10 Dollars - Elizabeth II 2nd Portrait, GML Bullion Coinage

Canada's .9999 fine gold bullion program launched in 1979 as a direct challenge to the South African Krugerrand, which by that point dominated the global bullion market but was increasingly subject to anti-apartheid trade restrictions. The Royal Canadian Mint positioned the Maple Leaf series as the politically clean alternative, and it worked — within a few years, the Krugerrand was effectively banned from import in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada itself, leaving the Maple Leaf to capture much of that displaced demand.

The quarter-ounce denomination entered the series in 1982, rounding out the original one-ounce and tenth-ounce options. GML privy marks on later dates in this range identify pieces struck specifically for the German market through Degussa.