Canadian Gold Maple Leaf

First minted in 1979, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin is a bullion gold coin that the Canadian Government issues once every year. With a mass of 31.11g and a diameter spanning 30 millimeters, it has a 24-carat millesimal fineness of 999.9 and this ranks it high in purity among global gold bullion coins. All coins that were minted from 1979 to 1982 were in denominations of 1 oz and have a purity of .999 troy ounces.

From November 1982 through 1985, the denominations of a quarter and a 1/10 oz was introduced with a .9999 purity. The 1/2 oz weight was then introduced between 1986 and 1989, which continued for the period from 1990 to 1992. The 1/20 oz denomination was introduced in 1993 while 1994 saw the introduction of the 1/15 oz. However, the 1/15 oz was discontinued in 1995, then reappeared in 2004 and 2005 to 2013 productions of the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin. The coins produced from 2014 until now come in denominations that include the 1 gram coin besides the others from the 1993 production.

Founded on January 2, 1908 and headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint is the sole minter of the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin. In general, the minter produced the coins with the obverse containing varying effigies of Queen Elizabeth II and the face value and year inscriptions e.g. “50 DOLLARS 2017”. The reverse contains the classic Canadian maple leaf surrounded by the inscription, “CANADA FINE GOLD” and the value e.g. “1 OZ OR PUR”. The reverse also contains two inscriptions of the gold purity, “9999”.

Both collectors and investors demand the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin whose face value ranges from US$1 to US$200 subject to weight, size, demand, and material. Being legal tender, trading is VAT exempt in Canada. However, the mint also produces it for special occasions. For example, the Royal Canadian Mint released a coin whose metal value was US$3.5 million and the nominal value was US$1 million. It had 99.999% gold purity, weighed 100kg, had a diameter of 50 centimeters and a thickness of 3 centimeters.