Gold Spot: 1,960.20 | 0.9% |
Silver Spot: 23.17 | 0.0% |
Since its introduction in 1988, the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf has been a favorite among precious metal investors worldwide. Struck on 0.9999 (24 karat) fine silver, the Maple Leaf stands alone in purity above every other silver bullion coin. With a face value of $5, the one-ounce Silver Maple Leaf also has highest face value of all comparable silver bullion coins.
As with the coinage of every British Dominion, the obverse of the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf bears the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II. To date, there have been three renditions of the design on the Maple Leaf: portraits by Arnold Machin (1988–1989), Dora de Pédery-Hunt (1990–2003), and Susanna Blunt (2004-present).
The design on the reverse, a single sugar maple leaf, has remained unchanged since 1988. There have been many special editions over the years, however, featuring colorized, gold-plated, and holographic enhancements.
Already renowned as a world leader in purity and quality, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has now set the benchmark for security as well. Beginning in 2014 both gold and silver Canadian bullion coins are struck with state-of-the-art anti-counterfeiting features that allow easy and quick verification of their authenticity.
A new finish featuring radial lines machined to within microns for precise width and pitch creates a pattern that diffracts light in a manner that is unique to the coin, making forgeries readily identifiable to the trained eye. In addition, the dies used to produce the Maple Leaf are micro-engraved with an anti-counterfeiting security mark: a textured maple leaf encrypted with a code that can be used to instantly authenticate a coin using the RCM’s digital non-destructive activation (DNA) technology.
The 1989 Silver Maple Leaf has the distinction of being the only one offered to the public in proof condition. By RCM policy, the coins are sold only to authorized bullion dealers and, since 2009, have been available only in tubes of 25.
Silver Maple Leafs are plentiful on the secondary market, however, and are readily available to quality-conscious investors at very low premiums.