Description
This 2018 coin was only offered at the original price as part of a seven coin subscription, and cannot be purchased from the Royal Canadian Mint as a single coin. With the lowest mintage and perhaps the most sought after denomination of the entire Big Coin series, we are pleased to make a few examples of this denomination available at only a modest premium above the original subscription issue price. All examples from the RCM were fully sold out as subscriptions immediately when this series was first released. Mintage is only 1,434 coins. As a pure silver coin produced by the Royal Canadian Mint, this item is GST/HST exempt.
The Design:
Canada’s 2018 Big Coin One Cent features the oversized return of the cent denomination which was retired for circulation in 2012. The classic design introduced in 1937 features a sprig of two maple leaves, now enhanced with selective rose gold plating on top of pure silver. All previous coins in the 2018 Big Coin issue and every Big Coin issue since their introduction in 2015 has sold out immediately from the Royal Canadian Mint, with most significantly appreciating in value in the secondary market.
The popularity of this series is easy to understand. In addition to their impressive appearance with a 65 mm diameter, proof finish and selective rose gold plating, collectability is strongly supported by the extremely low mintage, which has been reduced this year to just 1,500 for all the other coins in this set (from the mintage of 2,150 in 2017), and to just 1,434 for the Big Coin Cent. The coins are also widely viewed as the highest quality annual coin set in Canada, with each coin representing the very best and lowest mintage example of the denomination.
While a regular 1 cent coin has a diameter of 19 mm and a weight of just 2.25 grams in base metal, this one cent has a diameter of 65 mm and has a weight of over 155 grams, or 5 ounces, in pure silver. This is about equal the weight of 68 regular one cent coins. The coin is double or triple struck to ensure fine detail and a near flawless surface, while the design is further enhanced with selective rose coloured gold plating on both sides, highlighting the coin’s main design and the effigy of the queen.
