The Royal Canadian Mint launched the Platinum Maple Leaf in 1988, completing a three-metal Maple Leaf lineup alongside the already-established Gold and Silver versions, and struck it at 0.9995 fine — a hair purer than the American Platinum Eagle's 0.9995, effectively matching it exactly. Unlike its gold and silver siblings, which have run continuously since their respective launches, the Platinum Maple Leaf has a genuine production gap in its history: the Mint discontinued it in 1999 as the platinum market spiked, briefly revived it in 2002, then stopped again before resuming for good in 2009 — in the 1 oz size only, with the fractional sizes offered from 1988 to 1999 never brought back.
The production gap is the single most important fact for a new buyer: 1988-1999 fractional sizes are a closed, discontinued sub-collection, not an ongoing lineup, and the 2009-onward coins exist only as 1 oz. A buyer wanting straightforward platinum exposure should default to a common post-2009 1 oz coin; a buyer specifically chasing the full historical fractional-size run should understand that's now effectively a specialty collecting project rather than something they can simply buy more of each year.
The dates serious Platinum Maple Leaf collectors specifically chase — the rest of the run trades close to melt value.
First year of issue, struck in several sizes alongside the Gold and Silver Maple Leaf programs — one of three metals the Royal Canadian Mint now produces under the Maple Leaf name.
The Mint discontinued Platinum Maple Leaf production as the platinum market spiked, briefly reviving it in 2002 before stopping again — the series carries a real multi-year production gap unlike its Gold and Silver counterparts, which ran continuously.
Production resumed after the 2002 stoppage, but in the 1 oz size only — the fractional sizes available from 1988 to 1999 were never brought back, making those earlier fractional years a closed, discontinued sub-collection.
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Start tracking freeProduction was discontinued in 1999 as the platinum market spiked, briefly revived in 2002, then stopped again before resuming for good in 2009 — a genuine multi-year gap unlike the continuously-produced Gold and Silver Maple Leaf.
Not newly — fractional sizes were offered from 1988 to 1999 but were never brought back when production resumed in 2009, which has been 1 oz only.
Yes, effectively — both are struck at 0.9995 fine, the standard purity for major investment-grade platinum bullion coins.