Palladium Maple Leaf Coins

palladium coin icon Canada flag icon Palladium Maple Leafs - the Royal Canadian Mint's first palladium product

Whereas the Royal Canadian Mint produces the Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs since 1988 already, investors had to wait until 2005 before they could buy palladium coins that bear Canada's iconic maple leaf design. Production of the Canadian Palladium Maple Leafs has been irregular though with the exception of the first three years of continuous production from 2005 to 2007. When they were first issued, the Palladium Maple Leaf coins were the Royal Canadian Mint's first-ever palladium product as well as the world's first regularly issued palladium bullion coins.

The Palladium Canadian Maple Leafs are minted out of 99.95% fine palladium. The coins are only available with a brilliant uncirculated finish in the single available size of 1 oz. Their official face value is CAD $ 50 and they have legal tender status in Canada. The government of Canada guarantees the coins' weight, purity and face value. Special anti-counterfeiting security features such as radial lines and a micro-engraved privy mark were introduced in 2015. They make the coins a popular buy among safety-conscious investors. The advanced security features are not only used on the platinum and palladium version of the coins but also on the Gold Maple Leafs and Silver Maple Leafs. American buyers that are investing in palladium for their retirement can include the coins in their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's).

reverse side of the 2015 issue of the brilliant uncirculated 1 oz Palladium Maple Leaf coins
obverse side of the 2015 issue of the brilliant uncirculated 1 oz Canadian Palladium Maple Leafs
1 oz BU Palladium Maple Leaf 2015

Coin Specifications

Weight Face Value Purity Diameter x Thickness
1 oz CAD $ 50 99.95% 33 x 2.87 mm

Palladium Maple Leaf Coin Design

All Canadian Maple Leaf coins bear the same design, no matter which kind of precious metal they are made of. A single maple leaf as a kind of national symbol of Canada takes up most of the space at the center of the reverse side of each Palladium Maple Leaf coin. The leaf is intricately etched and radial lines that were introduced as a new security feature in 2015 surround it. The space above the leaf is taken up by the word "CANADA" and the coin's denomination and purity information appear to the side and below the leaf. A smaller maple leaf appears as a privy mark above the denomination. It has the last two digits of the year of mintage laser-engraved on it. These anti-counterfeiting measures that can be found on the gold, silver and platinum version of the Canadian Maple Leafs as well make the coins nearly impossible to fake.

The obverse side of the Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coins features Queen Elizabeth II in a right-facing portrait. The portrait was designed by the artist Susanna Blunt and shows the British monarch as a 79-year-old. The gold, silver and platinum version of the coins that were all introduced much earlier featured two different portraits of a younger Queen before. However, since the Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coin was only introduced in 2005, it always depicts the 3rd portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on all its annual issues. The title "ELIZABETH II" is engraved above her majesty's image and the coin's face value and year of mintage are engraved below it.

History of the Palladium Canadian Maple Leaf

The Royal Canadian Mint introduced the Palladium Maple Leafs in November 2005. At that time, the gold, silver and platinum version had already been minted for a long time. Nevertheless, the Palladium Maple Leaf was the first-ever palladium product of the Royal Canadian Mint. The Palladium Canadian Maple Leaf was also the world's first regularly issued palladium coin during its continuous mintage period from 2005 to 2007. After that, Canadian Maple Leaf palladium coins were minted again in 2009, 2015 and 2017. The mintage year 2015 also saw the introduction of two new security features, radial lines as well as a special privy mark with the laser-engraved year of mintage. Whereas the gold and platinum coin versions are/were offered in fractional sizes as well, the Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf is only offered in the denomination of 1 oz.

Mintage Numbers

The 2015 and 2017 mintage numbers for the Canadian Maple Leaf palladium coin haven't been disclosed yet by the Royal Canadian Mint. Currently, the mintage record are the 68,707 coins that were minted in 2006. The mintage low were the 25,109 coins that were minted the following year. Of this total 2007 mintage, 9,694 coins couldn't be sold that year. That's why no new coins were minted in 2008. The remaining stockpile of 9,694 coins (that were minted in 2007) were then all sold in 2008.

Only 40,000 of the 65,000 Canadian Palladium Maple Leafs that were minted in 2009 were sold that year. The remaining 25,000 coins were then sold in 2010.

reverse side of the 2017 issue of the brilliant uncirculated 1 oz Canadian Gold Maple Leafs
obverse side of the 2017 issue of the brilliant uncirculated 1 oz Canadian Maple Leaf gold coins

Canadian Gold Maple Leafs

The Royal Canadian Mint produces the Canadian Gold Maple Leafs since 1979. The coins were minted out of 99.9% pure gold until 1981. Since then, they are 99.99% pure and some special editions of the coins are even minted out of 99.999% pure gold! The Canadian Maple Leaf gold coins that count among the most popular gold bullion coins worldwide are available with brilliant uncirculated and proof finishes in a wide range of denominations between 1 gram and 1 oz. Special security measures also make the coins extremely hard to counterfeit. These include micro-engraved radial lines as well as a textured maple leaf privy mark that has the last two digits of the year of mintage laser-engraved.

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.

reverse side of the 2017 issue of the brilliant uncirculated 1 oz Silver Maple Leafs
obverse side of the 2017 issue of the brilliant uncirculated 1 oz Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins

Canadian Silver Maple Leafs

The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins are minted by the Royal Canadian Mint since 1988. The legal tender coins with a face value of CAD $ 5 have the same design as the gold version of the coins. Silver Maple Leafs are minted out of 99.99% pure silver whereas most other silver bullion coins are 'only' 99.9% pure. That is a major reason why the coins count among the most popular silver coins worldwide. Only one denomination of 1 oz is offered by the Royal Canadian Mint for now. The standard brilliant uncirculated finish has been upgraded in 2014 and includes radial lines from the coin's center as well as a micro-engraved laser mark since then.

The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.

reverse side of the 2020 issue of the brilliant uncirculated 1 oz Platinum Maple Leaf coins
obverse side of the 2020 issue of the brilliant uncirculated 1 oz Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs

Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs

The Royal Canadian Mint produced the 99.95% fine Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf coins from 1988 - 1999 and in 2002 in the denominations of 1 oz (face value CAD $ 50), 1/2 oz (CAD $ 20), 1/4 oz (CAD $ 10), 1/10 oz (CAD $ 5) and 1/20 oz (minted since 1993, CAD $ 1). Only in 1994 was a 1/15 oz coin (CAD $ 2) produced as well. The Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs made a comeback in 2009 but are since then only produced in the 1 oz denomination with brilliant uncirculated and proof (including reverse proof) finishes. They were the world's best selling platinum coins in 2012. Radial lines and a micro-engraved privy mark were introduced as counterfeiting measures in 2015.

The Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.