The "Gold Maple Leaf" bullion program launched in 1979, making Canada the second nation after South Africa to issue a modern gold bullion coin for international investment markets. The original GML carried a fineness of .999 — then considered the highest standard in mass-produced bullion coinage. The Royal Canadian Mint pushed that to .9999 in 1982, a benchmark that forced competing mints worldwide to reconsider their own refining tolerances.
Elizabeth II's effigy on Canadian coinage cycled through four official portraits during her reign, the final Susanna Blunt portrait adopted in 2003.
The "Gold Maple Leaf" bullion program launched in 1979, making Canada the second nation after South Africa to issue a modern gold bullion coin for international investment markets. The original GML carried a fineness of .999 — then considered the highest standard in mass-produced bullion coinage. The Royal Canadian Mint pushed that to .9999 in 1982, a benchmark that forced competing mints worldwide to reconsider their own refining tolerances.
Elizabeth II's effigy on Canadian coinage cycled through four official portraits during her reign, the final Susanna Blunt portrait adopted in 2003.