This issue is one of several RCM gold pieces released for the 2015 sesquicentennial run commemorating the Fathers of Confederation, timed ahead of Canada's 150th anniversary programming. Macdonald's selection is unremarkable given his prominence, but the .5833 fineness is worth noting — it matches the historic 22-karat standard used in British sovereign coinage rather than the .9999 purity the RCM typically applies to modern bullion issues, a deliberate nod to 19th-century minting convention.
This issue is one of several RCM gold pieces released for the 2015 sesquicentennial run commemorating the Fathers of Confederation, timed ahead of Canada's 150th anniversary programming. Macdonald's selection is unremarkable given his prominence, but the .5833 fineness is worth noting — it matches the historic 22-karat standard used in British sovereign coinage rather than the .9999 purity the RCM typically applies to modern bullion issues, a deliberate nod to 19th-century minting convention.