300 Dollars - Elizabeth II Polar bear, platinum

Canada's platinum bullion and collector series launched in 1988, making this 1990 issue part of the program's early years when the Royal Canadian Mint was actively competing with established platinum coin programs from the Soviet Union and the Isle of Man. The $300 face value was set at a level that was symbolic rather than transactional — platinum spot that year hovered well above it.

The .9995 fineness exceeds the standard set by most sovereign platinum issues of the period, a deliberate specification choice that gave Canadian platinum coins a marginal purity advantage in international bullion markets.