Inuk artist's design appears on new quarter

The Royal Canadian Mint started circulating 25 million quarters this week with images of the Arctic.

Half of the coins feature a design byTimPitsiulakof Cape Dorset, showingabowheadwhale and two belugas.

The other 12.5million quarters commemorate the100thanniversary of the 1913 First Canadian Arctic Expedition led byVilhjalmurStefanssonand Rudolph Anderson. It showsthree explorers with a fully-packed dog sled.

"Canadians have to understand all the stories behind their countries, what makes up our Canadian identity, and for the Royal Canadian Mint we have a unique opportunity to reach million of Canadians at a time," said Alex Reeves, seniormanager of communications for the mint.

Pitsiulak'sdesign is also on a limited edition silver coin.