Gold Canadian Coins

Canadian Gold Coins

With regards to gold coins from around the world, few are more highly regarded than those originating in Canada. As products of the Royal Canadian Mint, Canadian gold coins are made with special attention to detail and feature unique designs not found on any other coins elsewhere in the world. The Royal Canadian Mint, or RCM, is known for their production of all of Canada’s coinage, but also for the production of bullion bars, as well as the coinage for a number of countries around the world who do not boast national mints of their own.

Before RCM came into being, Canada’s coinage was, for fifty consecutive years, produced by the Royal Mint of England and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean for disbursement in Canada. The logistically complex process of producing coins in England and shipping them across both an ocean and a country as large as Canada proved to be too much for the Royal Mint. As a result, the Royal Mint of England decided that it would open a branch in Ottawa, Canada. The facility was approved in 1901 and, 7 years later, finally began producing coins.

In 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, the Royal Mint of England broke ties with its Ottawa facility and handed it over to the Canadian government. The facility was renamed “The Royal Canadian Mint” and laid the framework for the same mint that is producing Canada’s coins today. Another minting facility was later added in the Canadian city of Winnipeg as to both increase output and reduce transit times for products to reach their end-destinations.

Investors flock to gold coins produced by RCM because they are backed by one of the most prominent national mints in the world. Those who purchase these coins can rest-assured that they are 100% authentic and adhere to the quality and purity standards that have made RCM so highly-touted across the globe.

Gold Maple Leafs

Of all gold Canadian coins, few have gained more worldwide recognition than the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf. This gold bullion coin was first introduced in 1979 and was one of the only gold bullion coins being produced by a prominent, internationally-known and trusted mint. At that time, the only other gold bullion coin well-known in the investing world was the South African Krugerrand. But for many, the Krugerrand was almost impossible to obtain due to the import restriction being levied against products from Apartheid-era South Africa.

Design

The design of the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is incredibly simple and features a single Maple Leaf on one side and the profile image of Queen Elizabeth II on the other. When this coin was first introduced in the late 1970s it carried a purity of .999, but in 1982 RCM decided to add another 9 and make it the purest gold coin circulating in the world at .9999. Some, more recent, special editions have an even higher purity level, but these are found much less frequently than the typical Gold Maple Leaf

RCM produces Maple Leafs in 1/25 oz, 1/20 oz, 1/10 oz, ¼ oz, ½ oz, and 1 oz weights. Through the first three years of the Gold Maple Leaf’s production, it was only available in the 1 oz weight. Then, spanning from 1982-1985, RCM introduced the ¼ oz and 1/10 oz Gold Maple Leafs. The additional weights kept coming in 1986 (1/2 oz) and again in 1993 (1/20 oz).

The Maple Leaf, through its 35+ year existence, has only fallen victim to a few subtle design changes. One of the most unique design changes, the addition of a security feature, was announced by the mint in 2012. The security feature itself is nothing more than a tiny, textured maple leaf laser-inscribed directly beneath the larger Maple Leaf’s image. When magnified, the textured maple leaf displays the last two digits of the year in which the coin was minted. This tiny security feature may not seem like much, but it does a lot in the way of thwarting counterfeiters.

The only other real design changes made to the Gold Maple Leaf is the age of Queen Elizabeth as she appears on the coin. On Maple Leafs produced from 1979-1989 the Queen is depicted at 39 years old. From 1990 and up until 2004, the Queen was depicted at age 64 and, in all subsequent editions, she is depicted at age 79.

Some special, .99999 pure Gold Maple Leafs were produced from 2007-2011 and have varying face values as well as varying annual mintages. Other special editions of the Gold Maple Leaf include the 20th anniversary Coloured Maple Leaf (1999), Hologram Gold Maple Leaf (1999, 2001), Olympic Maple Leafs (1989, 1997, 2004, 2007), and Privy-marked Gold Maple Leafs (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005).

Call of the Wild Series

The Canadian Call of the Wild coin series saw its first edition hit the production lines in 2014. The Canadian Gold Howling Wolf is just one of the three coins set to comprise the series. The subsequent Call of the Wild series of coins are expected to begin circulating in 2015 and 2016 respectively. These coins weigh 1 oz and are comprised of .99999 pure gold, making them some of the purest gold coins in the world.

Packaging and Availability

The availability of Canadian gold coins is generally pretty high simply because RCM produces so many coins on an annual basis. With regard to the Canadian Maple Leaf gold coin, the most popular size is without a doubt the 1 oz variety. With that in mind, it is important to note that most every size of the gold coin is readily available most everywhere.

Individual coins will be packaged and protected by vinyl coin flips while more sizeable orders will be shipped to you in tubes straight from the Royal Canadian Mint. We do our best to ensure the safety and security of every coin that we ship out of our facility and strive to have them arrive at your door in the same condition in which they departed ours.