Canada Mints More Silver Bullion Coins
The Royal Canadian Mint are expanding its offering of silver bullion coins to eight by 2013, by launching their ‘Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series Program’.
Following on from the US Mint’s greater production levels to satisfy growing demand amongst coin collectors, Canada is to produce several more coins themselves. The designs will celebrate the best of Canadian wildlife and nature, and prove to be a good investment from the point of view of aesthetics as well as in the face of rising silver values.
To get an idea of the background to the new coins, it’s worth looking at a couple of the existing bullion coins available from the Royal Canadian Mint:
1 Oz Silver Maple Leaf Bullion $5 Coin
This coin has been minted since 1988, with a highest face value of $5, and the same .9999 purity level of all official, government silver bullion coins. This coin has three different versions of Queen Elizabeth on its obverse.
1/2 oz. Silver Timber Wolf Bullion $1 Coin
In 2006 the mint issued a half ounce Silver Timber Wolf, which proved to be an outstanding success.
Canadian Wildlife Bullion Coin Series Program
Given the outstanding popularity of the Silver Timber Wolf coin the Royal Canadian Mint has introduced a 6-coin series known as the Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series Program in which a new coin will be released every 6 months.
The first coin released in the series (September 2010) was the 2011 Canadian Silver Timber Wolf Bullion coin created with the same .9999 fine silver as the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf bullion coin and the same image as that used on the half ounce Silver Timber Wolf coin.
The 2011 Canadian Silver Grizzly Bullion coin was the second coin released (January 2011) in the Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series.
The Royal Canadian Mint is also launching further coins to satisfy collector demand. These will include a special edition silver dollar, a new one kilo $250 pure silver coin marking the 375th anniversary of the first European watching of Lacrosse, and a $10 ‘Maple Leaf Forever’ pure silver coin. They become available to the public from July 21, 2011, but are minted on a limited edition basis. Collectors need to be quick to purchase.
Here the 100th Anniversary Silver dollar is highlighted:
This coin pays tribute to Canada’s first, very rare, silver dollar.
The striking of this one dollar coin was interrupted by the death of King Edward Vii, and the subsequent succession to the throne of King George V in May 1910. The Royal Mint had to produce new tooling for all Britain’s colonies and dominions. Although a few trial pieces had been struck with the effigy of the new King, Canada’s first silver dollar was abandoned in favour of producing existing denominations with the effigy of the new King.
Today only one 1911 silver dollar remains in private hands, while the remainder has been conserved by the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada in Ottawa.
The change of Sovereign also provoked the issue of Canada’s “Godless” coinage of 1911. The Royal Mint had asked Canada’s Department of Finance to choose between obverse designs in English or Latin. While the Latin version was chosen, the Finance Minister did not notice the proposed inscription lacked the words “Dei Gratia” or “By the Grace of God”. As stocks of 1910 circulation coins were rapidly depleting by the time the new production tooling arrived from England, Canada had no choice but to issue “Godless” versions of its circulation coins in 1911.
This unique series of circulation coins is reproduced in a special-edition, double-dated proof set of all of Canada’s existing denominations of the era, including the short-lived one dollar coin. With exception of the pure copper penny, all these historic coins are crafted of sterling silver. The Proof Set is limited to 6,000 examples world-wide and retails for CAD$179.95, while only 15,000 individual special-edition silver dollars are available at CAD$64.95 CAD.
Silver Soars While Mints Sell
With Mints around the world taking advantage of a soaring silver price, more and more coinage is becoming available to collectors and investors.
The US Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, and China are increasing issuance of coins, but this doesn’t seem to be dampening demand or the rise in the valuation of silver that is being seen in the market place at this time.
These mints, and their governments, have clearly believed throughout this year that now is the time to take advantage of rising silver prices, and are minting coins and selling silver at an unprecedented pace. However, governments are known to make big mistakes, especially when it comes to financials.
In the last 52 weeks, while governments have been seeking to profit from silver, the price of silver has risen from around $18.50 to today’s silver spot price of over $40 an ounce. Governments are selling to raise much needed cash, investors are buying to store away for expected higher prices to come.
