Royal Canadian Mint

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Since its opening in 1908, the Royal Canadian Mint has become one of the most important mints in the world. With the Maple Leaf, not only does the Royal Canadian Mint issue the most renowned investment coin in the world, it also sets standards in the areas of embossing technique and numismatic design time and time again.

Coin Minting with Tradition

Even if the Royal Canadian Mint is still a relatively young mint, it is, however, part of the long tradition of the Royal Mint, the official mint of Great Britain. With Canada's increasing independence from Britain, the need also grew to mint its own coins. Therefore, in 1908 the Royal Canadian Mint was founded. Its tasks to this day also include the protection of precious metal ores from the rich deposits of the North American continent. To date, all coins from the Royal Canadian Mint bear the portrait of the ruling British monarch and thus the Canadian Head of State. A clear symbol of the close ties between Canada and Great Britain as well as the Royal Mint and the Royal Canadian Mint. 

Precious Metal Processing at the Highest Level

At the Royal Canadian Mint, a whole series of investment coins and bars are produced with the highest purity in the world of 99.999%. Since the Royal Canadian Mint uses materials from various sources such as crude ores as well as industrial and recycled precious metals, elaborate procedures are required to achieve this exceptionally high degree of purity. Gold is therefore processed in a two-step procedure. In the first step, the Miller process achieves a degree of purity of 99.95%. Building on this, the material is further processed using the Wohlmill process to achieve a purity of 99.999%. By the way, both processes are named after their inventors.

However, the Royal Canadian Mint takes unusual approaches not only in regard to the processing of the material but also in regard to minting and forgery prevention. For example, since 2015, all Maple Leaf coins bear a fine radial pattern which makes illegal reproduction considerably more difficult. The proof coins in particular - which are always the jewel in any mint's portfolio anyway - delight collectors again and again with their unusual design.

The Maple Leaf - Canada's National Symbol and Popular Investment Coin

In 1979, the Royal Canadian Mint issued the Canadian Maple Leaf for the first time. Named after the embossed maple leaf, the coin quickly became one of the most important investment coins in the world. The popularity of the Maple Leaf is based on the fact that at the time of its release, it was the only modern bullion coin apart from the Krügerrand. Furthermore, from 1986 to 1999 the Krügerrand was subject to sanctions introduced against the South African apartheid regime. Thus, the Maple Leaf with its high purity and easy availability quickly became the most popular investment coin alongside the Krügerrand. A position which the coin has maintained until today.