The Royal Canadian Mint introduced a new color technology to its Ultra High Relief (UHR) Maple Leaf coin line for 2026, releasing both a gold and a silver version featuring what the mint describes as an RCM first: the Vivid Toning Effect.

As the mint puts it, “When fall paints Canada’s landscapes, its colors are anything but flat—it imbues even the silhouette of a single maple leaf with a spectrum of vibrant hues.” That range is now captured through the Vivid Toning Effect, an innovative finish that produces intense, realistic colors with a foil-like appearance.

On both coins, Walter Ott’s classic maple leaf design is struck in Reverse Proof in Ultra High Relief, polished to a high shine, and finished with the new color technology, which allows light to pass through vibrant hues, catch the polished relief underneath, and reflect outward to create what the mint calls “an iridescent, lit-from-within glow.”

Both coins also feature a new maple-themed field pattern, described as “bursting with rays of light,” made up of small maple leaves stacked vertically between sunburst lines that radiate luminous energy.

The gold $200 coin

On the 2026 Reverse Proof, Ultra High Relief Maple Leaf 1-ounce .9999 fine gold $200 coin with Vivid Toning Effect,  the leaf reaches a peak relief height of 1.8 millimeters, higher than the annually issued bullion Maple Leaf 1-ounce .9999 fine $50 gold coin.

The gold behind the special edition coin’s Vivid Toning Effect tilts the colors “more toward a radiant crimson.” Only 550 of the 2026 Vivid Toning Effect gold coins are available.

The Reverse Proof gold $200 coin weighs 33.17 grams, and measures 30 millimeters in diameter, with interrupted serrations along its edge. It is presented in a black lacquered wood case with a black beauty box. Product Number 254470 is assigned to this release.

The silver $20 coin

The 2026 Reverse Proof Ultra High Relief Maple Leaf 1-ounce .9999 fine silver $20 coin with Vivid Toning Effect has a peak relief height of 1.4 millimeters (higher than the typical Maple Leaf 1-ounce .9999 fine silver $5 coin).

On the special limited-edition silver $20 coin, the Vivid Toning Effect reveals “realistic flashes of yellow, orange and red that shimmer across the leaf’s surface, echoing the way sunlight filters through a Canadian forest canopy on a bright autumn day.” The SML has been a hit since its first issue in 2022, and this 2026 edition has a mintage of 11,000 coins.

The special silver coin weighs 31.39 grams and measures 36.15 millimeters in diameter with a plain edge and a finish. It is encapsulated in a black Royal Canadian Mint-branded clamshell with a black beauty box. Product Number 254375 is assigned to this release.

Design details

Both coins share the same designs: the obverse features the effigy of King Charles III by Canadian artist Steven Rosati and the denomination and date; the reverse by Walter Ott carries the word CANADA, with the purity standard 9999  PURE GOLD 1 OZ OR PUR 9999 on the gold coin and 9999 FINE SILVER 1 OZ ARGENT PUR 9999 on the silver coin.

Both sides of both coins carry the new sun ray and maple leaf background.

All the coins include a serialized certificate from the Royal Canadian Mint, and neither is subject to GST/HST.

Science behind the colors

The mint relates that the fiery reds associated with fall are produced in autumn, but the burnt oranges and golden yellows found in maple leaves actually exist in the leaves throughout spring and summer — they are simply hidden by chlorophyll, the green pigment essential for photosynthesis. As daylight decreases, chlorophyll breaks down, revealing yellow xanthophyll pigments and orange carotenoids, while newly produced anthocyanins create the red tones associated with autumn. Environmental factors influence this process, varying the color vibrancy from year to year.