Gold Maple Leaf Coin
Recognized as the official bullion coin of Canada, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is a gold coin produced by no less than the Royal Canadian Mint. All thanks to the great mind of Walter Ott, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin has been created…renowned as one of the purest gold coins around the globe which are issued regularly.
Just how pure is the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coin? Check this out – it has a gold content of 0.9999 millesimal fineness (in simpler terms, that’s 24 carats), while some of the special issues of this gold bullion coin has 0.99999 fineness. That means these gold coins from Canada contain virtually ZERO base metals – nothing but pure and genuine gold acquired from the Canadian gold mines.
It was back in 1979 when the gold coins were first introduced. Back then, the only available gold bullion coin in Canada is the Krugerrand. And unfortunately, this is not widely available due to the economic boycott that’s plaguing the country during the time. Offered at 1/20, 1/10, 1/4, and 1/4 oz denominations, you can be confident that these Gold Maple Leaf Coins are guaranteed to have the stated amount of gold in troy ounces and that it has 0.9999 find gold or 24 carats. Just in case you don’t know, these gold coins have legal tender status in Canada. However, just like in any gold bullion coins, the face values that these Gold Maple Leaf Coins (which is one, five, ten, twenty, and fifty dollars) are purely symbolic. They are much lower than their market value.
As for the design, the 1/20. 1/10, 1/4 as well as the 1/2 troy ounce gold coins look identical to the design of the 1 ounce gold coins. It has some exceptions though – the design and markings on both the obverse and reverse sides of the coin indicate the weight as well as the face value of the gold coin. Back in 1994, 1/15 ounce gold coins (which has a $2.00 face value) were issued. Perhaps, they’re to be used for jewelry. However, this release of Gold Maple Leaf Coins is not very successful. That year, 1994, was the first and last time that these 1/15 ounces gold coins were produced.
Just recently, during May 03 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint unleashed a Gold Maple Leaf Coin that has a face value of a whopping one million dollars! And get this – unlike other gold bullion coins that has a lower market value, this Gold Maple Leaf Coin has a gold content that is valued well over $2 million dollars during the time!
To give you an idea how it looks like, it has a diameter of 50 centimeters, it is 3 centimeter thick, and has a weight of 100 kilograms. And as for the purity – it’s measured at 99.999 percent. Created by an artist named Stanley Witen, this Gold Maple Leaf Coin was a created primarily as a promotional product with the objective of giving the Royal Canadian Mint a higher international profile. This 100-kilogram gold coin was a one-off showpiece that will promote the new line of 99.999 percent one ounce Gold Maple Leaf Coins from the mint. However, this changed when several interested buyers came forward expressing their eagerness to buy the said 100 kilogram coins.
With that in mind, the mint announced that it would manufacture and sell them as ordered. And the price? That’s between 2.5 and 3 million dollars each! And at that price, it was confirmed that there were 5 orders for this 100 kilogram gold coins back in May 2007!
