Anyone interested in gold coin investing has certainly heard of the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf. The Royal Canadian Mint began developing the popular coin in the 1970s when the only other high-purity option on the market was the South African Gold Krugerrand. With gold prices increasing by over 270% in just two short years amid roaring inflation rates, the Royal Canadian Mint saw the opportunity to capitalize on the lacking market sector and stepped in.
By 1979, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf became the second-ever gold bullion coin available to private investors following a set of sanctions that made Krugerrands much harder to come by. The Canadian government validated the purity and weight of each $50-denominated gold coin. Each Canadian Gold Maple Leaf received a “.999 fine” stamp, representing the high purity levels.
The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf depicts a maple leaf on the reverse and an intricate portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. Any coins minted from 1979 to 1989 show the monarch at the age of 39, while coins minted between 1990 and 2004 show her at the age of 64. If you get your hands on a more recent coin minted at any time since 2005, you’ll see Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 79.
The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf didn’t reach the actual market until 1982, when the Royal Canadian Mint chose to begin expanding its options to meet growing investor demand rates. The original coin weighed one troy ounce, making it a hefty investment tool, given the average price of an ounce of gold at the time of $447. By November of that year, the Royal Canadian Mint improved the coin’s purity to .9999 while adding additional size options so investors could purchase smaller quantities.
Fast forward to 1986, investors had four size options to choose from, including ¼ ounce, ½ ounce, 1/10 ounce, and 1 ounce. The introduction of the half-ounce coin in 1986 surged demand rates, adding to the Maple Leaf’s popularity.
For the coin’s 15th anniversary in 1994, the Royal Canadian Mint released a limited 1/15-ounce coin, then quickly removed it from production. Any traders who got their hands on the one-time wonder now have a piece of rare history.
Later in the 1990s, the mint continued introducing smaller sizes, like the 1/20-ounce coin and one-gram coin, helping every type of investor buy into the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, regardless of their budget.
Today, all the same sizes are available, aside from the 1/15-ounce coin. The Royal Canadian Mint strikes coins based on current demand rates. In 1979, the mint produced 1 million 1-ounce coins, then quickly increased production to 1.747 million by 1985 to meet the surging demand rates.
As the coins continue gaining popularity, the Royal Canadian Mint has adopted numerous security measures to ensure the investment product maintains its value. First, the mint began engraving hidden maple leaves within the issue year in 2013, then began adding radial lines in 2015 to prevent people from creating counterfeit coins.
In 2020, the Royal Canadian Mint developed MintId, an ultimate security package involving an NFC microchip inside a secure blister card. Cloud-based security allows buyers to view the certificate for their Canadian Gold Maple Leaf directly from a smartphone app.
Part of what helped the Gold Canadia Leaf achieve so much fame is the minting operation forging its success. The Royal Canadian Mint is not a typical refinery but rather a global force.
During the Great War, the Royal Canadian Mint helped Britain repay debts by producing large quantities of gold. By the 1930s, the refinery began serving an array of global gold needs by producing high-quality products. Over the next few decades, it began refining .9999 fine gold bars and coins, including the first-ever .99999 gold product.
In 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint joined the Guinness Book of World Records for producing the ‘Big Maple Leaf (BML),’ a $1 million gold bullion coin at a .99999 purity weighing 100 kilograms. The Royal Canadian Mint produced five of these legendary coins, breaking the previous weight record by 10 times.
Clearly, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf comes from a renowned refinery, working hard each year to improve its craft. The Canadian Gold Maple Leafs came into production at the perfect time when gold demand soared amid a crumbling economy and not many bullion investment products existed. Because of this market landscape and the Royal Canadian Mint’s relentless drive to produce top-tier products, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf has long held its status as a premier investment tool.
