1 oz Silver Canadian Maple Leaf

Royal Canadian Mint

Real quick before we get into the blog. We are giving away 5 x 1 Silver Canadian Maple Leaf coins. Visit us on Facebook for details! (P.S., We giveaway Silver bullion every month on the 1st!)

The 1 oz Canadian Maple Leaf coins are the Royal Canadian Mints flagship series of coin. Available in Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium the Silver Maple Leaf was first minted in 1988, 9 years after the first Gold Canadian Maple Leaf coin was struck. The coin comes in boxes of 500 called “Monster Boxes.” The monster boxes come sealed with RCM branded straps, inside, contain 20 “mint tubes” that hold 25 coins each. 1 oz Silver Maple Leaf’s can be purchased by the pallet, monster box, tube or individually. Monster boxes you receive are usually yellow indicating regular, mass produced Maple Leaf coins. A red box means you got lucky and got some sort of special edition coin such as a special Privy mark coin, Mounted Police coins or Inukshuk Silver Coins. If you receive a gray monster box, your rich because that is 500 x 1 oz Gold Canadian Maple Leaf coins worth approximately $1,000,000 USD.

Royal Canadian Mint box, tube and some Silver Maple Leaf coins. Photo Cred: Investor Crate Distribution Center EAST.

Special Edition and Privy Marks.

The Royal Canadian Mint has released a plethora of special edition bullion coins, below is a list of special edition Silver Maple Leaf coins that collectors keep an eye out for. This list in not the full complete list but most notable ones are here. Keep in mind, many of these are extremely expensive and for more of the numismatic investor versus the raw bullion investor. The Royal Canadian Mint has the most diverse line up of Silver coins with over 150 special edition coins and privy marks produced to date.

• • 1998 90th Anniversary Royal Canadian Mint Coin
• • Royal Canadian Mounted Police Coin
• • Titanic Silver Maple Leaf produced for Dillon Gage
• • Fireworks Silver Maple Leaf some dual-dated 1999-2000
• • D-Day commemorative Maple Leaf (included COA’s)
• • Victory in Europe and Victor in Japan War Commemoratives
• • London’s Tower Bridge Maple Leaf
• • E-mc2 Maple Leaf made for Bullion Exchanges.
• • Panda Privy Mark Maple Leaf
• • Year of the “Zodiac Series” Maple Leaf coin 1998-2009, 2012 to current
• • Bird of Prey Series of Silver Coin by the Royal Canadian Mint 2014-2015
• • Canadian Wildlife Series by the Royal Canadian Mint 2011-2013

Low Premiums and Pure Metal?

The Royal Canadian Mint is a Crown Corporation and operates under the Royal Canadian Mint Act. They are responsible for producing Canada’s circulation coins (regular money), precious metals bullion (real money), as well as minting circulatory coinage on behalf of other foreign countries. The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf is legal tender that is fully backed by the Canadian Government and has a face value of $5 CAD.

In terms of overall premium, the Royal Canadian Mint has a below average “over market spot” premium or mark up per coin. This is because the Royal Canadian Mint controls the refining process and does not outsource or purchase blank coin planchets to produce their bullion. By cutting out a middleman refiner or planchet producer, they are able to keep prices low. When it comes to refining technology, the Royal Canadian Mint wrote the book on the matter and is why Canadian bullion comes in an impressive .9999% purity compared to other mints that usually sport a .999% purity on their bullion.

The Royal Canadian Mint has two locations, one in Ottawa and the other in Winnipeg. Each location allows for tours and has museums, which we recommend highly. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff and the tour experience is excellent. You can find out more about the RCM in our mint showcase blog. 

No one is perfect.

Now the Royal Canadian Mint is not perfect, in fact, they have had issue with “milk spots” on their coins. Milking or milky Silver is a chemical reaction that causes a whiteish stain to develop on the Silver product itself. The RCM claims that this occurs during the planchet cleaning process but many folks on coin collecting forums have speculated other environmental issues may be to blame. It seems like RCM has gotten this under control but nearly all Canadian Silver coins minted from 2014-2016 had massive milk spot problems. Milk spots do not cause a decrease in the value of the metal and does not indicate an impurity that one should worry about, however, numismatic value could be affected by this issue. 

2020 vs 1989. Two things to note here, the older and younger portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and, if you look closely, you can see slight milking just behind the Queen on the 1989 specimen. Photo Cred: ICDC EAST.

Diversity is Good.

Interestingly, the Silver Maple Leaf and other Silver coins by the RCM comes in different weights and shapes. My favorite (and I wish other mints would make sizes like this) are the fractional or less than 1 troy ounce coins. Some of these unique sizes include;

• ½ oz Silver Canadian “Devil’s Brigade” coins
• ¾ oz Silver Canadian Predator Coins such as the Howling Wolves or Grey Wolf
• Canadian Article Series 1 ½ oz coin such as the Silver Polar Bear or Artic Fox
• 5 oz 25th Anniversary Silver Canadian Maple Leaf Coin 
• 10 oz Canadian Silver Magnificent Maple Leaf Coin 

In conclusion

All in all, stackers hoard Royal Canadian Mint products because of how great the mint and products are. We absolutely love the RCM and stock their product often. Adding a roll or two of some Silver Maple Leaf coins to your portfolio each month is fun and with our Silver Crate, you could end up with some cool special edition ones at no extra cost. In July of 2020, our subscribers received Incuse Maple Leaf coins and last month (January 2021) received 2020 Maple Leaf’s.

As always, this blog is not intended to be financial advice. This blog is for entertainment purposes only. We recommend always, first checking in with your financial advisor prior to purchasing any of our products, investing in Precious Metals or investing in anything for that matter. The key to a successful financial future is seeking professional help from a certified financial advisor.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about this extremely popular item and thanks for being the best part of the stacking community.  

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