Commems Collection Canadian: 2001-2007 Coloured Silver Maple Leaf Series

2005 Colourized Silver Maple Leaf - Bigleaf Maple

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In 2005, the Mint branched out (pun intended) to a new theme for its coloured silver maple leaf series - types of maple trees. The Bigleaf Maple was the first to be highlighted. It is a tree found primarily in western Canada.

Design	        A Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) twig with green leaves in various stages of development and a cluster of yellow flowers
Designer	Stan Witten
Mintage Limit	27,000
Coins Sold	21,233
Issue Price	$39.95
NumisNote       The maximum mintage was unchanged, but sales fell short of 2004.

2005 Colourized Silver Maple Leaf - Bigleaf Maple




More to come...

2007 Colourized Silver Maple Leaf - Sugar Maple

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The final coin of the series brought forth the Sugar Maple leaf for a final appearance. Sugar maple trees are a primary source of maple syrup and are found primarily in eastern Canada.

Design	        A Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) branch with orange-colored foliage at the height of autumn.  
Designer	Stan Witten
Mintage Limit	20,000
Coins Sold	11,495
Issue Price	$49.95
NumisNote       Mintage remained constant with 2006, but sales dropped a bit further to a series low.

2007 Colourized Silver Maple Leaf - Sugar Maple

2001-2007 Colourized Silver Maple Leaf Series - Final Thoughts

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The maple leaf that appears on Canada's bullion coins - and the 2001-2004 plus 2007 coloured coins presented above - is from the Sugar Maple tree, the National Tree of Canada.

I think having Stan Witten design all but one of the seven coins enabled a design consistency that benefited the series.

A coloured maple leaf has appeared on multiple silver, gold and platinum R C M coins since 2007, but none was a continuation of the series presented - they were either standalone issues or included as part of another series.

Selectively gold-plated maple leaf coins have been issued since 2008. In that year, a silver maple leaf coin marking the 20th anniversary of the first silver maple leaf coins released was issued. Multiple selectively gold-plated maple leaf coins have been issued since. I purchased the 2008 coin, but have generally passed on the other issues since.

Collectors definitely shifted their attention away from the series in its final years. A series that began strong just didn't have the staying power - too much of a single theme even back then? I have to believe the continued sales drop was a major driver behind the Mint deciding to end the series.

Though not the subject of much discussion, the coins do, however, typically trade for more than their issue price - there remains some market demand for them out there. IMO. they make for an attractive supplement to the standard design of the bullion coin.



The End.

Good thought, anything is possible. I actually had a bullet prepared for my Final Thoughts post that was accidentally left off - I think it addresses your comment:

The price of coins in the series rose from $35 to $50 (CAD) - an increase of $15 or ~43%. The average spot price of one ounce of silver in 2002 was ~$7.35 (CAD), in 2007 it was ~$14.38 (CAD) - an increase of ~97%! With such a large increase in the price of silver, the Mint's price increases are understandable.


Based on discussions here on CCF, I think collectors are somewhat savvy about the impact of spot prices on the precious metals in their coins. I would think/hope this would mitigate the aversion to the price increases seen in the series.

Nice pictures. I'd love to see the US issue colorized coins.

@commems, thanks for the info. I haven't kept up with recent Commemorative trends, so that must be why I wasn't aware of the colored coins. I'll have to start paying more attention, as I do really like the look of these two you mentioned.

Great post, coins and images.
Thank you!

I think these coins caused me to start to buy much more NCLT, than initially planned.
The 2006 and 2007 I literally hunted for and ended paying literally crazy price. But I've enjoyed having them in my collection.