Gold Bullion Coins – Canadian Maple Leaf

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is minted by the Royal Canadian Mint and the coin is well known as one of the purest gold coins ever produced without any use of strengthening alloys. The coin is perhaps also one of the most highly sought after and is very popular among traders due to its high gold content.

The Gold Maple Leaf was first introduced in 1979 and during that time, Canada was the 2nd country to have ever come out with official gold bullion coins after South African Krugerrand. Initially it was produced with only .999 purity but after 1983, Royal Canadian Mint started to switch to .9999 fineness and that standard remains until today. In fact, there are also some special editions with the .99999 fineness.

canadian maple gold leaf¼ Ounce, ½ Ounce and 1 Ounce Coins

The coin design is basically more or less the same regardless of weight and the only difference is on the obverse side featuring different images of Queen Elizabeth II and on the reverse side it displays the common Maple Leaf with different weight value marking. So far there are actually 6 different weights and sizes from 1 Ounce, 1/2 Ounce, 1/4 Ounce, 1/10 Ounce up to 1/20 Ounce and the other one which was no longer in production was the 1/15 Ounce. Other than the sizes, there was also a promotional 100kg showpiece which was introduced in 2007 and with a whopping face value of $1 million.

The coins can be used as an official legal tender in Canada and with their own individual assigned face value. However, as with all pure solid gold coins, the Canadian Maple Leaf has its fair share of problems resulting from defects caused by scratching and knocking. The pure gold is so soft that it is extremely difficult to even take out just for a simple inspection. Once there’s a defect, the value of the coin will drop as well.