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.