Andrew Lewis knows there's two sides to the Canada goose.

Somewhat fittingly, the London artist with an international reputation for creating posters chose the unpopular waterfowl as the subject of his design for a new silver coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint.

"I love the look of them, but there's a lot of them and they're messy," Lewis said.

He was asked by the mint in 2014 to come up with a design for a 2016 Canadian collector coin.

Lewis spent more than 100 hours crafting a design featuring flying geese with an abstract series of patterns and shapes.

He said his choice was inspired by his father, a pilot who loved anything that could fly.

The two-ounce coin with a raised surface is called Pop Art Canada Goose. It has a face value of $30 but sells for $169.99.

"I'm really happy with the final coin - a good design needs longevity," Lewis said.

The coin was released in February. It can be purchased through the mint's website or at authorized dealers, but only 3,000 pieces are available.

A graduate of Beal secondary school, Lewis recently moved back to London after living on the West Coast for 20 years. He has designed posters for London's Grand Theatre, Scotiabank, Starbucks and Visa.

To read the complete article, see:
London artist's design chosen for mint's new silver collector's item (www.lfpress.com/2016/04/12/london-artists-design-chosen-for-mints-new-silver-collectors-item)