Canadian Gold Maple Leaf

1. Canadian Gold Coins Prices
2. Canadian Gold Maple Leaf 1 Oz Coin
3. Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coin
4. Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Mintage
5. Gold Maple Leafs For Sale

Hoping to invest in precious metals? Look no further than the American Eagle Gold coin and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf. Gold bullion coins are uncorrelated sources of investment diversification, are legal tender in the respective countries, and make unique gifts to commemorate big life moments.

History of North America’s Most Popular Gold Coins

From 1967 until the late 1970s, the 22-karat Krugerrand was the only gold bullion coin available to investors. However, due to the anti-apartheid boycott, Krugerrands were made illegal in many countries apartheid ended in 1991. As such, the Canadian government filled the void when it introduced the 24-karat Canadian Maple Leaf Gold coin in 1979. The U.S. government joined a few years later when the passage of the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985 authorized the U.S. Mint to strike 22-karat American Eagle Gold bullion coins.

Two Iconic Designs: Maple Leaf & Lady Liberty

The Canadian Maple Leaf was designed by Walter Ott, and its obverse side displays a profile of Queen Elizabeth II as well as the inscription “ELIZABETH II,” the coin’s face value, and the year of minting. The maple leaf, Canada’s official national symbol, adorns the reverse side in addition to inscriptions indicating the coin’s purity and denomination. The Royal Canadian Mint’s reputation for quality is based on the flawless planchets (the blanks from which the coins are minted) that the Mint insists on using for the production of the Maple Leaf Gold Coin.

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins stand out because of its purity. Of the top three most popular gold bullion coins, the Maple Leaf is the only one minted from.9999 fine gold. Both the South African Krugerrand and the American Eagle are 22 karat purity (.9167). Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins are the official 24k gold coin of Canada. The Royal Canadian Mint began striking the 1 oz Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin in 1979 and these gold Canadian coins remain the official.9999 gold coin of Canada.

The American Gold Eagle features designs by both Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Miley Busiek (now Miley Tucker-Frost). Saint-Gaudens’ Lady Liberty, hair flowing, holding a torch in one hand and an olive branch in the other, adorns the obverse side, with “LIBERTY” inscribed across the top as well as the year of minting below. Tucker-Frost’s male and female eagles are featured on the reverse side with the inscriptions “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “IN GOD WE TRUST,” together with the coin’s weight and face value.

Similarities and Differences Between Both Gold Coins

The similarities between the two coins are somewhat limited. Both coins are legal tender produced by government mints in their respective countries, both coins come in special “proof” (limited production coins minted with the highest quality possible) in addition to normal production, and both coins are eligible for placement in gold Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).

In addition to being issued in different currencies by different governments in different countries, the coins are also different karats and come in different sizes. The American Eagle is 22-karat gold bullion and therefore is made of 91.67% gold, 3% silver, and 5.33% copper. At 24 karats, the Maple Leaf is .99999 fine, or essentially pure gold. As for sizes, the American Gold Eagle comes in the following sizes:

• 1 troy ounce (US$50.00 face value)
• ½ troy ounce (US$25.00 face value)
• ¼ troy ounce (US$10.00 face value)
• 1/10 troy ounce (US$5.00 face value)

Maple Leaf Gold has similar sizes but one additional smaller size:

• 1 troy ounce (C$50.00 face value)
• ½ troy ounce (C$25.00 face value)
• ¼ troy ounce (C$10.00 face value)
• 1/10 troy ounce (C$5.00 face value)
• 1/20 troy ounce (C$1.00 face value)

The Royal Mint briefly produced a 1/15 troy ounce Gold Maple Leaf Coin in 1994, but this version was not as popular as other sizes and was dropped after one year.

What Investors Need to Know American Eagle and Maple Leaf Coins

The most important thing to know about both these coins is how they are valued. Despite their face values, they actually trade on the value of their constituent metals. As a result, Maple Leaf Gold coin value is determined solely by the gold price, as it is a fine gold coin. The American Eagle Gold coin value, on the other hand, is determined by the spot price of all its precious metals combined, although mostly by the price of gold.

Finally, the Maple Leaf has long been extremely popular with numismatists due to the high quality of the coins. In 2007, the Royal Mint even issued Maple Leaf Gold coins with face values of one million Canadian dollars. The American Eagle was not the most popular gold bullion coin when originally produced, but has gained in popularity over the years. Both coins make excellent investments for any portfolio in need of some true diversification away from stocks and bonds.

How to Buy Gold Coins

The U.S. Mint sells gold coins only to its network of Authorized Purchasers who meet certain strict criteria, who then on-sell the bullion to the wider public. Scottsdale Bullion & Coin is available in the Scottsdale, Arizona area as a U. S. Mint Authorized Purchaser, and is a seller of both American Eagle- and Maple Leaf coins.

​Canadian Maple Leaf bullion coins have been popular on the international metals market since 1979, when the first Canadian gold bullion coins were released for sale. At that time, the only other major gold bullion coin on the market was the South Africa Krugerrand, though it was not widely available as many nations boycotted goods from the African country during its apartheid era.

The release of Canadian gold bullion coins opened the doors for investors to own virtually pure, 0.999-fine gold coins. The gold Canadian bullion coins feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and a maple leaf on the reverse. These pieces would later usher in other types of bullion coins, including silver, platinum, and palladium Maple Leaf coins.

Canadian Gold Coins Prices

Canada Maple Leafs Of The 1970s and 1980s

Originally, the Canada Maple Leaf gold coins were offered only in a 1-ounce size. In 1982, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) purified the gold content further to 0.9999 (four '9's versus three with the former composition) and also offered the first fractional gold bullion coins: 1/4-ounce and 1/10-ounce pieces. In 1986, a 1/2-ounce gold coin was added to the Maple Leaf lineup.

In 1988, the RCM issued its first Canada Maple Leaf silver coin, which was issued as a 1-ounce coin bearing a nominal face value of five dollars. These coins, which feature an obverse portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and a reverse Canadian maple leaf design, look similar in motif to the gold Canada Maple Leaf bullion coins.

Also in 1988, the first platinum Maple Leaf bullion coins were issued by the RCM. Platinum, which for years was more valuable than gold, has been a hotly traded commodity with a strong industrial market. However, platinum prices began falling in the late 1990s, and the demand for platinum bullion coins also declined. The platinum Maple Leaf coin, at the zenith of its popularity, was produced in five different fractional sizes, including 1-ounce, 1/2-ounce, 1/4-ounce, 1/10-ounce, and 1/20-ounce coins. Production of the platinum bullion coins seized in 2005, though the 1-ounce platinum Maple Leaf was reintroduced in 2009.

Canadian Maple Leaf Coins in the 1990s

In 1990, both gold and silver Canada Maple Leaf coins underwent a significant design change when the obverse portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was updated to reflect the monarch's gracefully aging appearance. The 1990 design, by Dora de Pédery-Hunt, replaced a portrait by Arnold Machin that was created in 1965, when Her Majesty was 39 years old.

A 1/20-ounce gold Maple Leaf coin was added in 1993, and an additional fractional gold coin was created when the 1/15-ounce gold coin was struck for that one year. A special silver Maple Leaf honoring the 10th anniversary of that series was issued in 1998. This reverse proof 10-ounce silver coin was offered for sale at $200. However, the price of silver bullion at the time was less than $6 per ounce, meaning the coin saw relatively little demand given its huge premium over spot; more than half of the 30,000 coins were melted.

In 1999, some silver Maple Leaf coins were issued with a privy mark to honor the 20th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mint Maple Leaf program. Also in 1999, the RCM offered its first hologram and colorized gold Maple Leaf coins, both among the Mint's many special edition bullion coins.

Maple Leaf Coins in the 2000s

The year 2000 started off with a bang for Canada Maple Leaf silver coins. The RCM issued pieces bearing a privy mark that feature fireworks and a small number '2000.' There was also the production of a millennium commemorative edition with 1999-2000 dual dating. Many of these special-issue privy mark coins were available only in Europe, though they have since entered the secondary market and are available to coin collectors and investors en masse.

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf 1 Oz Coin

In 2003, Susanna Blunt created a fourth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which appears on all Canadian coins made since 2003, including the silver and gold Maple Leaf coins. This portrait, which shows the Queen without her crown, calls to mind the portrait of her father George VI, who also requested that his effigy be depicted without a crown; his portrait was struck on Canadian coinage made from 1937 through 1952.

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coin

In 2005, the RCM struck the Liberation of Netherlands triple privy mark Silver Maple coin, which is among the rarest of coins in the entire silver Maple Leaf series. In 2005, the RCM also offered the North America Legacy of Liberty coin set, featuring two coins dated 2004 and two bearing the year 2005. The set contains the 2005 poppy colorized quarter and three one-ounce pure silver coins, including the 2004 D-Day, 2005 VE Day, and 2005 Victory Day coins. Other special-issue Maple Leaf coins have been struck, including the Maple Leaf Forever 1/2-ounce silver coins.

On the gold Maple Leaf coin side, the introduction of a 1-gram gold Maple Leaf coin in 2014 has opened up an affordable option for entry-level bullion investors. While the premiums on smaller gold coins are comparatively much higher than with the larger-size gold bullion coins, the fractional offerings have long been popular with both coin collectors and investors, and continue to sell at a brisk pace.

Another addition to the gold Maple Leaf coin production is the 99.999 fine, or 'Five Nines Fine,' gold coins. These are special-issue coins that were first offered in 2005 and are available in various denominations. Also added to the Canadian bullion coin lineup in 2005 was the platinum 1-ounce, $50 face Maple Leaf coins, which were issued intermittently through the year 2009.

The continued production of regular-issue and special edition silver and gold Canadian Maple Leaf coins keeps collectors and investors delightfully on their toes. Even with the ups and downs of the international bullion market, Canadian Maple Leaf coins continue selling well and are certain to maintain incredible popularity in the years ahead.

Related Posts

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Mintage

Gold Maple Leafs For Sale

By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://coinvalues.com/