This schooner from Canada’s age of sail comes alive in colour

A marvel of nautical engineering, a tall ship is a thing of wonder, and this three-masted (or tern) schooner on this selectively coloured 99.99% pure silver coin has a majesty all of its own. As seen on your coin’s reverse, this type of schooner doesn’t carry square topsails; instead, the sails are fitted in a fore-and-aft line that enables the ship to have a better windward performance. Between 1880 and 1920, hundreds of tern schooners were launched from shipyards throughout Atlantic Canada. Built with a high carrying capacity and smaller crew requirements, the terns supplanted the square-rigged ships as the backbone of the coastal trade by the end of the 19th century, when these were the wind-powered equivalent to the freight trucks of today.

Add this colourful three-master to your collection.

Good to know

Back to Canada’s age of sail. Celebrate Canada’s shipbuilding legacy! One of the many tall ship rigs that drew international acclaim for Canada’s shipyards during the age of sail, the three-masted (or tern) schooner is brought to life on this colourful 99.99% pure silver coin.

Incredible attention to detail. From the rigging details to the patent log towed astern, this historically accurate portrait captures the elegance of the three-masted schooner, a cargo vessel commonly used for coastal trade in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Selective colour. The waters, the vessel and its cargo, and even the nautical flag are colourfully highlighted your coin’s reverse.

One of our Tall Ships, now with colour. This is a selectively coloured, fine silver version of Coin #4 in our annual Tall Ships series of 99.99% pure gold coins. This coin’s colour-enhanced reverse makes it a beautiful companion piece to the gold version, and given the higher mintage, it allows more collectors to include this piece of Canada’s maritime history in their collections.

A limited collectible. Only 15,000 coins are available to collectors worldwide.

Includes serialized certificate. The Royal Canadian Mint certifies all of its collector coins.

No GST/HST

Did you know?

Notice the red flag on your coin’s reverse? That’s the Canadian Red Ensign, the nautical flag flown by Canadian ships beginning in the 1890s, though it also served as Canada’s de facto flag following Confederation. Combining the Union Jack with variations of the shield of Canada, the Canadian Red Ensign was modified several times but was never formally adopted as the National Flag of Canada; it was ultimately replaced by the Maple Leaf flag in 1965.

Behind closed doors

"I chose the starboard quarter view of the three-masted tern schooner because it shows the power of the vessel driving through a rough sea under a full press of canvas. These vessels were true workhorses, either transporting lumber coastwise, between ports, or across the Atlantic Ocean. On long hauls, they would stream a patent log to measure speed and distance run, so a dead reckoning position could be calculated. I have always enjoyed painting working vessels through the ages, and the hard-working terns are another fine example of how world trade was conducted."

– John Horton, Artist

About the design

Your coin is encapsulated and presented in a black Royal Canadian Mint-branded clamshell with a black beauty box.

Enhanced with selective colour, the reverse design by Canadian marine artist John M. Horton features a starboard quarter view of a three-masted (tern) schooner under full sail on a close reach in a smart breeze, with the starboard side lifting as the ship rolls to port. A full cargo of lumber is stowed on the deck of this coastal freighter, while the patent log is towed astern to measure speed and distance run. The obverse features the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III by Canadian artist Steven Rosati.

Product # 246122

$15 Fine Silver Coin - Tall Ships: Three-masted Schooner (2025)