-covered town slumbers in the deep night. It is winter’s first snowfall. Perhaps the townspeople, tucked up in their cozy houses, dream of the coming of spring...Or maybe their heads dance with visions of days filled with skating, sledding, and wintry adventures.

All across Canada, in quiet towns just like this one, winter awakens people’s spirit of fun and community. Who can resist the allure of gliding on the local skating pond or night- lit rink? Sledding, sliding, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing...even when winter whips up its deepest snows and chilliest winds, nothing can keep Canadians from the joy of a pristine snow-covered hill or freshly cleared patch of ice. A hot cocoa cradled in mittened hands, the promise of a crackling fire: these are the hallmarks of Canadian winter.

Artists have long celebrated the inviting appeal of a snow- covered small town after the first snowfall: painters and sculptors have captured it, songwriters have immortalized it, writers have evoked its many charms. An enduring image, it remains cradled deep in the Canadian soul.