OTTAWA(BullionStreet): Royal Canadian Mint announced the sale of some 30,000 historic coins mint during the first world war.

In a statement,RCM said it will sell about 30,000 historic $5 and $10 coins dating back to before the First World War.

They are among the country's first gold coins, struck by the mint between 1912 and 1914. The coins are being sold by The highest quality examples of the coins will be offered for sale to convert the proceeds into quality fixed-income securities.

Less visually appealing examples will be refined into 99.99% pure gold to liquidate the balance of the holdings.weight, with a premium added for their collectability and historical value.

The $5 coins, with about seven grams of gold, are going for $500 each, plus tax.

The $10 coins, with about 15 grams of gold, are being sold for $1,750. Another 200,000 of the coins, which have been stored by the Bank of Canada for the past 75 years, are not considered to be of high quality and will be melted down.

The obverse designs of the coins feature the effigy of King George V wearing coronation robes and the Imperial State Crown.

The reverse features a shield bearing the national arms of the dominion of Canada: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The shield is encircled with maple branches with the inscription “Canada” above and the date and denomination below.

According to information distributed by the Royal Canadian Mint, only a small number of the 1912, 1913, and 1914 gold coins remained in the hands of individual collectors, while the bulk of the coins were kept out of circulation. This seems to have contributed to higher values for the coins, particularly examples in gem condition.