Precious Metal Myth: We can easily get more precious metals from other planets

There are some people who are very vocal opponents of precious metal investing. Some of the reasons they have are reasonable and valid, however there are some people who spread half-truths and myths. In this video I talk about one myth about precious metal investing that is clearly false - that we can easily get more precious metals from other planets. I discuss my reasoning for why it is clearly a myth and explore the implications of this reasoning.

2012 Bluenose 1/25 ounce gold coin

Here is another of the Royal Canadian Mint's 1/25 ounce pure gold coins - the 2012 Bluenose. The coin shows an action shot of the famous ship - which many of you will recognize from the Canadian 10 cent coin - as it races through the water.

The Bluenose was built in 1921 and was used for both fishing and racing. It quickly because a symbol for the province of Nova Scotia and Canada as a whole. It was later sold and became exclusively a fishing vessel before it sank in the 1940s. In the 1960s a replica, the Bluenose II, was build. The Bluenose II recently finished its most recent refurbishing and is back in the water in Nova Scotia.

My thoughts on the business side of the gold/silver community

I have talked in the past about why I like watching silver/gold videos by individuals like you and I. I like those videos because they are real and unfiltered, and because I know the people making them aren't trying to sell me something or make a profit off of me. But what about when business and profit does find its way into the gold/silver community. I share my thoughts in this video and lay out what I, personally, find acceptable and what I would not like to see.

MapleLeafCoins' Top 5 Silver/Gold Coin Videos - August 2013

I am back with another addition of my top 5 gold/silver YouTube coin videos - this time for August 2013. Everyone seemed to like the July one so I thought I would do it again. Check out what was popular this month.

Comparing national currency investing to precious metal investing - Sierra Leone as an example

As investors, we have so many ways we can invest. We can keep our cash on hand, we can put it in a bank, invest in companies, invest in precious metals, etc. In this video, I compare investing in your national currency (having money at home or in a bank) to investing in precious metals. I use the example of an investor in Sierra Leone, Africa as a cautionary tale about what can happen to stable and seemingly prosperous nations.

2005 Silver Maple Leaf Of Hope

Here is the 2005 Silver Maple Leaf of Hope. It is 1 ounce of pure silver, like all Silver Maple Leaf coins, but this one signifies how the maple leaf is a symbol of hope (especially for immigrants to Canada). The coin is particularly aimed at Chinese-Canadians as there is Chinese lettering on the coin and the box/certificate also have Chinese on them.

I am not sure why the certificate talks about the maple leaf being a symbol of hope for all immigrants but then seems to gear the coin only toward Chinese immigrants (they never make that clear anywhere) but I always have fun using Google translate to find out what the Chinese lettering on coins/bullion means. The overall design of the coin is great and they use laser etching to create a holographic look for the maple leaf. Watch the video to get a better look at the design.

What happens to gold/silver stacks after YouTube?

Many different people post gold/silver videos on YouTube - from new investors to seasons veterans. Often times we get to know these people as they post more and more videos. But often times the people unexpectedly stop posting videos, never to be seen again. I discuss this phenomenon and post some reasons for why it may happen.

When people try to exploit the YouTube silver/gold community for profit

I have said a few times about how I like YouTube videos by individual investors like me. But some times people pretend to be investors like you and I so that they can trick us into buying their products. I talk about that in this video and give some examples of when I have seen it happen.

2013 Starfish 1/25 ounce gold coin

Another small gold coin for me! This is the 2013 Starfish - a 1/25 ounce pure gold coin (99.99% pure) with a 50 cent face value. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, this is the first coin in a 1/25 ounce gold coin series called the Sea Creatures Series. I really like this coin and look forward to seeing what other coins will come out in the series.

The Evolution of my Silver/Gold Investing Strategy

I have been investing in gold and silver bullion for quite a few years now, but my investing strategy hasn't been the same for the entire time. Over the years I have analyzed my strategy and identified ways to make it work better for me. In this video, I talk about how my strategy has evolved and, more importantly, why it evolved.

Are YouTube Silver/Gold Videos an Indicator of Worldwide Bullion Trends?

I find I see a lot of great coins and bullion in other people's YouTube videos. You get to see things that are new, rare finds and things that may be hard to find in your region. Some times trends emerge - a lot of people start buying or talking about specific coins/bullion. Are the things that become popular on YouTube an indication of things that are popular worldwide? In this video, I look into this by asking my bullion dealer about a few items.

20 for 20 Series: 2013 Iceberg and Whale

Here is the 9th coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's series of $20 for $20 coins - 2013 Iceberg and Whale. Another great looking coin in this series, this one features and iceberg with two whales swimming around it. Like the Polar Bear coin in this series, the coin shows what is happening both above and below the water. This coin was $20 from the Royal Canadian Mint and has a $20 face value. It is 1/4 ounce of 99.99% pure silver. Unlike the other coins in this series, the mintage of this coin was decreased to 225,000 (the first coin had a mintage of 200,000 and all others had a mintage of 250,000).

Why I Like Watching Homemade Gold/Silver Videos

There are plenty of professional gold/silver/investing information sources out there - blogs, websites, YouTube channels. Those can have good information on them but I personally enjoy watching videos by small, individual investors. These people share their interests/passion not because they are profiting off of it but because they love it. I know that they aren't trying to sell me anything or manipulate my feelings to help maximize their profits. Their videos may not be as polished or focused as professional ones, but I find them much more trustworthy and it is great to hear their excitement in each discussion.

2003 Summer Coloured Silver Maple Leaf - The Sugar Maple

Here is something a little older and a little different than what I have been showing off lately. This coins, from 2003, is the Summer Silver Maple Leaf and features a coloured sugar maple on it. In general, I am not a huge fan of coloured silver coins (I prefer for the art to be completely done in silver) but the Royal Canadian Mint does do a good job on the colouring. All of the colour lines up perfectly with the underlying silver designs and the image is definitely nice. I probably won't buy too many more coloured silver coins, even though this one is nice, but thought it might be of interest to some of my viewers.

MapleLeafCoins' Top 5 Silver/Gold Coin Videos - July 2013

In this monthly segment, I look at which of my gold/silver coins were the most popular during the previous month - July 2013. I find this is a very interesting thing to do since it lets me see which coins seem to be hot/popular that month. For some, I can clearly see why their popularity went up this month whereas some others are unexpected.

Avoiding Bad Silver/Gold Purchases

It happens to all of us - we see a coin or bullion that we want and we consider paying a high price for it just to get it. In this video I talk about some of the situations that cause us to make these type of bad purchases and why it is so hard to control ourselves. I also give some tips on how we can avoid overpaying for what we want.

The Art Of The Silver Deal

Some people think that there are no deals out there in gold/silver. I don't think this is true at all and this video outline some of the places you can look to get deals. Finding value buys and flipping them for a profit is one great way to do it, and it is really something anyone (no matter where they live) can do.

2009 London Tower Bridge Privy Mark Silver Maple Leaf

Here is another Silver Maple Leaf coin with a privy mark on in. This one has a privy mark that represents the London Tower Bridge in London, England. The video shows the actual bridge as well as the privy mark coin.

Will people pay a reasonable price for your coins on classified ad websites? - An Experiment

There are plenty of online classified ad websites out there and many of you may have sold a thing or two on there. I wanted to know if people would pay a reasonable price for my gold coins on there or if people would take advantage of me. This video shows a little experiment I did and the results I found.

2009 Red Maple 1/25 ounce gold coin

Probably no surprise by now, but I really love these small fractional gold coins. Here is another 1/25 ouncer from the Royal Canadian Mint - the 2009 Red Maple. Nothing terribly new or daring with this coin, since they are just going with a variation of the tried and true maple leaf, but I was happy to buy this.

Old Silver Coins Featuring Past Monarchs - Prince George's Ancestors

I made this video when Prince George, son of Prince William and Kate, was born. It got me thinking about how counties rules by the monarchy have all of these monarchs on our coinage. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you have to realize than many of us have only had one monarch - Queen Elizabeth II. In this video, I look at some old coins I have with previous monarchs. It is interesting to think that Prince George will be able to look back and see his ancestors on old coins like this.

2000 Fireworks Privy Mark Silver Maple Leaf

In order to commemorate the year 2000, all of the Silver Maple Leaf coins in 2000 had a special privy mark. The privy mark had three fireworks on it and the number "2000". There was a similar privy mark on the dual dated 1999-2000 coin, but it does not have the number "2000" on it. I think it is nice that they changed up the regular Silver Maple Leaf coin by adding this privy to all of the coins. If you are looking to add a privy mark coin to your collection, this will probably be the easiest to come across.

2009 Brandenburg Gate Privy Mark Silver Maple Leaf

Every now and then a Silver Maple Leaf coin comes along with a privy mark on it. These coins are identical to a regular Silver Maple Leaf other than the privy. This particular coin has the Brandenburg Gate privy mark on it. The Brandenburg Gate is a symbol of Berlin, German and was the symbol for many historic events (especially during the Cold War).

Why I invest in 20 for $20 coins

I am a big fan of the $20 for $20 series from the Royal Canadian Mint. I think the coins are not only great for me as a collector but also for me as an investor. The fact that they cost their face value (when purchased directly from the mint) helps to hedge your investment against long-term drops in the price of silver. This video goes into much more detail on this topic and lays out all of the benefits of these coins.

$20 for $20 Series: 2013 Wolf

The 8th coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's $20 for $20 series. This one has a wolf on it. Another good looking design, in my opinion, and definitely worth a buy. Like the other $20 for $20 coins, this is 1/4 ounce of 99.99% pure silver and has a $20 face value.

Hiding gold and silver coins in a book

Have some gold/silver you want to hide somewhere where crooks won't find it? This video shows how you can hollow out a hard-covered book so you can store precious items inside. It costs almost nothing to make (only a little time) but is very effective to keep your gold/silver out of sight.

2013 Owl Shaman Holding Goose

This 1/25 ounce gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has received mixed reactions. People who like native Canadian art tend to like it (I would put myself in this category) whereas many other people thought the design looked a little creepy. The image on the coin is actually from a sculpture (with the same name) by a well known Inuit artist.

Like the other 1/25 ounce gold coins, this one has a face value of 50 cents.

2013 1/2 Ounce Year of the Snake

I have to say, I don't normally buy the Chinese zodiac coins. It is not that I don't like them, it is just that I never found one I really liked and that set itself apart from all the rest. I got this coin as a gift - to be perfectly honest I didn't even know it was out there - and I love it!

The design is great. A coiled snake with the Chinese characters for the snake displayed on the snake's skin. I think they did a great job and I can't think of a better Year of the Snake design that I have ever seen.

O Canada Series - The Beaver

This is the second coin in the O Canada series of 1/2 ounce silver coins (from the Royal Canadian Mint). I think they did a great job on this coin, just like the last, as I really like the design of the beaver cutting down a tree.

Are Canadian $20 for $20 coins legal tender?

There have been many discussion online (mostly in forums and on YouTube) about if the Royal Canadian Mint's $20 for $20 coins are actually legal tender. The coins, which cost $20 dollars each when purchased directly from the mint, have a $20 face value. Many people have been worried that they will not be able to exchange their coins back for $20. This video looks to answer some questions about these coins and help reduce the misinformation that is circulating on the internet.

$20 for $20 Series: 2011 Canoe

This was the second coin released in the Royal Canadian Mint's $20 for $20 series and is largely regarded as having the best design of the series. The design features a boy paddling a modern canoe and his reflection is a native Canadian paddling a traditional canoe. If you flip the coin upside down, the native paddler has the boy as his reflection. Overall, the design is absolutely beautiful and that is one reason why this coin fetches such high prices on the secondary market.

Like all of the coins in this series, this coin is 1/4 ounce of 99.99% pure silver and has a $20 face value. The mintage for this coin was 250,000 but, like all $20 for $20 coins, it sold out quickly.

2011 1/2 gram gold Cougar

Here is one of the smallest coins you are likely to ever see - a 1/2 gram coin. Even smaller than the 1/25 ounce gold coins, these are the smallest ever made by the Royal Canadian Mint. The coins are 99.99% pure gold and have a 25 cent face value.

This coin features a cougar's head on the coin. My first thought was that it was odd to have such a large animal featured on such a small coin. Don't get me wrong, I really like the design and think it looks great - I just thought they would try to market a small coin like this by putting on a small animal. Either way, I am still very glad I bought this.

Junk Silver Investing in Canada

Many silver investors, especially those in the USA, rely heavily on junk silver (old, circulation silver with a silver content lower than sterling - lower than 92.5%). They can often find amazing deals and get the coins at near spot price.

However, many countries, like Canada and Australia do not have such deals. It is not necessarily the coins themselves that are more expensive, but rather the taxes or regulations. This video talks about the realities of junk silver investing in Canada and how that impacts investments.

2013 1/2 Gram Hummingbird Gold Coin

The Royal Canadian Mint has come out with another 0.5 gram gold coin. Like the others, these are 99.99% pure gold and have a face value of 25 cents.

I think this was a great image to put on such a small coin. When you look at a hummingbird, you think of a beautiful, tiny and delicate animal. It is fitting that such an animal would be on such a beautiful, small, delicate coin.

Here is a video where I go into a little more detail about it and you can get a good look at the detailing on the coin.

The Value of a Dollar: US Dollars vs. Other Forms of Money

A recent trip to the USA got me thinking about the value of national currencies, like the US dollar, and how it compares to other common forms of "money".

List of $20 for $20 Coins

The Royal Canadian Mint regularly produces $20 for $20 coins. Each coin is 1/4 ounce of 99.99% pure silver and has a $20 face value. The great thing about these coins is that they only cost $20 to buy (if you get them directly from the mint).

Here is a complete list of the coins and links showing off the coins that I own. If I am missing any, let me know.

Collection (16 of 21):

1) 2011 Five Maples

2) 2011 Canoe

3) 2012 Polar Bear

4) 2012 The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

5) 2012 Farewell to the Penny

6) 2012 Magical Reindeer

7) 2013 Hockey

8) 2013 Wolf

9) 2013 Iceberg and Whale

10) 2013 Santa

11) 2014 Canada Goose

12) 2014 Bobcat

13) 2014 Summertime

14) 2014 Snowman

15) 2015 Bugs Bunny

16) 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

17) 2015 Superman

18) 2015 Gingerbread Man

19) 2016 Tyrannosaurus Rex

20) 2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

21) 2016 Star Trek: Enterprise

20 for 20 Series: 2012 Polar Bear

This is the 3rd coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's 20 for 20 series. Like the other coins in the series, this is 1/4 ounce of 99.99% pure silver, has a $20 face value and retailed for $20 when it was released. Also, like all coins in this series (except the first) it has a mintage of 250,000 coins.

I really like this coin as it feature a Polar Bear swimming. I am partial to animal themed coins and this one did not disappoint. I even liked how the sleeve/certificate of authenticity were designed. Overall, this is one of my favourite coins in the series.

List of Royal Canadian Mint 1/2 Gram Gold Coins

The Royal Canadian Mint has recently started producing its smallest gold coins - 0.5 gram coins. The coins are 99.99% pure gold and have a 25 cent face value.

Here is a list of those coins along with links showing the coins that I own. If I have missed any coins please let me know.

Collection (5/8):

1) 2010 Caribou

2) 2011 Cougar

3) 2013 Hummingbird

4) 2014 Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep 

5) 2014 Eastern Chipmunk

6) 2015 Grizzly Bear

7) 2015 Diwali: Festival of Lights

8) 2015 Rock Rabbit

1957 Egyptian 10 Piastres Silver Coin

Here is a coin I found while searching though a box of world coins. It is a 1957 Egyptian 10 Piastres coin. The coin is 7.00 grams and 72% silver (so around 0.16 ounces of silver). The image of the Sphinx was a dead give away that it was Egyptian, but everything else required research since the writing is in Arabic.

This coin got me thinking. Even though I have never been to Egypt and may never go, their coin still has value to me because of the silver. On the other hand, all of those other coins in the box are worthless because I will never visit the countries or the coins are no longer legal tender.

Free Silver: 1 Gram Buffalo Bar

I was able to help a friend from YouTube save some money buying coins so he sent me this in the mail as a thanks. It is a 1 gram pure silver buffalo bar from the CMC Mint. I did not have one of these before so I was very happy to receive it.

20 for 20 Series: 2012 Farewell to the Penny (1/4 Oz Pure Silver, $20 Face Value)

February 4th, 2013 the Royal Canadian Mint in Canada stopped distribution of the penny (1 cent coin). There have been several coins released in the past year to commemorate this, including this coin. This is the 5th coin in the 20 for 20 Series, is 1/4 ounce pure silver (99.99%) and has a $20 face value. 250,000 of these coins were minted.

The design of this coin is nice as it contains the recognizable image from the penny, two maple leaves, but puts a slight twist on it. The maple leaves can be seen causing ripples in water. This signifies the end of one season (the season of the penny) and the start of something know. Overall a nicely designed coin. It will be a little weird to no longer have the penny around but I think it will be for the best.

20 for 20 Series: 2012 The Queen's Diamond Jubilee (1/4 Oz Pure Silver, $20 Face Value)

This is the 4th coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's 20 for 20 series. The coins is 1/4 ounce of pure silver (99.99%) and has a $20 face value (and could originally be purchased for $20). The mintage for this coin is 250,000.

This coin celebrates Queen Elizabeth II and her Diamond Jubilee (60 years as the monarch). Although I am not terribly interested in the Queen, I do love this series so I bought the coin anyway. I am sure people who like the Royal family will love the coin but for me, personally, this is my least favourite coin in the series. I don't have anything against the Queen, she just doesn't capture my interest.

Useful tools: Examining coins with magnifiers and loupes

In this video I wanted to show some of the tools I find useful for coin/bullion collectors. This video features magnifiers and jewellers loupes. These are great for examining the finer details of your coins and are relatively cheap to buy. They are definitely something I always have around.

Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa

A quick video showing what the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa looks like. This video only shows the outside since filming/photography inside are prohibited. If you own any Canadian bullion/commemorative coins, this is where they are made.

20 for 20 Series: 2013 Hockey (1/4 Oz Pure Silver, $20 Face Value)

This is the 7th coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's 20 for 20 Series. This one features a hockey player taking a slap shot. Personally, I find this to be one of the nicer coins in this series (probably because I am a big hockey fan). Each coin is 1/4 ounce of pure (99.99%) silver and has a $20 face value.

I made sure to go an get it right away since every coin in this series has sold out in a matter of weeks, even with such high mintage numbers (250,000 for most of the coins). The 20 for 20 series coins are definite must-haves for me.

20 for 20 Series: 2011 Five Maples (1/4 Oz Pure Silver, $20 Face Value)

This is the first coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's 20 for 20 series. In this series, you were able to buy the coin from the mint for $20 (no taxes or fees, except if you got it shipped to you) and the coin has a $20 face value. For this coin, 200,000 were minted and they sold out in a matter of days. Each coin is 1/4 oz of pure (99.99%) silver.

This coin has five maple leaves on it of varying sizes and proudly displays the $20 face value and the silver purity (9999). As soon as I heard this coin was going to go on sale, I immediately made plans to buy one. I was able to purchase it on the day of release directly from the mint and am happy I did, since it sold out a few days latter (and now goes for $40 from coin stores).

Silver Coins Featuring the Inukshuk

In a previous video I showed a new pure silver coin I got, the 1/2 Oz Inukshuk coin from the O Canada series, that featured an image of an inukshuk. In this video I show some of my other coins, from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics series, that also have the image of an inukshuk on them.

Milestone: 10,000 Views of Silver Videos

I checked my YouTube stats and I recently reached 10,000 views! While this is not many when you look at some videos on YouTube, it is far more views than I ever though I would get. Thanks to everyone who has viewed, liked, commented and subscribed. Hopefully I can bring you many more videos you enjoy and get another 10K views!

O Canada Series - 2013 The Inukshuk (1/2 Oz Pure Silver)

This is the first coin in the 12 coin "O Canada" series from the Royal Canadian Mint. This coin was released in January 2013 and other coins are scheduled to be released each month for the next year. Each coin is 1/2 Oz of 99.99% pure silver so the total 12 coin set will be 6 Oz of pure silver.

This coin features and Inukshuk, a symbol of the Inuit people of Canada and Canada as a whole. Inukshuks, which are made of rocks, are typically used as markers to mark hunting grounds, routes and other things in Canada's arctic regions. This coin is a nice start to the series and makes me look forward to the rest. I think they did a nice job with the artwork so I hope the quality continues.

20 for 20 Series: 2012 Magical Reindeer (1/4 Oz Pure Silver, $20 Face Value)

This is the 6th coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's 20 for 20 Series. In this series, each 1/4 ounce silver coin only costs $20 and has a $20 face value. This one is Christmas themed and features a Magical Reindeer, presumably one of the ones that pulls Santa's sleigh.

I was a little hesitant to get this coin since I found the artwork to be a little more cartoonish than I usually like, but in the end I got the coin and am happy I did. It is a really great set and even though there are quite a few minted (250,000 for this coin) they sell out in a matter of weeks and go for much more in the secondary market.

Hockey is Back: 2011 Wayne and Walter Gretzky 1 Oz Pure Silver Coin ($25 face value)

This coin shows the man who is generally believed to be the greatest hockey player of all time - Wayne Gretzky - along with his dad Walter. This was a 2011 coin from the Royal Canadian Mint and is 99.99% pure silver, 1 ounce in size and has a $25 face value.

Wayne Gretzky's iconic image and 99 jersey number are featured prominently on this coin along with the face of his father Walter. It is a nice looking coin with Wayne in full hockey gear and a holographic image of the number 99. The mirror finish on the coin is excellent and the detailing is fantastic. The mintage for this coin is 19,999 (again related to the number 99).

As a hockey fan, I am very pleased to own this coin. This is especially true since the National Hockey League lockout has caused 1/2 of the current season to be missed, so I am excited to have hockey back! I also show a few other pieces of hockey related silver - my 2010 Vancouver Olympics silver hockey coin and my Mark Messier silver round.

2005 Lynx 4 Coin Silver Set (1 Oz, 1/2 Oz, 1/4 Oz, 1/10 Oz)

A set of four coins from the Royal Canadian Mint. Each coin is 99.99% pure silver and feature images on lynx. The interesting thing about these coins is that they were sold as a set and contain fractional coins as well as a full ounce coin. The artwork on each coin are different, so these are not just smaller versions of the same coin. The 1 Oz coin has a face value of $5, the 1/2 Oz coin is $4, 1/4 Oz coin $3 and 1/10 Oz coin $2. So in total, the set has 1.85 Oz of pure silver and a face value of $14.

I find the artwork on these to be quite nice and love the progressively smaller coins. I think the Royal Canadian Mint does a great job with their nature coins and this set is no exception. I am very happy I purchased it. The total mintage for this set was 15,000 sets so it is relatively rare.

The Difference Between a Silver Coin and a Silver Round

I get quite a few emails and questions about the difference between a silver coin and a silver round. This video answers that by showing the difference between a silver coin and a silver round. While they both appear the same, there are some subtle and not-so-subtle differences between the two. The differences are shown between a Silver Maple Leaf coin and a round from a sports memorabilia company.

Buyer Beware: 2009 Support our Troops and 2009 Pink Ribbon Maple Leaf Coins

Here are two coins that seem like official Silver Maple Leaf Coins but are actually aftermarket modifications. This video is to show you two such coins that I found floating around (the 2009 Support our Troops and 2009 Pink Ribbon coins) that the makers try to pass off as official Silver Maple Leaf Coins. Beware, don't overpay for these coins since they are not rare and are not official Royal Canadian Mint coins.