Canada: Magnificence of triangular staysails captured on new $200 gold coin in “Tall Ships” series

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The Royal Canadian Mint has released new gold coins, which is part of their “Tall Ships” series launched last year. As was the case with many countries in the Americas, these full-rigged ships of the 18th, 19th, and even 20th centuries facilitated the development of Canada, from the frigates built to defend the shores to the cargo-carrying ships that supplied this and many fledgling nations. With their iconic triangular staysails and square-rigged sails on all three or more masts, a full-rigged ship as is depicted on the second “Tall Ships” pure gold coin inspires a sense of dignified magnificence and a bygone era of travel, adventure, and hope.

The design and overall look of the reverse side of the coin are inspired by another full-rigged ship Hector, which brought the first wave of emigrants directly from Scotland to Nova Scotia in 1773, earning it the moniker as “Canada’s Mayflower.”

The reverse side of the gold coin is created by Canadian artist Neil Hamelin whose design is inspired by the ships from Canada’s past and features an early morning view of a full-rigged ship sailing in calm waters with all sails set. Above and to the left of the primary design and along the edge is the text CANADA with the face value 200 DOLLARS and the year 2023 placed below and slightly to the right. The obverse side includes the effigy of the Late Queen Elizabeth II created by Susanna Blunt. The memorial obverse also bears a special marking that includes four pearls symbolising the four effigies that have graced Canadian coins and years of her reign, 1952 and 2022.

Denom.	Metal	Weight	Dimensions	Quality	Mintage Limit
200 dollars	.9999 Gold	15.43 g	29 mm	Proof	800

Each Proof coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity. For additional information, please click here.

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