RCM Commemorative Bullion

Canadian Commemorative Bullion Products Available from JM Bullion

The Royal Canadian Mint is one of the foremost producers in the modern world of commemorative bullion products. Its annual production of coins and bars includes products struck using gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The Royal Canadian Mint is well known for its official sovereign bullion coin for the country, the Canadian Maple Leaf, but it is also responsible for the production of commemorative bullion products that celebrate the heritage and natural wonders of Canada. JM Bullion proudly carries a wide variety of Canadian commemorative bullion products for the savvy investor.

About the Royal Canadian Mint

Canada’s Royal Canadian Mint, known as Monnaie Royale Canadienne in French, is the official production facility of the Canadian government. It is responsible for the production of all of the nation’s official circulation coins and even produces circulation currency for other nations around the globe, such as New Zealand. It is also one of the world’s leading designers and producers of precious metal coins, medallions, tokens, and investment-grade bars.

The Royal Canadian Mint first opened its doors for production on January 2, 1908 as the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint in London. As Canada emerged as a nation in its own right throughout the 20^th century, control over the mint transferred to the hands of the Canadian government. Today, the mint operates the original facility in Ottawa, as well as a secondary branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Canadian Commemorative Bullion

Canada is the source of some of the most sought-after commemorative bullion products in the world today. The Royal Canadian Mint has established a reputation over time for minting the highest quality coins and bars available in the market. Today, all Royal Canadian Mint gold and silver products are struck using .9999 purity levels, with its platinum products featuring .9995 purity. All coins struck by the Royal Canadian Mint are issued face values that are guaranteed and backed by the government of Canada, which maintains 100% ownership over the Royal Canadian Mint.

Products from the Royal Canadian Mint are popular throughout North America and around the globe. The Canadian Maple Leaf coin series is the most visible product from the mint. Available in gold, silver, and platinum, the coins are sought after for their purity, impressive design, and the uniqueness of some of its many special-edition privy mark Maple Leaf coins.

On top of the Canadian Maple Leaf, the Royal Canadian Mint strikes a variety of commemorative bullion coin programs each year. Most of these coin programs celebrate the heritage, natural history, and environmental splendor of the great white north. You’ll find many of these coins available right now from JM Bullion’s online catalog.

Canadian Silver Birds of Prey Series

In 2014 the Royal Canadian Mint introduced the Canadian Silver Birds of Prey Series. This particular series shares commonalities with other Royal Canadian Mint coin programs, but also has unique characteristics of its own. The Birds of Prey Series from the mint features a total of four coins, released two at a time over the course of a two-year period in 2014 and 2015. Canadian illustrator Emily Damstra, whose work with the Royal Canadian Mint includes designs in our next series covered, designed all four coins in the Birds of Prey Series.

Highlights of the Canadian Silver Birds of Prey Series coin design include the following:

• Obverse: Once again the familiar right-profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse face of the coin, along with engravings of “Elizabeth II,” the year of issue, “D.G. Regina,” and the face value of the coins.
• 2014 Falcon Reverse: On the reverse of the first coin in the series is the image of the peregrine falcon, along with engravings of “Canada,” “ED” for the artist, and “Fine Silver 1 oz. Argent Pur.” Made available in February 2014.
• 2014 Canadian Bald Eagle Reverse: Features the same engravings on the reverse of all coins in the series, but bears the image of a bald eagle clutching a fish in its talons. Made available in August 2014.
• 2015 Great Horned Owl Reverse: Again includes the familiar reverse engravings of other coins in the series, but features a great horned owl swooping in on its hapless prey as the silent killer it is widely known to be. Made available in February 2015.
• 2015 Red-Tailed Hawk Reverse: The final coin in the series shares the engravings of other reverse designs, with the unique image of a red-tailed hawk in flight. Made available in August 2015.

All of the coins in the Canadian Silver Birds of Prey series include 1 oz of .9999 pure silver, and bear a face value of $5 (CAD) that is fully backed by the government of Canada. The coins are made available for purchase through JM Bullion in individual flips, mint-sealed tubes of 25, or Monster Boxes of 500 coins in total.

Canadian Wildlife Series

The final popular Canadian commemorative bullion series from the Royal Canadian Mint is yet another silver bullion program honoring the popular wildlife of Canada. This coin series extended from 2011 to 2013, and included a total of six different designs. Like the Birds of Prey Series, the Canadian Wildlife Series was released two coins at a time, but over the course of three years instead of two. The first four coins released in the Canadian Wildlife Series were designed by Royal Canadian Mint Assistant Engraver William Woodruff, as noted by the “WW” initials engraved on each coin’s reverse. Emily Damstra took over to design the final two coins released in the series. Design features of the Canadian Wildlife Series of coins include:

• 2011 Canadian Silver Wolf: Honoring the grey wolf found throughout North America, the very first coin released in the series features an oversized depiction of the wolf that dominates the coin’s reverse.
• 2011 Canadian Silver Grizzly: If there’s one predator in North America more powerful than the wolf, it’s the grizzly bear. Also found throughout the woods and mountains of North America, the grizzly is one of the largest land mammals in the Western Hemisphere.
• 2012 Canadian Silver Cougar: The first release of 2012, and third overall, celebrates one of the silent stalkers of the Canadian wilderness. Although their numbers declined greatly throughout the 20^th century, cougars are rebounding today.
• 2012 Canadian Silver Moose: the final design from William Woodruff, this coin celebrates the massive, docile and sometimes aggressive moose.
• 2013 Canadian Silver Pronghorn Antelope: The antelope is the fastest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and is celebrated in the first design from Emily Damstra in the Canadian Wildlife Series.
• 2013 Canadian Silver Wood Bison: The final coin in the series honors the wood bison, a subspecies of the North American bison found exclusively in the woods of Canada.

Canadian Wildlife Series coins are available with a true weight of 1 oz of .9999 pure silver, and each individual coin bears a face value of $5 (CAD) issued by the Canadian government. These coins ship from JM Bullion in individual flips, sealed mint tubes of 25, or Monster Boxes of 500, courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint.

1.5 oz Canadian Silver

The Royal Canadian Mint has issued a wide range of designs in 1.5 oz Brilliant Uncirculated coin releases. One of the earliest of these coins came in 2013, and the Polar Bear has proven the most popular repeat creature to showcase on 1.5 oz silver coins from the mint. All 1.5 oz silver coins have a face value of $8 (CAD) and .9999 pure silver content. A broader list of 1.5 oz silver designs includes, but is not limited to, the following coins:

• 2013 Polar Bear – one of the first releases, this design features an adult polar bear walking through the Arctic region of Canada along an ice sheet.
• 2014 Arctic Fox – one of the few animals to live in the same region of the world as the polar bear, the Arctic Fox is notable for its white fur and subsists on wild rabbits as its main source of food in the Arctic.
• 2015 Polar Bear and Cub – once again gracing 1.5 oz silver, this year’s design features a mother polar bear with her young cub.
• 2016 Falcon – one of the only aerial predators to feature on 1.5 oz silver coins, the falcon is shown with its wings flapping down as it powers its way through the air in flight.
• 2017 Grizzly Bear – one of the largest predators on the North American continent, the Grizzly Bear occupies small ranges in the Canadian Rockies and is outdone in size by only the polar bear.

1.25 oz Canadian Silver

Between 2015 and 2017, the Royal Canadian Mint introduced the Canadian Bison Series with 1.25 oz silver content. The coins had a face value of $8 (CAD) and offered new images of the bison on the reverse field of the coins each year. The series went through three designs in all, with the debut release depicting the North American bison running free across the plains, while the 2016 design featured a bison near a small body of water as it drank from the small pond. The final design in 2017 showed a wood bison, one of two subspecies of bison in North America and the more numerous of the two subspecies in Canada.

1/2 oz Canadian Silver

The 2020 release of a 1/2 oz Canadian Silver Polar Bear Coin once again brought one of the Royal Canadian Mint’s favorite designs to bullion coins. The 1/2 oz coin is a popular annual release and the 2020 design, as an example, featured an adult polar bear at the edge of an ice shelf looking out over the frozen Arctic tundra.

Creatures of the North

One of the more exciting recent releases from the Royal Canadian Mint is the new Creatures of the North Series. The silver coins in the Creatures of the North Series feature 2 Troy oz of .9999 pure silver with a $10 (CAD) face value. The coins are unique in the use of piedfort blanks. A piedfort blank is one that is far thicker than a typical coin of its weight. Rather than increasing the diameter of the coin with the increase in weight, the thickness of the blank is increased instead. The result is a 2 oz silver coin with the diameter of a standard 1 oz silver coin, but twice the thickness. The first design in the Creatures of the North Series is the Kraken:

• On the reverse of the new Kraken coin in the Creatures of the North debut is a powerful, massive Kraken that has emerged from the depths of the ocean to crush a wooden sailing vessel. The tentacles of the beast play with the remnants of the ship as though it were a toy.

Collect Canadian Commemorative Bullion with JM Bullion

Please feel free to reach out to JM Bullion if you have any questions about these silver coins. Our team is available on the phone at 800-276-6508, on the web using our live chat, and through our email address. You can also find quick answers to your common payment-related questions by visiting our Payment Methods FAQ page.