Maple Leaf Rag to its publication, Joplin anticipated that the piece would be a success—he told Arthur Marshall that "The Maple Leaf will make me the king of ragtime composers". The exact circumstances which led to publication of the "Maple Leaf Rag" are unknown, and there are versions of the event which contradict each other. After approaching several publishers, Joplin signed a contract with John Stillwell Stark on August 10, 1899 for a $0.01 royalty on all sales of the rag, with a minimum sales price of $0.25. The "Maple Leaf Rag" was published between August 10 and September 20, 1899, when the
Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf platinum market suddenly cooled off, and the RCM stopped minting Platinum Maple Leaf coins after 2002. However, they began producing the coin again in 2009, this time featuring the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Susanna Blunt back in 2003. In 2012, the Platinum Maple Leaf was "the world's best selling platinum coin". Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf The Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf is the official bullion platinum coin of Canada. First issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 1988, it was available until 2002 in five different denominations, all of which are marked as containing .9995 pure platinum. The