Sunday, May 20th, 2012

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coin

In 1979 Canada introduced one of the purest gold coins of regular issue in the entire world. While it has legal tender status in its home country, the Canadian gold maple leaf coin has a much lower face value for market purposes. This coin is the official bullion gold coin of Canada. Produced at the Royal Canadian Mint, it is made solely from gold mined from Canadian gold mines and has no base metals. Walter Ott is credited with being the creator of this coin, as a response to the limited availablity of gold for purchase due to the boycott of South Africa that was in progress in the late 70s. Because it is such a pure gold, at 24 karats, it is extremely soft. This has resulted in some handling problems. It is clearly designed to be stored out of the wear and tear of too much handling.

Since Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, it is not surprising to see Queen Elizabeth II represented on the Canadian gold maple leaf coin. Her lengthy reign can be traced through the 1964 design of her likeness at age 39, to the second edition in 1994, when she was 64 years old. In 2009 a third image was created of the still reigning monarch at age 79. In 2007 a promotional gold coin was minted with a face value of $1 million dollars and a market value of twice that. Unexpectedly, public interest was expressed in purchasing this coin. To date 5 orders have been sold for between $2.5 and $3 million dollars each. This would seem to make it a perfect collector's item for the rich and famous, and those wanting the security of gold investments.