The Royal Canadian Mint will issue a $200 silver coin at face value for the first time on Sept. 2, again expanding its offerings of silver coins available at face value.

The $200 denomination joins a $50 coin released earlier this year, and four $100 coins issued across the past 10 months. The practice of offering silver coins at their face value — which creates a floor in their secondary market value — began more than three years ago with a $20 coin program that is now on its 14th issue. 

The first Matte Proof “$200-for-$200” coin features the Towering Forests design, which is the first in a series titled “Landscapes of the North.”

The .999 fine silver coin features shows a reverse design by Ellen Cowie of a circular collage of plants and animals common to Canada’s boreal zone.

The contiguous nature design is intended to be viewed by rotating the coin, the vignettes of Canadian plant and animal species forming a united scene. 

The image highlights dozens of plant and animal species, including the sugar maple, bur oak, jack pine, beaver, black bear, bald eagle, ruby-throated hummingbird, common red squirrel, white spruce, white-tailed deer, Canada goose, eastern white pine, blue heron, and many more.

The coin weighs 62.69 grams (2 ounces) and measures 50 millimeters in diameter. 

The coin's mintage limit is 20,000 pieces, compared to the 50,000 mintage limit for the $100 coin, the 200,000 to 250,000 mintage limit for the $20 coins, and the 100,000 limit for the $50 coin. 

The $200 coin is limited to sales of two per household. 

Delivery of the coin is not expected for several weeks, and at press time sales have only just begun for Masters Club members, which are customers who buy $1,000 or more annually directly from the RCM.

To order from the RCM, telephone it (from the U.S.) at 800-268-6468 or visit the RCM website.

RCM distributors also carry the face value silver coins, often with only slight premiums right after they are released. (Some earlier issues now command a heavier premium.)  

Gatewest Coin Ltd. and Talisman Coins are official distributors for the RCM.  

To order from Gatewest inside the United States, telephone the firm at 204-489-9112 or visit it online. 

Visit the Talisman website or telephone the business at 888-552-2646 to order.