Famous for his exploration of Hudson Bay and for his mysterious disappearance following the mutiny of his crew, Henry Hudson ranks among the most esteemed and intriguing European explorers of the land now known as Canada.

Hudson is the subject of the fourth release in the Royal Canadian Mint’s popular Great Canadian Explorers series.

The Proof .9999 fine gold $200 coin, released Jan. 13, features a reverse design by Canadian artist Laurie McGaw. Her design depicts Henry Hudson on his final Arctic voyage.

The image centers on a full-length portrait of Hudson, viewed from the right and shown gazing to the right side of the coin through a spyglass. Hudson, on shore, wears a heavy coat trimmed in fur, a fur hat, and long leather boots. At right, in the sky portion of the image, is a stylized, cloud-like map of Hudson Bay, and Hudson’s spyglass points directly into the centre of the bay.

Below the map, Hudson’s ship, Discovery, rests at anchor in the Bay. A party of crewmen row toward land in a small rowboat. On the left side of the image is an Elizabethan-era directional wind rose.

The Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse of the coin.

The coin weighs 15.43 grams and measures 29 millimeters in diameter.

The coin’s mintage is limited 2,000 pieces, with a retail price of $1,199.95 Canadian. For purchases from the RCM, the U.S. price is determined based on the exchange rate at the time of purchase. 

Two distributors offer the coin at fixed prices in U.S. dollars. 

Gatewest Coins offers the coin for $999.95. Talisman Coins offers the coin for $969.95.

Keep reading about world coins:

Royal Mint secures contract from Tanzania to issue new 500-shilling circulation coin

Italian Renaissance-era copy by Cavino sells in Nomos list

New Queen Elizabeth II effigy to debut March 2

More from CoinWorld.com:

Commission of Fine Arts recommends designs for 2015 High Relief gold coin

ANACS reports first example of Missing Edge Devices error for Enhanced Uncirculated 2014-D Native American dollar

2015 American Eagle silver bullion coins being struck only at West Point Mint currently

1969-S Lincoln cent overshadows the much rarer 1970-S Lincoln, Large Date, DDO cent

Found: Largest Anglo-Saxon coin hoard in 175 years discovered in United Kingdom

Please sign in or join to share your thoughts on this story.

Keep up with all of CoinWorld.com's news and insights by signing up for our free eNewsletters, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Twitter. We're also on Instagram!