Composition : 99.99% gold
Mintage : 600

Master of Canada's Forest, Symbol of Canadians' Pride

3rd set of the Gold Fractional Sets series.

The shady depths of Canada's north-eastern broadleaf forests are dominated by a hardy tree species that has come to represent Canadians' stalwart spirit and strong connection to the rugged natural landscape of their homeland. Acer saccharum - the sugar maple - is a resilient tree that thrives in a wide range of soils and, as a seedling, tolerates the dense shade of theforest floor. From backpackers in Berlin to peacemakers in Afghanistan, Canadians are immediately identifiable by the image of this tree's iconic leaf. With this symbol, Canadians tell the world about their pride in the northern wilderness and their ability to thrive within it.

The leaves of the sugar maple have symbolized Canada and Canadians for nearly three hundred years. Traceable to a time when immigrants to Canada wore lapel pins to identify their homelands, the maple leaf soon took its place alongside the English rose, the Scottish thistle, the Irish shamrock, and the French fleur-de-lis as a symbol of pridefor native-born Canadians.

Today, a representation of the sugar maple's five-lobed leaf sits at the very centre of the country's most important national marker: the Canadian flag. The idea of including the sugar maple leaf on Canada's flag took root with Lester B. Pearsonin World War I, when he noted that every Canadian battalion had included some form of the maple leaf in its insignia. Under his leadership as Prime Minister of Canada fifty years later, in 1964, Canada's famous red-and-white maple leaf flag was born.

GOLD FRACTIONAL SETS - MAPLE LEAVES - 4-COIN SET - 2013 CANADIAN COINS 03 is categorised COINS AND PAPER MONEY / 08- ROYAL CANADIAN MINT / 07- PURE GOLD and sold by l'Imaginaire, a store and specialised website.