Description
The Maple leaf is a gold bullion coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint and was the first bullion coin to be made in 24 carat gold. It was also the first bullion coin to be upgraded to the higher standard of 0.9999 fineness towards the end of 1982.
The obverse shows a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the reverse depicts the iconic Canadian maple leaf, the national symbol of Canada. Inscriptions on the coin are written in the two Canadian national languages Ð English and French. The face value of the one tenth ounce is CAN $10, although its value obviously is based on its intrinsic gold value.
From 2013, the Canadian Mint introduced enhanced security measures to confirm the authenticity of its gold coins. In 2013, a laser micro-engraved textured maple leaf was addded to the reverse. Under magnification, the year of issue is seen in the centre of this mark. In 2015, the radial lines on the coinÕs background were added on both sides of the coin.
The maple leaf is also made in sizes of one ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce and from 1993 onwards in one-twentieth ounce. A one gram issue was also made from 2014.
