Canadian Maple Leaf Silver
The Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coin is a bullion coin that is issued by the Canadian government yearly. It was initially minted in 1988 by the Royal Canadian Mint. The actual value of this coin is 5 Canadian $ for a 1 ounce coin. It is the highest ranked bullion in the world.
The Canadian Maple Leaf Silver coins are the coins with the highest purity (their certified purity is 99.99%), if we compare them with other bullion rounds and bars which have purity levels of approximately 99.90%. The features of the Silver Maple Leaf include a maple leaf on the reverse side of nearly every issue with a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth on the obverse.
Their weight is one troy ounce (32.1 grams) of silver. Moreover, the phrase “Fine Silver 1 oz Argent Pur” is written on the reverse side.
There are yearly variations of the Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coin that include holographic enhancements and proof releases that apply to the 1989 variation only. In addition, a colored maple leaf with a different design compared to the regular issues.
For the commemoration of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games a coin was issued in 2009.
Other variations of the issues include the following:
- 1998: in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the coin series a single 10 oz issue was produced
- 1999: in order to celebrate the RCM Maple Leaf Program all coins had a privy mark
- 2000: the coins had a privy mark with the year 2000 and fireworks; another issue was designed for the new millennium.
The market value of the Canadian Maple Leaf Silver coins depends on various factors including a guarantee of purity and weight by mint, current prices of silver bullion, the exact amount of silver bullion, and, of course, the particular issue’s supply and demand.
The prices of the silver versions are much higher than the actual silver bullion price because of the higher demand. More specifically, in 1996 and 1997 the limited mintages lead to higher prices.
It should be mentioned that the mint of 1997 was approximately 101,000 coins; on the other hand, in 1999 the mint was more than 1.2 million coins.
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