What type of maple leaf is on the Canadian penny?

Answer 1

The type of maple leaf that is on the Canadian penny is a Sugar Maple leaf.

While this is commonly excepted, it is not a maple at all. Maple leaves grow in paired opposite attachment along the stem, the penny has a two leaves attached individually. While the original artist may have thought it was a maple it is probably a London Plane Tree. I am referencing my university botany instructor on this one, but I verified this with phylotaxic diagrams.

Answer 2

The Maple Leaf has been a Canadian symbol since the early 1700's; indigenous people knew that the sap from the maple tree was a food source. In the 1800's, the maple leaf became an unofficial emblem that was readily adopted by Canadians. Between the years of 1876 and 1901 the maple leaf appeared on all issued coinage. The penny was the second coin struck by the Royal Mint; after King George's death, a competition for new designs for Canada's coins was held; 12 artists submitted their work. Originally, the maple leaf twig design (submitted by Kruger Gray) was to grace the Five cent piece, but was chosen for the One cent piece. The artist, Kruger Gray also submitted the present-day, familiar beaver design; that design was submitted for the Ten cent piece, but was chosen to grace the Five cent piece instead. The maple leaf twig design has changed very little since being chosen for the Canadian Penny in 1937.

Answer 3

It's actually a caribou, not a moose. Canadian coinage was redesigned in 1937 to give a more modern look than the relatively formal earlier patterns.