The Royal Canadian Mint was set up in 1908 as an offshoot of the Royal Mint in the United Kingdom, though unlike branches in Australia, the Ottawa mint was primarily created to convert gold Sovereign coins into ingots suitable for the US Treasury as debt repayments for war loans.
The Canada Mint is famous for its Maple Leaf bullion coins, but is also a world leader in refining quality. It competes with the Perth Mint to produce gold beyond 999.9 purity.
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History of the Royal Canadian Mint
Originally founded in 1908, the Royal Canadian Mint has today grown to become one of the world’s preeminent sovereign mints. Canadian currency was originally, from 1858 until 1908, struck by the Royal Mint in London. The growth of Canada as a nation in its own right, combined with the discovery of gold and other precious metals in the Yukon Territories, eventually facilitated the need for the nation to have its own mint.
The Royal Canadian Mint operated for nearly 70 years with only its original Ottawa coining facility. In 1976, a secondary mint location opened in Winnipeg. This was nearly 16 years after the government was advised of a need to expand capacity. At one point in time, the Royal Canadian Mint had to turn to the United States Mint to produce circulation currency for the nation.
The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Is One of the Earliest Available
When the Gold Maple Leaf was first introduced to the general public in 1979, it would be the only bullion coin that was widely available. The Krugerrand was introduced before the Maple Leaf, but because of apartheid in South Africa, many countries were in the midst of an economic boycott and could not purchase that gold coin. This allowed investors the chance to make a tangible investment that was safe from possible consequences.
The consistency of the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is also of note. Although all 24K coins have a certain softness to them which can show handling when improperly managed. The design and consistency of purity makes these gold coins very attractive to collectors and investors. The obverse design has only changed 3 times since the coins introduction. That was simply to create a current profile of Queen Elizabeth. The Maple Leaf has always been on the reverse.