The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf (GML) is a gold bullion coin that is issued annually by the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

. It is produced by the

Royal Canadian Mint }) is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the Mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufacture ...

. The Gold Maple Leaf is legal tender with a

face value The face value, sometimes called nominal value, is the value of a coin, bond, stamp or paper money as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the issuing authority. The face value of coins, stamps, or bill is usually its legal value. Howe ...

of 50

Canadian dollar The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style g ...

s. The

market value Market value or OMV (Open Market Valuation) is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive auction setting. Market value is often used interchangeably with ''open market value'', '' fair value'' or ''fair market value'', although th ...

of the metal varies, depending on the spot price of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

. Having a .9999 millesimal fineness (24 carats), in some cases .99999, the coin is among the purest official bullion coins worldwide. The standard version has a weight of minimum 1 troy ounce (31.10 grams). Other sizes and denominations include 1 gram, ($0.50), ($1), ($5), ($10), and ($20). The Gold Maple Leaf's

obverse and reverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ' ...

display, respectively, the profile of Queen Elizabeth II of Canada and the Canadian Maple Leaf. In 2013 and 2015, new security features were introduced. In 2013, a laser-micro-engraved textured maple leaf was added on a small area of the reverse (Maple Leaf) side of the coin. In the centre of this mark is the numeral denoting the coin's year of issue, which is only visible under magnification. In 2015, the radial lines on the coin's background on both sides of the coin were added. On 3 May 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a Gold Maple Leaf coin with a nominal face value of $1 million and a metal value of over $3.5 million. It measures in diameter by thick and has a mass of , with a purity of 99.999%. On 26 March 2017, one of the six pieces was stolen from the Berlin

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; it has not been found as of 2021. It is assumed that it has been melted down for the gold.

Information

The coin was introduced in 1979. At the time the only competing bullion coins being minted were the Krugerrand (which was not widely available because of the economic

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-era

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) and the Austrian 100 Corona. Coins minted between 1979 and 1982 have a fineness of .999.

Gold Maple Leaf

For .99999 ( "Five Nines") Pure Gold Maple Leafs, see Special issues below. The .9999 1982 Gold Maple Leafs began minting in November. Thus, most of the 1982 Gold Maple Leafs are .999 fine.

Production problems

Some dealers have complained about the production quality of the Gold Maples. The softness of 24 karat gold combined with the Gold Maples' milled edge, clear field around the

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and the tube storage supplied, means that the coins easily show handling marks. This is a standard problem with pure gold.

Bimetallic Maple Leaf

As a way of commemorating 25 years as an industry leader in bullion coins, the Royal Canadian Mint created a unique six-coin set
mint.ca
It was a new bimetallic maple leaf, set in bullion finish (a brilliant relief against a parallel lined background). The six-coin set was the first to include the Maple Leaf denomination. Each coin included a double-date of 1979–2004, and the coin featured a commemorative privy mark. All coins were packaged in a black leather presentation case with a black velour insert, along with a certificate of authenticity.Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Edition, p. 442 Mintage: 839 sets. Other Details

Special issues

99.999% Gold Maple Leaf

The gold Maple Leaf coin was .999 pure until 1982, when its purity was raised to .9999. Some coins are issued at a purity of .99999; this standard does not replace the Mint's .9999 Gold Maple Leaf coins, but is instead reserved for special editions.

Coloured Gold Maple Leaf

Hologram Gold Maple Leaf

Olympic Maple Leaf

The Royal Canadian Mint and the

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have reached an agreement on Olympic Gold and Silver Maple Leaf coins. The announcement was made on August 3, 2007, and the agreement allows the RCM to strike bullion coins with the emblems of the 2010 winter Olympic and Paralympic Games."Maples will sport Olympic Rings", Bret Evans, Canadian Coin News, September 4 to September 17, 2007 The issue will consist of two coins – one Gold Maple Leaf coin and a Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coin; both coins feature the date of 2008. The new agreement means that the RCM is now selling Olympic coins through all of its major business lines – bullion, circulation and numismatics.

Individual releases

Privy-marked GML

Maple Leaf Privy M7

Other fractional GML

Definition of finishes

;Bullion: Brilliant relief against a parallel lined background. ;Proof: Frosted relief against a mirror background ;Specimen: Brilliant relief on a satin background.

References

External links

Official website of the Royal Canadian Mint

{{Canadian currency and coinage Gold Maple Leaf Gold bullion coins