2013 – 25 Cents Quarter Canada – Salaberry Colored Commemorative Coin

The 2013 Canadian Salaberry commemorative quarter honors Lieutenant Colonel Charles-Michel d’Irumberry de Salaberry and his light infantry unit, the Voltigeurs Canadiens, key figures in the War of 1812. Designed by Bonnie Ross, the coin features a three-quarter profile portrait of de Salaberry against an intricately engraved bilingual background that reads “The War of 1812/La guerre de 1812,” with a polished silver band embossed with “de Salaberry” and the Government of Canada War of 1812 logo painted below. The quarter, part of the “Heroes of 1812” series, was minted in both colored and non-colored versions with a composition of steel plated with nickel and copper, a diameter of 23.88 mm, and a weight of 4.4 grams. It celebrates the heroism at the Battle of Châteauguay, where de Salaberry’s forces forced a larger American army to retreat, a significant event despite some historical exaggeration about the numbers involved.