By Canadian Horse Journal Staff 

The enduring spirit of Nova Scotia’s Sable Island horses is being celebrated on a new fine silver collector coin from the Royal Canadian Mint. 

Released to mark the 65th anniversary of the horses receiving federal protection, the 2026 coin features a stallion galloping along the island’s sandy shoreline. The design is based on The Stallion and the Sea, a photograph taken by Canadian equine photographer Sandy Sharkey during a 2014 visit to Sable Island. 

Located on a remote sandbar off the coast of Nova Scotia, the horses have lived largely free from human influence for more than 250 years. Descended from horses introduced to the island in the 1700s, the population has adapted to isolation, shifting sands and often harsh weather conditions. Parks Canada currently estimates the population at approximately 420 horses.  

The horses faced permanent removal in 1960, when the federal government proposed selling them amid concerns about malnutrition, inbreeding and difficult living conditions. The proposal sparked a wave of public opposition, with Canadians of all ages writing to then-Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. 

Moved by the public response, Diefenbaker intervened. During a House of Commons debate on June 2, 1960, he said: 

“These particular animals have a long genealogy. They have been with us over a period of several hundred years, and I was naturally very much touched by some of the requests that were made. I had the matter looked into, and I think it may be said with certainty that these animals and their posterity will continue to live on this island.” 

The horses received formal protection in 1961 through the Sable Island Regulations under the Canada Shipping Act, ensuring they would remain on the island without human interference. Diefenbaker later described the letters that prompted his intervention as “an example of the processes of good citizenship.” 

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Sable Island became a National Park Reserve in 2013, bringing the island and its horses—a naturalized species—under the protection of the Canada National Parks Act and the responsibility of Parks Canada. The agency does not actively manage the herd, and the horses receive no supplemental feed or veterinary care. 

The new coin marks the first appearance of the Sable Island horse on a Canadian coin since 2006. Sharkey’s photograph has been recreated through detailed engraving and varying frostings and relief heights. The coin’s obverse features the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III by Canadian artist Steven Rosati.

The silver collector coin from the Royal Canadian Mint features the image of a Sable Island stallion galloping along the beach, based on a photograph by Sandy Sharkey, and on the obverse the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III by Canadian artist Steven Rosati. Photos courtesy of the Government of Canada 

“On a windswept island off the coast of Nova Scotia, the wild horses of Sable Island live in harmony with the sea, the wind, and the shifting sands. It is a great honour to have my image ‘The Stallion and the Sea’ adorn an official coin released by the Royal Canadian Mint, featuring a stallion charging down the beach, mane flying, with a herring gull as a feathery escort. Adored around the world, the wild horses are a source of pride for all Canadians, symbolizing the free spirit that exists in all of us.” — Sandy Sharkey, artist 

The proof-finish coin has a face value of $20 and is crafted from one ounce of 99.99 percent pure silver. Its worldwide mintage is limited to 7,000 coins, each accompanied by a serialized certificate. Royal Canadian Mint 

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Main Photo: Shutterstock/Darrell Munro