2014 Silver Maples Leafs Disappoint

I just received a couple of the newly-designed Maple Leafs and I find them to be pretty cheesy and cheap-looking. Has anybody else ordered them and seen them in person?

There are no milk spots or scratches, but the new technology definitely loses a good amount of the eye appeal of the previous coins.

I would be interested in hearing other opinions.

Thanks.

 

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lets see some pictures!

 

Are these the one's with the 25 on them ?

 

I was afraid of that. That was my impression from photos, I thought the marks in the fields definitely looked offputting and distracting. Too bad, since maple leaves are usually a pretty nice buy premium wise, and I like buying from our Canadian friends.

 

That's exactly the point. Pictures don't do any good. I ordered them because of the pictures. You have to actually see them in person to get the full effect. That is why I was looking for opinions from those who had actually seen them.

 

No; it's the newly-designed 2014s with the lines radiating from the center.

https://coinsboutique.com/sites/def.../public/products/2014-canada-silver-ounze.jpg

 

Just out of curiosity, how does this deter counterfeiters? How fine are those lines?

 

I would think the addition of tons of fine details would be the reason it will deter. Just look at the 09sVDB thread we had yesterday. There are like 6 places to check for an authentic coin. Just think how many places there will be on these coins, intersection of this ray on this point, that point, etc. All of these rays probably added 20 more ways to check for authenticity.

Having said that, they don't look attractive to me. To me, I love the shininess of silver, especially flat field. I want my silver bullion to be mirror like.

 

Due to the problematic issue of forgeries with the Canadian Maple Leaf $5 bullion coins, I suspect the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) choose these security features over eye appeal. You have to think in terms of their business model - the RCM bullion sales are a different animal from NCLT sales, with a grey area of animal-themed bullion coins or those with privy marks.

In my case and I suspect the majority of buyers, the eye-appeal is irrelevant, because I only keep silver maple leaf coins for bullion value, and the added level of security is welcoming, considering how good some of the clad forgeries are coming out of China, or just people second guessing or wondering if their coins are real, as seen in this thread:

http://www.cointalk.com/threads/new-almost-perfect-fake-maples-eagles.240356/

But as a collector, I can certainly sympathize in being disappointed when a series changes.

Pictures from the RCM can be seen here (click on the ftp link at the bottom):

http://www.mint.ca/store/news/news-...=600004&nodeGroup=About+the+Mint#.Ur3A73lUOao

 

I understand that argument, but personally believe maybe it was overkill. I am not a big bullion guy, but if I were to make a purchase of a monster box at this moment it would no longer be a Maple leaf, (which before this it probably would have been). I would probably do a Philharmonic. The maple leaves were already handicapped by effectively being one sided, (I do not need or want to view granny), so making the attractive side unattractive kind of kills it for me. Why didn't they put ugly security measures on the side of the coin no one wants to see?

Yeah, its bullion, but why wouldn't you choose attractive bullion for the same money? I would. Heck, I might even spring for the extra premium on ASEs at this point.

 

So, has anybody else actually seen this coin? That was pretty much the point of the thread. I didn't realize it was going to turn into a digression session. I'm a poet and don't know it.

 

I don't feel people bought Maples because they were pretty. They are one of the least expensive ways of obtaining silver and are the purest too. I don't think a design, even if it is ugly, which makes it more difficult to counterfeit, should be a reason to purchase other bullion coins.

 

Yes, I have some. Again, my reasons for acquiring these are due to their good price (currently) and purity, not for numismatic purposes.

 

I realize some people prefer the Silver Maple Leaf for its purity. In putting a dollar value to the purity, a 1-ounce silver coin with a .999 purity content has a silver value of $19.98 while a coin with a .9999 purity content has a silver value of $20.00. That is using a silver spot prive of $20.00. Basically, we are talking a difference of 2 cents per coin.

 

Even though you are primarily interested in the bullion aspect of the coin, would you care to tap into the collector side of yourself and give your opinion as to which design you prefer?

 

The value of the silver content may be only a difference of two cents but the cost to refine it to four nines rather than three nines costs more than just two cents. Some industrial applications require four nines rather than three. And hey, if you an get more for less why not?

 

I might as well weigh in on this issue, since I have my fair share of Maple Leaf bullion.

If your goal is to collect bullion for cheap, the new design is a non-issue.

If you are disappointed with the new design, then aim for as much of the previous Maple Leaves as you can get. There are many different varieties, with unique features and even some Olympic coins. Some years are also harder to get than others.

See here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Silver_Maple_Leaf

In recent years, the major mints have been cranking out too many to really interest me. If Canada has a population of 35 million, I am not really interested in a coin from that country replicated 20 million times.

Just my take, so you can take it as you want.

 

To my eye the radiating lines give a sense of greater depth of field.
And then there's the small maple leaf which creates asymmetry in an otherwise symmetric design.

 

Medjoy, here are 2 questions:

Have you seen the actual coin in person?

If so, which design do you like better?

There are a lot of posts here, but, as of yet, not 1 person who has actually seen the coin has given their opinion as to which design they like better.

 

I have the 2014 ML.
I don't have a strong opinion on it. My first thought when I received it was that the
radiating lines added some interest and depth.

There's other new silver designs I prefer, Libertads and Phils come to mind.