Gold

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official bullion gold coin of Canada, and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. The brainchild of Walter Ott, it is one of the purest gold regular-issue coins in the world with a gold content of .9999 millesimal fineness (24 carats), with some special issues .99999 fine. That is, it contains virtually no base metals at all—only gold, from mines in Canada.

The coin was introduced in 1979. At the time the only bullion coin was the Krugerrand, which was not widely available because of the economic boycott of apartheid-era South Africa. Coins minted between 1979 and 1982 have a gold content of .999.

The coin is offered in 1⁄20 oz, 1⁄10 oz, 1⁄4 oz, 1⁄2 oz, and 1 oz denominations and is guaranteed to contain the stated amount (in troy ounces) of .9999 fine gold (24- carat). The coins have legal tender status in Canada for their face values ($1, $5, $10, $20 and $50), subject to the Canadian Currency Act and the Royal Canadian Mint Act. Although categorized as "non-circulating bullion coins" in the Mint Act, these coins are still legal tender under the Currency Act.

The 1⁄20, 1⁄10, 1⁄4, and 1⁄2 troy ounce coins are identical in design to the one-troy-ounce coin, except for markings on the obverse and reverse sides indicating the weight and face value of the coin. In 1994 1⁄15 oz ($2.00 face value) gold and platinum coins were issued, possibly for use in jewelry. They were not very popular, and 1994 remains the only year in which 1⁄15 oz gold and platinum bullion coins were produced.

Starting in 1988 Maple Leaf coins have also been struck in .9995-fine platinum, having the same weights and face values as the gold coins. Since 1988, a one-ounce .9999-fine silver Maple Leaf has also been struck, with a face value of $5. In 2005, a .9995-fine palladium Maple Leaf 1 oz coin was introduced, with a face value of $50. This palladium coin is subject to the federal Goods and Services Tax in Canada.

On May 3, 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a Gold Maple Leaf coin with a face value of $1 million, though the gold content was worth over $2 million at the time. It measures 50 cm in diameter by 3 cm thick and has a mass of 100 kg, with a purity of 99.999%. The artist is Stanley Witten. The coin is mainly a promotional product, to give the mint a higher international profile. The hundred-kilogram coin was conceived as a one-off showpiece to promote the mint's new line of 99.999-percent-pure one-ounce Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins, but after several interested buyers came forward the mint announced it would manufacture them as ordered and sell them for between $2.5 and $3 million. As of May 3, 2007 there were five confirmed orders.

All weights are in troy ounces.

Silver

The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf is a silver bullion coin issued annually by the government of Canada. The coin has been minted by the Royal Canadian Mint (RMC) since 1988.

The face value of the 1 oz coin is 5 Canadian dollars, the highest among international silver bullion coins. During the month of February 2008, the market value of the coin was approximately 20 Canadian dollars. The purity of the coin is 99.99% silver, also the highest among other bullion issues which have a 99.90% standard.

The coin generally always features a maple leaf and generally consists of 1 troy ounce (31.1 g) of silver. Annual variations for the coin in past have included proof releases (1989 only), privy marks, a coloured maple leaf (with a design different from the regular maple leaf), holographic enhancements and several differing designs, such as a 2009 issue commemorating the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The one universal element in all silver maple leaf coins is the phrase "Fine Silver 1 oz Argent Pur" along the bottom of the reverse of the coin.

Several notable issues have been released over the life of the series. A single-issue 10 oz version was produced in 1998 to mark the 10th anniversary of the coin series. In 1999, all Silver Maple Leaf coins that were issued came with a privy mark to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the RCM Maple Leaf Program. The following year, the coins featured a Privy Mark with Fireworks and the number 2000. Another Silver Maple Leaf was issued to commemorate the Millennium. The coins were double dated 1999 and 2000.

Silver Maple Leafs differ from their Canadian Gold and Platinum Maple Leaf counterparts in that collector demand generates prices well above and beyond bullion value. In particular, the 1996 and 1997 versions fetched very high prices due to limited mintages (for example, in 1997 just under 101,000 Maple Leafs were minted, in comparison with more than 1.2 million minted in 1999).

Some of the privy marked Maple Leafs were available only in Europe.[citation needed] For the first time in 2009, the Silver Maple Leaf coins were not packaged in Mylar by the Royal Canadian Mint. Due to the high demand, the Silver Maple Leaf was packaged in tubes of 25.

Obverse: The effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. There are three different versions, a young head version, an old head version, and an older head version. The year of issue and the face value of 5 dollars is also displayed on this side.

Reverse: Picture of a maple leaf. On some variations there are also a small privy mark on the lower half of the coin or colour enhancement.

Platinum

The Platinum Maple Leaf is a platinum coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint between 1988 and 2002, and reintroduced in 2009 (1 oz only). The coin was offered in 1/20 oz, 1/15 oz (in 1994 only), 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz denominations, all of which are marked as containing .9995 pure platinum. The coins have legal tender status in Canada, but as is often the case with bullion coins, the face values of these coins (C$1, C$2, C$5, C$10, C$20 and C$50) are purely symbolic and do not reflect their true value.

Palladium

Available in a one-ounce format, the palladium coin presented an alternative to the Platinum Maple Leaf (which had been discontinued in 1999).

During the testing process for the palladium coin, coins were tested on two different palladium blanks. These blanks were known as lots "A" and "B". From these blanks, 290 test coins were struck. These coins were struck with a mint mark, attesting to their authenticity. All test coins struck from lot A were identified with an "A" mint mark, and all coins struck from lot B were given a "B" mint mark. These coins were available for purchase through a drawing held by the Royal Canadian Mint. Their face value was $50 each, and the issue price for both coins was $1,299.95.