Gold Maple Leaf
The Gold Maple Leaf Coins are produced by the Royal Canadian Mint: the official Canadian manufacturer of collector’s and bullion coins, medals, tokens, and precious metals. The 24 karat Gold Maple Leaf was introduced in 1979. The gold coins, minted between 1979 and 1988, are designed by Arnold Machin. Their obverse side features the bust of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse side displays the Gold Maple Leaf: the Canadian national symbol. By law, all coins of the series are produced from gold which is mined in Canada. They come in denominations of 1/20, 1/10, 1/ 4, 1/2, and 1 ounce of .9999 gold. The diameter of the coins ranges between 14.10 mm and 30 mm.Special editions include a 99.999 percent gold coin, holographic and colorized Gold Maple Leaf coins, and 100 kg gold coin, valued at 1 million dollars. Designed by Stanley Witten, the last piece is conceived as a promotional showpiece of the .999 percent pure Gold Maple Leaf.
The company focused on the production of the Platinum Maple Leaf between 1988 and 1999. They had a purity of .9995 gold. Then, the Royal Canadian Mint switched to palladium coins. The face value of the series has been set at $50. The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf was introduced in 1988, and its production continues at present. The coin has a purity of .9999 and a face value of $5. Later, the Royal Canadian Mint introduced the six coin set Bimetallic Maple Leafs. All coins in the series represent a mixture of .9999 silver and gold. The smallest face value stands at $0.50 and the largest value reaches $50. The production of the series was commenced in order to commemorate 25 years of the company’s experience and leadership in the gold production industry. In 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint and the International Olympic Committee agreed to mint the Olympic Gold and Silver Maple Leaf bullion.
