subject: The Maple Leaf Silver Coin [print this page] The Maple Leaf Silver Coin The Maple Leaf Silver Coin
The Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coin is a Canadian bullion coin issued yearly by the government of Canada. This coin was initially minted by the Royal Canadian Mint (RMC), in 1988. This coin, which is the highest ranked bullion in world, has an actual value of 5 Canadian dollars for a 1 ounce coin.
Maple Leaf Silver coins have a certified purity of .9999 (99.99%), which is among the highest purity when compared to most other bullion rounds and bars which have purity levels of about 99.90% (.999). Some other 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, a weight of one troy ounce (32.1 grams) of silver, and the phrase "Fine Silver 1 oz Argent Pur" can be found on the reverse side alongside the bottom of every issue.
Issue Variations
Yearly variations of the Maple Leaf Silver Coin have included holographic enhancements, proof releases found on the 1989 edition only, a colored maple leaf that had a different design not found on the regular issues, and in 2009 a coin was issued in commemoration of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
During the minting of this series there have been some issues worth noting. In 1998 a single issued 10 oz version was made to celebrate the 10th anniversary for the coin series. In 1999 all silver coins were designed with a privy mark in celebration of the RCM Maple Leaf Program. In 2000, the coins featured a privy mark with the number 2000 and fireworks, and another variation was made in celebration of the new millennium, which resulted in the coins having two dates 1999 and 2000.
Market Value
Just like any other minted bullion investment, the market value for these is also dependent on few factors. The factors that influence their value includes the exact amount of silver bullion, current prices of silver bullion, a guarantee of purity and weight by mint and the premium which is based on a particular issue's demand and supply. All bullions start with a "spot price" which is given each day in major newspapers and other news sources, in the investment section.
The pricing of the Silver version differs from that of Gold and Platinum versions. The demands for the silver versions have resulted in the prices which are far higher compared to the actual silver bullion value. This especially happened during the 1996 and 1997 versions when the prices were quite high due to limited mintages. In 1997 around 101,000 coins were minted while in 1999 more than 1.2 million coins were minted.
