July 26, 2024

Royal Canadian Mint Precious Metal Coins a Hit with Investors and Collectors

April 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Maple Leaf goldThe Royal Canadian Mint has a rich history, striking its first gold sovereign coin back in 1908.  The Mint began production of the world renown Canadian Gold Maple Leaf in 1979 and introduced the 99.99% pure Silver Maple Leaf in 1988.

Investor demand for both the gold and silver Maple Leafs has remained strong year after year.  According to the Mint’s latest third quarter 2013 report, sales volume of the Gold Maple Leaf coins increased during the quarter by 17.5% to 195,000 ounces and sales of the Silver Maple Leaf coins increased by a very robust 40% to 6.7 million ounces.

In addition to gold and silver bullion coins, the Royal Canadian Mint produces a wide variety of stunning coins for collectors and investors including such innovative coins as the $20 for $20, a silver coin that has both a face value and a price of $20 (see How to Buy Physical Silver with a Zero Chance of Loss).

Here is a look at some of the most popular and unique coins currently being sold by the Royal Canadian Mint that are a representation of Canada’s rich culture and history.

1 oz. Fine Silver Coin - 100th Anniversary of the Royal Ontario Museum - Mintage: 8,500 (2014)

1 ounce silver coin commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Ontario Museum.

Fine Gold Coin - Pope John Paul II - Mintage: 1,500 (2014)

Pope John Paul II fine gold coin with a mintage of only 1,500 pieces.

Pure Gold Ultra-High Relief Coin - Matriarch Moon Mask - Mintage: 500 (2014)

Matriarch Moon Mask ultra-high relief pure gold coin.

$20 for $20 Fine Silver Coin - Canada Goose

Fine silver Canada goose coin with $20 face value and a price of $20.

$20 for $20 Fine Silver Coin - Bobcat (2014)

$20 for $20 Bobcat coin made of fine silver.

Filed Under: Bullion Sales, Featured, Gold, Royal Canadian Mint, Silver Tagged With: , , , , ,

How To Buy Physical Silver With A Zero Chance Of Loss

May 16, 2013 by 8 Comments

silverAnything that sound too good to be true, well, you know how that ends.

But there actually is a way to purchase physical silver with a zero chance of loss, courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM).

For the first time ever, the RCM is offering a coin with a face value of $100 at a price of $100.  Here are the details courtesy of the mintnewsblog.

Following the success of their “$20 for $20″ silver coin program, the Royal Canadian Mint has launched a new series which uses the same concept for a larger face value.

Orders are now being accepted for the first “$100 for $100″ silver coin, which is the initial release for the Wildlife in Motion series. The RCM indicates this is the first time in history that $100 can buy a coin worth $100.

Buffalo $100 Silver Coin

The reverse of the coin designed by Claudio D’Angelo features three members of a herd of stampeding bison racing across the grassy prairie. The bison are pictured in profile, illustrating the movement and momentum of the massive creatures. The background shows foothills which are backed by a jagged mountain with clouds above. The inscriptions read “Canada 2013″ and the legal tender face value of “$100 Dollars”.

The obverse of the coin features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Susanna Blunt.

The 2013 $100 for $100 Bison Silver Coin is struck in 99.99% pure silver with a weight of 31.6 grams (1.016 troy ounces) and diameter of 40 mm. The maximum mintage is limited to 50,000 pieces with a limit of three coins per household.

These coins are available for sale priced at their face value of $100 CAD. The product page can be found here.

This is about as close to a sure thing as you can find in life.  The coin will always have a value of $100. If silver prices increase to $200 per ounce, the coin would be worth about $200 based on the silver content of 1.016 troy ounce.

Filed Under: Featured, Silver Tagged With: , , , , ,

Platinum & Palladium Bullion from Royal Canadian Mint

June 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

The Royal Canadian Mint has revived two bullion coin programs that had been previously been suspended for a number of years. This includes the Platinum Maple Leaf, with bullion coins already available, and the Palladium Maple Leaf, which is planned for later this year.

The Platinum Maple Leaf was originally launched by the Royal Canadian Mint in 1988 and offered in 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/10 oz sizes. The platinum bullion coins were offered until 1999 when the price of platinum started to rise and demand for the coins started to drop. Ten years later, the RCM revived the program due to demand from distributors. So far, the 2009 Platinum Maple Leaf has only been produced in 1 ounce size. The RCM does not sell the coins directly, but they can be purchased through most bullion dealers.

For 2009, the RCM seems to be the only major world mint producing platinum bullion coins. The United States Mint typically produces the popular Platinum Eagle bullion coins. In late 2008, the US Mint announced that the launch of 2009 dated coins would be delayed. To date no coins have been available and no details have emerged about the status of the program.

The Palladium Maple Leaf was the world’s first palladium bullion coin offered. (Note: Some mints have issued commemorative or special issue coins minted in palladium.) The coins were introduced in 2005 and limited to production of only 40,000 coins, which were all sold. The novelty of palladium bullion wore off by 2007 when only 15,000 coins were sold and the program was ended.

Palladium bullion coins currently carry high premiums due to the fact that no major world mints currently produce the coins, and the brief production by the RCM was in very limited numbers. So far the RCM has stated that they intend to begin producing palladium bullion coins for 2009, but no availability date has been provided.

Filed Under: palladium, Platinum Tagged With: , ,

Gold Confiscation, Missing Royal Canadian Mint Gold, Bernard von Nothaus Indictment

June 8, 2009 by 2 Comments

As gold contemplates the $1,000 barrier, here’s a roundup of gold, silver, and precious metals related stories that are interesting for one reason or another. Each headline comes with a snippet of commentary. Enjoy.

A Myth Concerning Gold Confiscation

Examination of a clause in Executive Order 6102, which receives little attention. In addition to the exemption from confiscation for numismatic gold, there was also an exemption for up to five ounces of gold per person.

U.S. Gold, Going or Completely Gone?

According to the United States Geological Survey, nearly 3,000 metric tonnes of gold were exported during 2008 in the form of “gold compounds.” Gold compounds consist of products containing gold content such as gold paint. The amount of gold claimed to have been exported in this format is more than 14 times the annual US gold mine production. What is going on here?

Mint can’t account for missing gold

In another story about missing gold, an audit of the Royal Canadian Mint turned up a discrepancy between the mint’s accounting records and physical precious metals holdings for gold, silver, and other precious metals. The article also describes the largest reported theft from the mint when a machinist pocketed 85 ounces of gold.

Liberty Dollar – Federal Indictment

Bernard von Nothaus, who created an “alternative currency” of gold and silver Liberty Dollars was formally charged “with uttering and passing, and attempting to utter and pass, a coin of silver in resemblance of genuine coins of the United States in the denominations of five dollars and greater, and intended for use as current money”. More than a year ago, the headquarters of his company was raided by the federal government and more than two tons of gold, silver, and copper coins were confiscated.

Buffet Gets ‘Comeuppance’ After Gold Outperforms

Every time someone writes a negative article about gold, they invariable measure the returns since January 1980 to support their preordained conclusion that gold is a bad investment.  Someone has finally turned the tables and compared an investment in gold to an investment in Berkshire Hathaway stock since May 2005, a much more favorable investment time frame for gold.

Gold: Headed For a Bubble?

A particularly vacuous article courtesy of the Wall Street Journal. From the title of the article I thought it would at least have some substance, but it turns into another run through of the “risks of buying bullion” and the lack of a measurable intrinsic value. The author winds up the article by suggesting that Treasuries are a preferable safe haven to gold.

Northwestern Mutual Makes First Gold Buy in 152 Years

For the first time in history, Northwestern Mutual, the third largest US life insurance company, has invested in gold. A great quote from CEO Edward Zore, “The downside risk is limited, but the upside is large. We have stocks in our portfolio that lost 95 percent. Gold is not going down to $90.” Indeed.

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Gold and Silver News & Headlines for October 27

October 27, 2008 by 1 Comment

More linkworthy gold and silver news and headlines from various places around the internet.

Mints struggle to meet metals demand

Provides some specific insight into the Royal Canadian Mint. They have doubled their output twice in the last right weeks. Quote from a bullion dealer, “Now it’s 99 per cent buyers and one per cent sellers, and people are buying whatever’s available.”

Goldcorp: Implosion Offers Shiny Opportunity

If you follow gold stocks, you know that they’ve all been decimated in recent weeks. The last time Goldcorp traded at its current price, gold was at $400.

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