Canada’s commemorative gold proof coins celebrate an event, object or cause. Some themes include the olympic games, new constitution, national parks and anniversary of the Canadian flag.
Starting in 1976, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a series of commemorative $100 proof gold coins, and in 1990, $200 gold proofs were introduced.
Many countries mint beautiful and exquisite gold coins that are used to commemorate some specific event that has taken place. These coins are usually minted for events such as the Olympic Games, anniversaries of the country’s Independence or for the birth and death of famous patriots, inventors or writers.
Canada is one of the countries that have a long and successful list of gold commemorative coins that have been minted for various occasions. The first gold Canadian coins were minted in 1976 to commemorative the Olympic Games of that year. These coins were all valued at $100 each. However in subsequent years, they were all sold at rates that ranged from $100- $140 each. From 1990 onwards, a series of $200 Canadian gold coins were manufactured. These gold coins ranged from 14karots to 24karots and usually contained ¼ to ½ troy ounces of pure gold although due to the changing values of gold the denominations did not always match the selling price.
All Canadian gold commemorative coins are produced by The Royal Canadian Mint. In 1979, the mint introduced the Maple Leaf series of bullion gold coins which contained 99.99% purity. These coins came in various sizes ranging from 1 oz. to 1/20 oz. By creating its 0.9999 pure gold coins, The Royal Canadian Mint became the first world mint to produce coins of such a high purity.
Canada’s commemorative gold coins are mainly minted to celebrate some event that has taken place such as the 1978 minting of a ½ troy ounce gold coin to commemorate the Canadian Unification or the 1987 Winter Olympics gold coin that was valued at $100. In 1998, Canada introduced the $350 range of coins at 0.99999 purity which was even more than its Maple Leaf coins. This coin was minted so as to represent the Canadian Coat of Arms & Founding Nations and was imprinted with the emblem of the 4 flowers.