The Royal Canadian Mint has always been known for the high-quality collectible gold coins it produces each year. In 2007, though, the Royal Canadian Mint achieved a different sort of milestone: It produced the world’s largest Gold Maple Leaf. The Royal Canadian Mint’s record-setter is a 220-pound gold coin that is 20 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. This coin broke the previous record held by the Austrian Mint, which had produced a 70-pound gold coin. The Mint’s gold coin may be a bit of a novelty act, but it does have real value. The coin is more than 99.9 percent gold bullion, and has a face value of $1 million Canadian dollars. Of course, the coin sells for much more, depending on the market value of gold.
The image of Queen Elizabeth II is printed on the front of the gold coin, while the famous Canadian maple leaf is printed on the back side. These designs, of course, are common on most gold coins produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. Most collectors, of course, will not able to purchase one of these giant-sized coins. The Canadian Mint, though, did buy itself a great deal of publicity by producing these oversized coins. That publicity helped renew interest in the other gold coins that the Royal Canadian Mint manufactures. And to the collectors who already have a sizable number of coins from the mint in their collection, that’s good news.
Gold coins produced by the mint are highly collectible for two main reasons: First, they are extremely pure. The coins are made of 99.9 percent solid gold. Collectors also consider these coins’ artistic values to be unmatched. It is this combination of value and aesthetics that makes Canadian Maple Leaf coins a must-have for collectors. Each year, the mint unveils a new design for their Canadian Maple Leaf coins. The 2009 version, which is now available, features a Canadian maple leaf design on one side and a side portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the other. The association that these coins have with the Canadian mint is important. The Canadian government guarantees the face value of these coins. It also guarantees the coins’ gold content and purity. This helps the coins regularly grow in value. If you are interested in collecting coins produced by the Royal Canadian Mint, then, you don’t have to shell out millions of dollars for its 220-pound version. You can instead aim for any of the mint’s more reasonably priced gold coins.
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