“Fall”ing in Love with the Colors, Cool Breezes and Coins of Autumn!
Lately, the night air has been crisp and the days are downright refreshing. Autumn is back! And of course, the best part – foliage season. The leaves have already started changing up here, and soon they will be through the rest of the country as well.
Silver & Gold Canadian Maple Leaf coins.
Through most of northern New Hampshire, the sweeping, majestic mountains are beautiful to begin with. But paint them with a vibrant natural palette of oranges, reds and yellows… I’ve lived here my entire life, and still every year it takes my breath away driving through Franconia Notch, which is just a stone’s throw from Littleton Coin Company.
An icon of the fall season is the maple leaf. As the maple trees begin to seal off their branches for winter, the leaves change to multiple vibrant shades before finally falling to the ground. It’s a beauty you simply can’t re-create outside of nature – though some recent coin designs have come close! Of course, it all started a few decades ago, with the silver and gold Canada Maple Leaf coins.
The gold coins were first struck in 1979, followed by the silver in 1988. Today, these premier bullion coins are among the world’s purest. The 1 oz. silver coins are 99.99% pure! Plus, each piece depict the national symbol of Canada – a maple leaf. The maple leaf was adopted on the nation’s official flag in 1965 (though earlier unofficial flags did show smaller leaves).
2018 Canadian White Tail Deer $20 coin
In the past 30 years, the Canada Maple Leaf coins have remained mostly the same – but at the same time, the mint has “branched out” and begun to release additional coins with bolder, more modern designs. And now, we’re beginning to see more colorful issues, too!
One example that comes to mind is the new 2018 $20 coin from the Majestic Wildlife series. It shows a White-Tailed Deer at the forest’s edge in fall. This Proof is selectively colorized to highlight the changing leaves, and to capture the darker color of the deer’s coat as it readies for winter. Plus, there’s the unique set of four square Proof coins each depicting a smaller piece of a bigger image. When put together, they show the maple leaf highlighted in selective rose-gold plating.
Of course, there are always the classics…
If you enjoy the idea of fall colors but prefer your coins in classic silver, there’s the beautiful one-year-only 2018 $10 Canada Maple Leaf coin. Struck in 1/2 oz. of 99.99% pure silver, it displays two dazzling maple leaves and three winged, u-shaped seeds. Plus, the encapsulated coin comes presented in an informative display card that shows a wave of colorful red maple leaves – just like they’re drifting down in the autumn breeze.
Hand-painted 2018 Canada Maple Leaf coin
Finally – although this next one isn’t a direct-from-the-mint issue, I’m a huge fan. For 2018, Littleton Coin Company commissioned an artist to paint by hand an enamel overlay of the annual Canada Maple Leaf coin. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, and does a nice job of capturing autumn’s colors with a glimmering shine!
How about you – which of these coins is your favorite? Or, what comes to mind when you think of autumn? I’d love to read your answers in the comments below!
