Like the United States Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint issues both gold and silver bullion coins. Its Gold Maple Leaf coins are one of the primary competitors to the American Gold Eagle for investor interest, while its Silver Maple Leaf is one of the primary competitors to the American Silver Eagle. Whereas the Gold Maple Leaf had a several year head start over the Gold Eagle, the Silver Maple Leaf only began production in 1988, two years after the Silver Eagle.
Minted annually since then, well over 200 million Silver Maple Leaf coins have been produced. The Silver Maple Leaf has become one of the world’s most recognized and most popular silver bullion coins. Featuring a $5 Canadian face value, the Silver Maple Leaf contains one troy ounce of .9999 fine silver, making it one of the finest silver bullion coins in the world.
Its metal value is obviously far greater than its legal tender face value, and you can expect to pay premiums of 10-15% over spot. Because the Silver Eagle is so popular in the US, it commands higher premiums than the Silver Maple Leaf, making the Silver Maple Leaf a good choice for investors who are just looking to maximize their holdings of silver.
In addition to the standard Silver Maple Leaf, which features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth on the obverse and a maple leaf on the reverse, the Royal Canadian Mint has also issued numerous special commemorative versions of the Silver Maple Leaf, as well as versions with special privy marks.
As with the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, the Silver Maple Leaf is eligible for investment through precious metals IRAs. With a precious metals IRA investors can benefit from owning gold and silver coins while still maintaining the tax-advantages status of a traditional IRA account. When it comes time to take distribution, investors can either take the distribution in cash or in-kind, taking physical delivery of their coins.
Coin Specifications
- Weight: 1.00 troy oz (31.11 g)
- Purity: 0.9999
- Silver Content: 0.9999 troy oz
- Diameter: 37.97 mm
- Thickness: 3.29 mm
