Call of the Wild Silver

Call of the Wild Silver from the Royal Canadian Mint

The Call of the Wild is a seven-coin series from the Royal Canadian Mint, originally released annually from 2014 to 2020 as gold bullion at the extraordinary purity of .99999 (five nines). The series is best known for those gold coins, each featuring a different Canadian predatory animal mid-vocalisation: howling, growling, roaring, or shrieking. Alongside the gold programme, the RCM produced silver companion pieces, including 1/2 kg collector coins in .9999 fine silver and smaller silver bullion denominations.

The silver Call of the Wild coins available on the market include 1 oz silver coins, 2 oz silver coins, 3/4 oz coins, and a 500g silver coin. All silver versions are struck in .9999 fine silver (four nines), matching the Maple Leaf's purity standard. The seven animal designs by Canadian artist Pierre Leduc were specifically commissioned to capture each species at its most powerful and vocal moment, not serene wildlife portraits but aggressive, dynamic poses with stylised sound wave lines emanating from each animal's mouth.

The complete series roster covers a geographic cross-section of Canadian wildlife: the Howling Wolf (2014), Growling Cougar (2015), Roaring Grizzly (2016), Crowned Elk (2017), Shrieking Golden Eagle (2018), Majestic Moose (2019), and Bobcat (2020). Originally planned as a three-coin series, the programme was extended to seven due to strong sales. The series concluded with the Bobcat in 2020, and no continuation has been announced. All coins from 2020 and earlier feature the Queen Elizabeth II portrait by Susanna Blunt.

Call of the Wild Silver Specifications

All silver Call of the Wild coins are struck in .9999 fine silver (four nines), matching the purity of the Silver Maple Leaf and placing them among the highest-purity silver bullion coins available from any sovereign mint. The gold versions of the Call of the Wild series are struck at .99999 (five nines), a distinction that is unique to the gold programme and does not apply to the silver companion coins.

Security features on the silver coins include the RCM's micro-engraved maple leaf privy mark with the last two digits of the mintage year, visible only under magnification. The RCM's Bullion DNA authentication system encodes a registration code within the privy mark that can be verified by authorised DNA readers at participating dealers. BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) versions are sealed in credit-card-sized assay cards certifying weight, purity, and authenticity, providing tamper-evident packaging that supports authentication and resale value.

Each reverse design depicts the featured animal with sound waves radiating from its mouth, surrounded by inscriptions including "9999" and weight/purity markings in both English and French. The obverse carries Susanna Blunt's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, standard across all RCM coins produced before the transition to the King Charles III effigy. The design work emphasises movement and aggression; the animals are caught mid-vocalisation, a thematic choice that extends across all seven coins in the series and distinguishes them from the more static wildlife portraits found on most competing sovereign mint products.

Tax and Legal Status for Call of the Wild Silver

All Call of the Wild silver coins are Canadian legal tender with face values ranging from $5 CAD (1 oz) to $125 CAD (500g). The face values are nominal; market prices reflect the silver content.

Canada: GST/HST-exempt as investment-grade silver at .9999 purity. RRSP-eligible through approved dealers, allowing tax-deferred growth within registered retirement accounts.

United States: IRA-eligible, as .9999 silver from the RCM meets the IRS Section 408(m) requirement of 99.9% fineness for silver in self-directed precious metals IRAs. Sales tax exemptions vary by state. Capital gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28% for holdings over one year.

United Kingdom: Silver is subject to 20% VAT on purchase regardless of origin. Call of the Wild silver coins are not UK legal tender and receive no CGT exemption. The gold versions of these coins are VAT-free in the UK as investment gold at .99999 purity.

European Union: Silver coins attract national VAT rates (17-27%). The gold versions are VAT-exempt under the EU Investment Gold Directive.

Australia: Silver at 99.9% purity is GST-free. The .9999 purity exceeds this threshold. Capital gains are subject to CGT with a 50% discount for holdings over 12 months.

New Zealand: Silver at 99.9% purity is GST-exempt. New Zealand has no capital gains tax, though gains may be assessable as income if IRD determines the purchase was made with intent to resell.

Singapore: Qualifying Investment Precious Metals (silver at 99.9%+ purity, legal tender) are GST-exempt. No capital gains tax.

Hong Kong: No sales tax, import duty, or capital gains tax on silver bullion.

Seven Animals Across Seven Years

The Call of the Wild series launched in 2014 with the Howling Wolf, a coin that established the visual template for the entire programme. Pierre Leduc's designs consistently depict each animal in an active, vocalising pose rather than the static, majestic stances typical of wildlife coin series. The wolf howls, the cougar growls, the grizzly roars, the elk bugles, the eagle shrieks, the moose bellows, and the bobcat snarls. Stylised sound wave lines emanating from each animal's mouth create a visual continuity across the seven designs.

The series was originally announced as a three-coin programme (2014-2016), but strong sales led the RCM to extend it to seven years. The gold coins, struck in .99999 fine (five nines), remain the series' signature product, as very few facilities worldwide can achieve this level of refinement. The additional 0.009% purity difference between .9999 and .99999 requires specialised refining techniques that make five-nines gold a technical achievement in its own right.

The seven animals represent a deliberate geographic cross-section of Canadian habitats. The wolf occupies Arctic and boreal regions. The cougar and grizzly inhabit mountain terrain. The elk and moose are forest species. The golden eagle ranges across prairie and sky. The bobcat occupies mixed habitats from coast to coast. Together, the series functions as a survey of Canada's apex predators and large vocalising wildlife.

The series concluded with the 2020 Bobcat, and no further releases have been announced. This makes the Call of the Wild a finite, complete collection, a characteristic that distinguishes it from open-ended bullion programmes like the Maple Leaf. Complete sets of all seven designs command premiums on the secondary market beyond the sum of individual coin values.

Call of the Wild vs Maple Leaf and Other RCM Silver

The most direct comparison is with the RCM's flagship Silver Maple Leaf, which shares the same .9999 purity, sovereign mint backing, and security features. The Maple Leaf is produced without mintage limits, carries the lowest premiums of any RCM silver coin, and has the deepest secondary market globally. For buyers focused on silver accumulation at minimum cost, the Maple Leaf is the clear choice.

Call of the Wild silver commands a collector premium above standard Maple Leaf pricing. This premium reflects the limited mintage, the annual design rotation, and the series' status as a completed collection. The premium is most pronounced for complete sets and for coins from the earlier years (particularly the 2014 Howling Wolf and 2015 Growling Cougar), where fewer pieces remain on the secondary market.

Against the Canadian Wildlife Series (2011-2013), another discontinued RCM silver programme, the Call of the Wild occupies a similar market position: limited-run sovereign silver with collector crossover appeal. The Wildlife Series was the RCM's first dedicated silver bullion series outside the Maple Leaf programme, running for six designs over three years. The Call of the Wild extended this concept to seven designs over seven years, with larger per-year mintages for the BU versions.

For buyers comparing across mints, the Australian Kookaburra from the Perth Mint also offers annual design changes on limited-mintage silver bullion. The Kookaburra is .999 purity (vs .9999 for Call of the Wild), with ongoing annual production rather than a finite series. The American Silver Eagle has the widest recognition and deepest liquidity in the silver coin market but uses a fixed design, .999 purity, and unlimited production, none of which appeals to the collector-oriented buyer that the Call of the Wild targets.