Canadian Gold Maple Leaf

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf (GML; French: Feuille d'érable en or canadienne) is a gold bullion coin that is issued annually by the Government of Canada. It is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf

Canada
Value	50.00 CAD (face value)
Mass	31.11[1] g (1.00 troy oz)
Diameter	30 mm (1.181 in)
Edge	Reeded
Composition	Gold (99.99% Au)
Years of minting	1979–present
Obverse
Design	Monarch of Canada
Reverse
Design	Maple Leaf
Design date	1979 (2015)

The Gold Maple Leaf is legal tender with a face value of 50 Canadian dollars. The market value of the metal varies, depending on the spot price of gold. Having a .9999 millesimal fineness (24 karats), 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 (31.1 grams). Other sizes and denominations include: 1 gram, 1⁄25 oz. ($0.50), 1⁄20 oz. ($1), 1⁄10 oz. ($5), 1⁄4 oz. ($10) and 1⁄2 oz. ($20).

History

The coin was introduced in 1979.^[2][3] At the time the only competing bullion coins being minted were the Krugerrand (which was not widely available because of the economic boycott of apartheid-era South Africa) and the Austrian 100 Corona.^[4] Coins minted between 1979 and 1982 have a fineness of .999.

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, referred to as a Big Maple Leaf.^[5][6] It measures 50 cm in diameter by 3 cm thick and has a mass of 100 kg, with a purity of 99.999%. On 26 March 2017, one of the six pieces was stolen from the Berlin Bode Museum;^[7] it has not been found as of 2021. It is assumed that it has been melted down for the gold.^[8][9]

The Gold Maple Leaf's obverse displays the profile of the Monarch of Canada while the reverse displays a 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.^[10]

Specifications

Years	Denominations	Purity	Obverse	Reverse
1979–1982	1 oz.	.999	Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II aged 39 facing right[10]	Maple leaf on a flat surface[10]
November 1982 – 1985	1 oz., 1⁄4 oz., 1⁄10 oz.	.9999
1986–1989	1 oz., 1⁄2 oz., 1⁄4 oz., 1⁄10 oz.
1990–1992			Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II aged 64 facing right[10]
1993	1 oz., 1⁄2 oz., 1⁄4 oz., 1⁄10 oz., 1⁄20 oz.
1994	1 oz., 1⁄2 oz., 1⁄4 oz., 1⁄10 oz., 1⁄15 oz., 1⁄20 oz.
1995–2004	1 oz., 1⁄2 oz., 1⁄4 oz., 1⁄10 oz., 1⁄20 oz.
2005–2012			Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II aged 79 facing right[10]
2013				Maple leaf on a flat surface and micro-engraved maple leaf hologram[10]
2014	1 oz., 1⁄2 oz., 1⁄4 oz., 1⁄10 oz., 1⁄20 oz., 1 gram.
2015–2023				Maple leaf with radial lines and micro-engraved maple leaf hologram[10]
2024–Present			Portrait of King Charles III facing left

For .99999 ("Five Nines") Pure Gold Maple Leafs, see Special issues below.

The .9999 1982 Gold Maple Leafs began minting in November.^{[citation needed]} Thus, most of the 1982 Gold Maple Leafs are .999 fine.

Some dealers have complained about the production quality of the Gold Maples.^[11][12][13]

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. In 1999, the mint celebrated twenty years of the $100 Maple Leaf coin by issuing coins with a hologram, struck directly onto the coin's surface, rather than as a separate step.^[14]

Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Issue Price	Special Notes	Image
2005	Fifty Dollar Coin	N/A	at first 600 left 396	N/A	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 oz pure gold - experimental issue
2007	Two Hundred Dollar Coin	Stanley Witten	500	$1,899.95	test bullion coin, 1 troy ounce coin; .99999 oz pure gold, privy t/e - test coin, comes encapsulated and presented in a maroon flock-lined clamshell case, available to collectors who enter draw-to-buy
			30,848	N/A	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 oz pure gold, packaged in assay card
	One Million Dollar Coin		5		Nicknamed the Big Maple Leaf, this coin has a mass of 100 kg (which is 3,215 troy ounces). A set of five coins were minted; one was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum on March 27, 2017.[15][16]
2008	Two Hundred Dollar Coin		1,700	$1,394.64	Special Limited Edition First Strike
			27,476	N/A	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 oz pure gold, packaged in assay card
2009		Stanley Witten	13,765
2011		Ago Aarand	8,408		Canadian Mountie Maple Leaf; 1 troy ounce coin; .99999 fine gold 1 oz or pur, packaged in assay card
2012		Stanley Witten	N/A		1 troy ounce coin; .99999 fine gold 1 oz or pur, the picture of the maple leaf on the reverse is the same as on the coin from 2007, but moved right nearly 90 degrees - as on the 100 kg coin, packaged in assay card
	Five Hundred Dollar Coin			5 ounce 9999 gold maple leaf forever, mintage of 200
2014	Two Hundred Dollar Coin	Pierre Leduc	N/A	N/A	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 fine gold 1 oz or pur, Gold Howling Wolf, packaged in assay card
			2,000	CAD2,799.95	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 fine gold 1 oz or pur, Gold Howling Wolf, proof version comes encapsulated and presented in a maroon flock-lined clamshell case
2015			N/A	N/A	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 fine gold 1 oz or pur, Gold Growling Cougar, packaged in assay card
			250	CAD2,799.95	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 fine gold 1 oz or pur, Gold Growling Cougar, proof version comes encapsulated and presented in a maroon flock-lined clamshell case
2016			N/A	N/A	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 fine gold 1 oz or pur, Gold Roaring Grizzly, third and last of series, packaged in assay card
			250	CAD2,799.95	1 troy ounce coin; .99999 fine gold 1 oz or pur, Gold Roaring Grizzly, proof version comes encapsulated and presented in a maroon flock-lined clamshell case

Coloured Gold Maple Leaf

Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Issue Price	Special Notes
1999	20th Anniversary of the GML - fractional 5 coins	Walter Ott, RCM Engravers	13,025	N/A	These are the first coloured coins that the Royal Canadian Mint has ever produced[17]
2010	Gold Maple Leaf Vancouver Olympics 3 x 31.15 g (1 oz)	Susanna Blunt	200		These are 3 coins of olympic series, but with red painted maple leafs on reverse - all in the wooden box

Hologram Gold Maple Leaf

Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Issue Price	Special Notes
1999	$1, $5, $10, $20, $50 GML Hologram Set	Walter Ott, RCM Engravers	500	$1,995	First Coins for RCM to feature a hologram
2001			600		The only difference was the issue date on the coin; 2001 instead of former 1999
	$10 GML Hologram		14,614	$195	1⁄4-oz
2009	$1, $5, $10, $50 Hologram Set, 30th Anniversary of Gold Maple Leaf	N/A	750	N/A	1⁄20 oz, 1⁄10 oz, 1⁄4 oz, 1 oz - all packaged in a wooden box

Olympic Maple Leaf

The Royal Canadian Mint and the International Olympic Committee reached an agreement on Olympic Gold and Silver Maple Leaf coins on August 3, 2007, and the agreement allowed the RCM to strike bullion coins with the emblems of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.^[18] The issue consists of two coins – one Gold Maple Leaf coin and a Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coin; both coins feature the date of 2008. The RCM sold Olympic coins through all of its major business lines – bullion, circulation and numismatics.^[18]

Individual releases

Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Issue price	Comment
1989	10th Anniversary Coin	Walter Ott	6,817	Bullion Value	The only proof version, packaged in a wooden box separately or together with 1⁄2, 1⁄4 and 1⁄10 oz coins
1997	125th Anniversary of the RCMP	Ago Aarand	12,913	US$310	Guaranteed value of US$310, until January 1, 2000
1999	20th Anniversary Coin	N/A	N/A	Bullion value	privy mark "20 years ans" on the reverse
2004	25th Anniversary of Gold Maple Leaf	Walter Ott	10,000		Introduced at ANA World's Fair of Money in Pittsburgh
2014	Bullion Replica	N/A	2,000	CAD2,699.95	Specimen version of Maple Leaf comes encapsulated and presented in a maroon flock-lined clamshell case and accompanied by a serialized certificate
2015	1⁄10 oz Gold Maple Theory of Relativity Privy		N/A	N/A	Frosted background version of Maple Leaf 1⁄10 oz with privy mark E = mc2 on the left
	Allied Gold/L'or des alliés	Joel Kimmel	1,500	$649.95	1⁄4 oz. Flight of the Norwegian National Treasury (part of Operation Fish, that brought British, French and Norwegian gold to Canada).[19] The maple leaf of Canada is impaled with a Norwegian maple leaf.

Privy-marked Gold Maple Leaf

Year	Privy Mark	Denomination	Size	Mintage	Issue price	Special Notes
1997	Family	Five Dollars	1⁄10 oz	100,730		Made for Dillon Gage
1998	Eagles			51,440
2000	Expo Hanover	Ten Dollars	1⁄4-oz	1,000		N/A
2001	Basle Coin Fair			750
	Viking	50, 20, 10, 5, 1	1 oz, 1⁄2-oz, 1⁄4-oz, 1⁄10-oz, 1⁄20-oz	850		Issued as a five coin set
2005	Liberation	Ten Dollars	1⁄4 oz	500		Made for Royal Dutch Mint
2024	First Strikes: Polar Bear Privy Mark	Five Dollars	1⁄10 oz	5,000	359.95 CAD	First gold bullion strikes featuring His Majesty King Charles III, sold directly from the Royal Canadian Mint. Encapsulated in a premium card.

Maple Leaf 'Privy M7'

Year	Denomination	Size	Mintage	Special Notes
2004	Ten Dollars	1⁄4-oz	10	This is a test coin struck in a proof or specimen finish. Distributed privately in Europe.
2005			600 (other source: 1,300?)	reverse background of the coin is a "bricks" motive, instead of standard parallel lines bullion finishing as on the obverse; M7 privy mark is on the standard right position
2006			1,093 (other source: 1,100?)	reverse upper half of the background of the coin has standard parallel lines bullion finishing as on the obverse, and the lower half has frosted finishing; M7 privy mark is on the standard right position
2007			1,000 - other source	reverse upper half of the background of the coin is frosted, lower half - with curved "sun rays" motive, partly frosted on the parallel standard bullion finishing; on the obverse, standard parallel lines bullion finishing; M7 privy mark is on the standard right position

Other fractional Gold Maple Leaf

Year	Description	Denomination	Size	Mintage	Issue Price	Special Notes
2011	Maple Leaf variations - standard leaf	50, 10, 5, 1	1 oz, 1⁄4 oz, 1⁄10 oz, 1⁄20 oz	750	CAD3,739.95	Issued as a four coin set in a wooden box plus a gold plated silver medallion - A centennial of world-class refining, all coins double dated 1911-2011, additionally on 1 oz coin privy mark "100 years/ans"
2012	Maple Leaf variations - three leaves	50, 20, 10, 5, 1	1 oz, 1⁄2 oz, 1⁄4 oz, 1⁄10 oz, 1⁄20 oz		CAD3,999.95	Issued as a five coin set in a wooden box - 5th Anniversary of the Million Dollar Coin
2013	Maple Leaf variations - two leaves	50, 10, 5, 1	1 oz, 1⁄4 oz, 1⁄10 oz, 1⁄20 oz	600	CAD3,899.95	Issued as a four coin set in a wooden box - 25th Anniversary Fractional Set
2014	Maple Leaf variations - three leaves				CAD3,999.95	Issued as a four coin set in a wooden box
2015	Maple Leaf variations - one leaf					Issued as a four coin set in a wooden box, every 1 oz coin is numbered, different maple leaf on every coin
2016	Maple Leaf variations - one leaf with crown and letters					Issued as a four coin set in a wooden box, every 1 oz coin is numbered, obverse with crowned queen

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 1⁄25 oz Maple Leaf denomination. Each coin included a double-date of 1979–2004, and the 1 oz 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.^[20] It was issued at a price of $2,495.95 and with a mintage of 839 sets.^{[citation needed]}

Coin Specifications

Year	Theme	Face Value	Size	Composition		Au Weight	Ag Weight (Total - Au)	Total Weight of the coin	Total Diameter
				Ring	Core
2004	25th Anniversary, Gold Maple Leaf
		$0.5	1⁄25 oz	.9999 silver	.9999 gold	1.27	0.769	2.039	16
		$1	1⁄20 oz			1.581	0.791	2.372	18.03
		$5	1⁄10 oz			3.136	1.33	4.466	20
		$10	1⁄4 oz			7.802	3.098	10.9	25
		$20	1⁄2 oz			15.589	4.486	20.075	30
		$50	1 oz			31.65	7.96	39.61	36.07

See also

• American Buffalo (coin)
• American Gold Eagle
• Britannia (coin)
• Bullion
• Canadian Silver Maple Leaf
• Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf
• Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf
• Gold as an investment

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