The Royal Canadian Mint have launched three new coins which celebrate and pays tribute to one of this North American country's most treasuredsymbols of nationhood, that of the Canadian Flag. For many, no other symbol is as synonymous with Canada as its distinctive red-and-white flag.

As the National Flag of Canada celebrates its 50th anniversary, the nation and its people pay tribute to a beloved national symbol by proudlyobserving the anniversary of its official adoption. Prior to the adoption of the now iconic "Maple leaf" banner, Canada had utilized a flag with ared field along with a representation of Britain's "Union Jack" positioned to the upper left corner and Canada's coat of arms or, crest placed to theright of the union jack and centered. This design was adopted in 1868, shortly after Canadian Confederation and continued use, albeit with minorchanges to the coat of arms, until the adoption of the recognizable maple leaf flag the world has come to associate with Canada.

The adoption of a distinct, national flag was proposed as far back as the late nineteenth century, but to no avail-that is, until the idea wasraised again in 1964 by the then-Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. After much divisive debate, the design, which was created by George Stanley andinspired by the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario, was finally and officially approved by a majority ofParliament on the 15th December 1964. Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, proclaimed the new flag on the 28th January 1965 and it was inaugurated on the15th February the same year at an official ceremony held on Parliament Hill in the presence of Governor General, the Prime Minister, other members ofthe Cabinet, and Canadian parliamentarians. At the stroke of noon, the Red Ensign was lowered for the last time and the new maple leaf flag wasraised. The crowd sang the national anthem "O Canada" followed by "God Save the Queen."

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New Coins Celebrate 50th Anniversary of theCanadian Flag (http://news.coinupdate.com/new-coins-celebrate-fiftieth-anniversary-of-the-canadian-flag-4668/)