CANADIAN MAPLE LEAF

Due to its 99.99% gold purity the Royal Canadian Mint markets its Gold Canadian Maple Leaf as the international symbol of purity.

The Maple Leaf has been produced since 1979 and it was minted with 0.999 fine gold for the first four years before switching to 0.9999) Gold Maple Leafs should be handled carefully. Due to their ultra-high purity, they may scratch or mar more easily than other 1-oz. gold coins of lesser purity.

The front, or obverse of the Gold Maple Leaf features a bust of Queen Elizabeth II. Originally, the bust used depicted the Queen in her younger days. The bust design changed in 1990 to feature a more mature portrait. In both versions, her name ELIZABETH II appears at top; the denomination and date of issue rest underneath the bust.

The back, or reverse; depicts a Maple Leaf, the national symbol of Canada for which the coin derives its name. The Gold Maple Leafs reverse also lists the name of the country and the amount and purity of the gold - in both English and French, the national languages of Canada. The Royal Canadian Mint, the nations official mint, was the first mint in the world to commercially produce 99.99% pure gold in gold coin form.

More recently, it also became the first mint to produce 99.999% gold. The Ottawa branch of the Mint has been in operation since 1908. The main branch for production today is Winnipeg. The government of Canada guarantees the purity, weight, and legal tender value of each Gold Maple Leaf coin. For this reason, Gold Maple Leafs have been internationally recognized since their introduction in 1979.