Canadian Silver Maple Leaf
When we talk about bullion coins for investment, most people think about gold.
However after the success of the gold issues, many mints around the world have experimented with more exotic precious metals.
Canada has issued coins made out of gold, platinum and even palladium; however without a doubt the best known is the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, first struck in 1988.
In addition to minting coins, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) is also a refinery, for both silver and gold- as opposed to, for example, the South African Mint, which is supplied by the Rand Refinery.
The Silver Maple Leaf is special because in addition to being more affordable than gold for the small investor, the RCM has taken the opportunity to really push the envelope technically.
Much like its gold cousin, the Silver Maple is minted with a higher purity than the competition- 99.
99%, as opposed to 99.
9%.
The RCM has also released issues with a colored maple leaf, and often puts out commemorative editions, for example, a full set with issues for the sports in the 2010 winter Olympic Games.
The mint created the technology to make holographic coins, and released their first hologram Maple Leaf set back in 1999 (in gold).
Since then they have released a number of holographic editions in silver- and they make quite the show piece in a collection, at the very least a conversation piece- although some of the traditional coin collectors don't care for them, we'll leave it up to you to decide if they're for you.
The mint also likes to mix things up with oversize coins once in a while.
While not two hundred and twenty pounds like the massive gold million dollar coin, they released a 10 ounce version in silver to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the series back in 1998.
It's interesting to note that while the gold bullion coins typically trade at the gold spot price plus a small premium, it's not unusual for the Silver Maples to trade at much higher prices, due to collector demand.
The RCM seems to have found the perfect balance between scarcity of a precious metal, limited mintage, and special features to drive demand.
They are doing something right, since the first coins were struck they have sold over 21 million ounces.
However after the success of the gold issues, many mints around the world have experimented with more exotic precious metals.
Canada has issued coins made out of gold, platinum and even palladium; however without a doubt the best known is the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, first struck in 1988.
In addition to minting coins, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) is also a refinery, for both silver and gold- as opposed to, for example, the South African Mint, which is supplied by the Rand Refinery.
The Silver Maple Leaf is special because in addition to being more affordable than gold for the small investor, the RCM has taken the opportunity to really push the envelope technically.
Much like its gold cousin, the Silver Maple is minted with a higher purity than the competition- 99.
99%, as opposed to 99.
9%.
The RCM has also released issues with a colored maple leaf, and often puts out commemorative editions, for example, a full set with issues for the sports in the 2010 winter Olympic Games.
The mint created the technology to make holographic coins, and released their first hologram Maple Leaf set back in 1999 (in gold).
Since then they have released a number of holographic editions in silver- and they make quite the show piece in a collection, at the very least a conversation piece- although some of the traditional coin collectors don't care for them, we'll leave it up to you to decide if they're for you.
The mint also likes to mix things up with oversize coins once in a while.
While not two hundred and twenty pounds like the massive gold million dollar coin, they released a 10 ounce version in silver to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the series back in 1998.
It's interesting to note that while the gold bullion coins typically trade at the gold spot price plus a small premium, it's not unusual for the Silver Maples to trade at much higher prices, due to collector demand.
The RCM seems to have found the perfect balance between scarcity of a precious metal, limited mintage, and special features to drive demand.
They are doing something right, since the first coins were struck they have sold over 21 million ounces.
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