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Diversify With Platinum and Palladium Canadian Maple Leaf Coins

Platinum

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Canadian Platinum and Palladium Maple Leaf Coins Once Again Available to Order.

The most widely held of the five precious metals are gold and silver. Platinum and palladium are two of the three other precious metals that are not widely held, the other even less widely held is Rhodium. The Royal Canadian Mint has intermittently produced platinum and palladium coins over the last twenty years. One ounce Canadian Platinum and Palladium Maple Leaf coins are back in stock in limited quantities and available to order for next day shipping.

About the Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf Bullion Coin

The one ounce Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coin is minted in .9995 pure palladium and contains one troy ounce of pure palladium and weighs 31.16 grams. The coin has reeded edges and a diameter of 34 mm. The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of England. The reverse features the iconic Canadian Maple Leaf. The face value of the one ounce Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coin is $50, though the bullion value far exceeds that amount.

Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf reverse
Click to Buy Canadian 1 oz Palladium Maple Leaf BU .9995 Fine (Random Year)
Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf front
Click to Buy Canadian 1 oz Palladium Maple Leaf BU .9995 Fine (Random Year)

The Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coin first minted by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2005 in a one ounce size and continued with very limited mintage through 2007. The Palladium Maple Leaf coin was produced again in 2009 and wasn’t produced until 2015 when the Canadian Mint began to produce Palladium Maple Leaf coins annually.

Platinum and Palladium Prices Diverge Over Ten Year Period

The price of platinum has fallen nearly in half since 2014. Historically, platinum trades at a premium to gold. As of August 2018, however, Gold was valued about 1.5X the price of platinum.

Palladium historically has traded between 1/3 and 1/2 the price of platinum. Over the past year, due to the dramatic decline in the price of platinum and increase in the price of palladium, the price of palladium has surpassed platinum for the first time.

Palladium price chart 2008 - 2018 August 17

Platinum Price 2009 - 2018 August 17

About the Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf Bullion Coin

The one ounce Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf coin is minted in .9995 pure platinum and contains one troy ounce of pure platinum and weighs 31.16 grams. The coin has reeded edges and a diameter of 30 mm. The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of England. The reverse features the iconic Canadian Maple Leaf. The face value of the one ounce Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf coin is $50, though the bullion value far exceeds that amount.

Platinum canadian Maple leaf
Click to Buy 1 oz Platinum Canadian Maple Leaf BU Bullion Coins .9995 Fine (Random Year)
Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf front
Click to Buy 1 oz Platinum Canadian Maple Leaf BU Bullion Coins .9995 Fine (Random Year)

Limited Mintage History of the Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf Coin

The Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf coin was first introduced by the Canadian Mint in 1988. From 1988 until 1999, the Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf was minted in 1/20 (1993-1999 only), 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and one ounce sizes. The Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf was reintroduced in 2002 in all sizes and not minted again until 2009 when the Canadian Mint began once again minting one ounce Platinum Maple Leaf coins annually.

Facts About Platinum and Palladium

Symbols

The symbol for platinum on the periodic table of the elements is Pt. The symbol for palladium is Pd.

Properties

Platinum and palladium are extremely rare precious metals with many unique properties that make them, like their white metal cousin, silver, prized for their beauty and use in industry. Platinum is the most dense precious metal (the ratio of the mass of an object to its volume) Platinum has a density of 21.4, Gold 19.3, Palladium 12.0 and Silver 10.5.

As a result of its unique density, platinum is nearly impossible to counterfeit.

Rarity

Platinum and palladium are extremely rare metals mined mostly in South Africa and Russia. There is limited platinum and palladium mining in Canada and the United States. Annual platinum mining production is about 10 times lower than annual gold mining production. Platinum coins are also very rare. Production of American Platinum Eagles by the U.S. Mint has been limited to an average of about 12,000 coins for the last ten years in which the coin was produced. In total, 385,700 one ounce American Platinum Eagle coins have been minted in the coin’s history that began in 1997, with 138,500 minted in 1998. Canadian Mint Platinum Maple Leaf annual coin mintages peaked at around 40,000 ounces in in the early 1990’s. Palladium coins are even rarer than Platinum coins. The United States Mint only recently began producing Palladium Eagles with limited mintages in 2017 and 2018.

History

Platinum was discovered in South America around 1735. About ninety years later, platinum was found in the Ural Mountains of Russia. Soon after its discovery, the Russian Emperor Nicolas I had platinum coins minted that circulated from 1828-1845 within Russia. These coins are the only examples of platinum serving as a monetary metal. In 1865, platinum deposits were discovered in South Africa. Today South Africa (approximately 72%) and Russia (13%) supply the bulk of the world’s platinum. Total annual platinum production is about 200-250 tons a year (approximately 6.5-8 million ounces a year).

Palladium was discovered in 1803 when William Hyde Wollaston was purifying platinum. Russia is the largest producer of palladium with one company, Norilsk Nicke, accounting for nearly 40% of the world’s annual production.

Uses

Industrial

Platinum’s use in the automotive industry accounts for about 45% of overall demand. Platinum is used in automobiles’ catalytic converters that reduce Nitrogen Oxide emissions. Platinum demand has increased the past two decades as countries like China and India have seen massive growth in their national auto fleets. In 2000, Chinese demand for platinum for catalytic converters was 32,000 ounces. By 2014, demand had grown to 527,000 ounces.

About half of palladium’s industrial use is also for catalytic converters, which convert harmful gases from automotive exhaust.

Jewelry

Platinum is less “white” than silver and has a greyish tinge that is popular in many jewelry designs. Platinum jewelry is especially popular in China and Japan. Jewelry demand accounts for about 30% of overall jewelry demand. Palladium is used occasionally to craft jewelry, but palladium jewelry is less common than platinum jewelry.

Other Uses

The remaining platinum demand comes from the chemical petroleum refining industry (about 10%), electronics (3%) and various other applications including electrodes, anticancer drugs, fuel cells, dental applications, oxygen sensors, spark plugs and turbine engines (about 13%). Palladium is also used in electronics, dentistry, medical devices and water and hydrogen purification.

Monetary/Investment

Platinum demand for investment purposes is small. While the Canadian Mint, Perth and U.S. Mint produce platinum products they are not produced in large quantities. An Exchange Traded Fund launched in 2013 in South African now holds about 900,000 ounces of platinum. Palladium has no monetary history. There is however, a Palldium ETF – PALL – ETFS Physical Palladium Shares, first launched in 2010.

You can order your one ounce random year Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf coins by clicking here.

You can order your one ounce random year Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coins by clicking here.

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Canadian Platinum and Palladium Maple Leaf coins are IRA eligible.

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This article by BGASC is not, and should not be regarded as, investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular course of action.