The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, official bullion gold coin of Canada, The Government of Canada produces Gold Maple Leafs and guarantees their gold content and purity. This coin is one of the purest gold coins of regular issue in the world, with a gold content of .9999 millesimal fineness (24 carats, 99.9% pure gold), with some special issues .99999 fine. That is, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf contains virtually no base metals at all. It’s only gold exclusively from gold mines in Canada. By comparison, American Eagles are only 91.67% pure gold.

The coin was first introduced in 1979. Coins minted between 1979 and 1981 have gold content of .999. The coin is offered in 1/20 oz, 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz denominations and is guaranteed to contain the stated amount (in troy ounces) of .9999 fine gold (24 carat). The coins have legal tender status in Canada, but as is often the case with bullion coins, the face values of these coins (C$1, C$5, C$10, C$20 and C$50) are purely symbolic and are much lower than their market value.

The 1/20, 1/10, 1/4, and 1/2 troy oz coins are identical in design to the 1 troy oz coin except for the markings on the obverse and reverse sides that indicate the weight and face value of the coin. In 1994, 1/15 oz ($2.00 face value) gold and platinum coins were issued. However, unsuccessful, so 1994 remains the only year in which 1/15 oz gold bullion coins were produced.

“Because 1-oz Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins are pure gold and because of their design (Gold Maple Leafs have sharp milled edges and smooth fields on both sides of the coins.), they are easily scratched if not handled carefully,” noted CMI Gold & Silver, an online coin dealer. They instruct, “when removing 1-oz Maple Leaf gold coins from their tubes, hold the palm of your hand over the open top of the tube, turn the tube up and let the coins come out gently. Dropping Gold Maple Leafs onto a table top is guaranteed to result in scratched coins.”

Yet, this is a standard problem with pure gold. Bullion should be kept as an investment; it was actually never intended to be handled. Look to buy Canadian Gold Maple Leaf in our Marketplace.