Coins and Canada - Remember, John McCrae and In Flanders Fields on 2 dollars 2015

You are: Home » Canadian coins » Articles » Remember, John McCrae and In Flanders Fields on 2 dollars 2015

Remember, John McCrae and In Flanders Fields on 2 dollars 2015

By thecanadiannumismatist | Wednesday, 16 April 2025

100 years after Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae penned In Flanders Fields on the battlefield of Ypres, Belgium, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a $2 circulation coin commemorating his iconic poem of remembrance, as well as a 25-cent circulation coin featuring a life-like poppy design. These coins were unveiled at a special ceremony held at McCrae House.

McCrae was born in Guelph, Ontario, and served as a gunner during the South African War. He later became a professor of medicine and a physician at McGill University in Montreal. McCrae enlisted at the outbreak of the First World War, hoping for a posting as a gunner, but due to a shortage of doctors, he accepted a position as a brigade surgeon in an artillery brigade.

The Mint has a proud history of crafting coins which honour the many Canadians who have risked or sacrificed their lives in defending our freedoms and values.
As Canadians across the country are once more preparing to honour our veterans at upcoming Remembrance Day ceremonies, the Mint is pleased to join them in remembrance through new circulation coins.

- Sandra Hanington, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint

In Flanders fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

During the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, McCrae treated the wounded and performed surgery on Canadian and Allied soldiers for 17 days. Exhausted and saddened by the death of a dear friend, he composed In Flanders Fields during a brief period of rest. The poem was published on December 8, 1915, in Punch, where it achieved almost immediate worldwide success. It captured the Allied belligerent mood and affirmed the need to remain loyal to those who had already died.

One hundred years after they were penned on the battlefield, the moving words of In Flanders Fields continue to remind us that the peace and freedom we enjoy every day as Canadians is the ultimate gift of our veterans.
By collecting the circulation coins issued by the Mint today, Canadians will have a permanent way to remember the sacrifices of all our veterans, as well as learn more about Lt. Col. John McCrae's historic contribution to honouring their memory.

- Tom Eagles, Royal Canadian Legion Dominion President

The reverse side of the coin, designed by Canadian Artist Glen Loates, features an image of Lt.-Col. McCrae writing In Flanders Fields on the battlefield surrounded by crosses and poppies, with the larks described in his poem flying overhead. At the bottom of the outer ring, the words REMEMBER and SOUVENIR flank each side of the 2015 year of issue. A total of five million $2 circulation coins celebrating the 100th anniversary of the writing of In Flanders Fields have been produced.

Australia also made a commemorative 2 dollars circulation coin in 2015, commemorating In Flanders Fields sculpted larks surround orange coloured rings representing the sunset glow.