Best Place To Buy Gold Maple Leaf Coins
The best place to buy Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins is through a reputable dealer, and there are many good reasons why. Investors and collectors can learn about all of your options for buying Gold Maple Leafs below.
Gold Dealers Are the Best Place to Buy Gold Maple Leafs
Reliable product selection, guaranteed authenticity, and greater customer service are all benefits of buying your Maple Leaf coins through a professional gold dealer. We'll consider each of these factors later in the article.
Gainesville Coins proudly offers all of these advantages to our customers shopping for Gold Maple Leafs.
The iconic Gold Maple Leaf reverse design.
Other Options for Buying Gold Maple Leaf Coins
Let's look at some of your alternative options when buying Gold Maple Leafs.
Government mints: Ideally, you can go directly to the source: the Royal Canadian Mint. This is usually only true, however, for collectible Canadian Gold Maples and gold bars. The RCM distributes its bullion products in bulk to wholesale purchasers, who then sell them to a network of authorized distributors.
Auction settings: Many coins made of precious metals are sold by auction houses. Gold Maples are no exception. For the most part, this means online auctions on websites such as eBay. Auction platforms, whether live or online, will charge an added fee of about 15% of the coin's value.
Peer-to-peer trades: You will find some Gold Maples are sold on the secondary market by resellers. The coins are often listed in online classified ads or in social media posts. This is the least reliable option.
Coin shows: Coin dealers and hobbyists gather several times each year at trade conventions (coin shows). Although you will more commonly see antique coins and collectibles at coin conventions, with so many dealers to choose from, you may find a Gold Maple Leaf supplier.
Benefits of Buying Gold Maple Leafs From a Dealer
Including the options listed above, choosing a legitimate gold dealer is still your best bet.
There is no better source of Gold Maple Leaf coins in terms of trust, reliability, and selection. Below I'll break down the reasons why.
Product Selection
Gold dealers carry a wider selection of Gold Maples compared to small independent sellers.
This includes backdate Maple Leafs from previous years and various sizes. In addition to the standard 1 troy oz coin, Gold Maples are also available in weights of 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/2 oz of fine gold content. They even get as small as the 1 gram "Maplegram" coins. (Yes, Maplegrams are still legal tender Canadian coinage, too!) The 1 troy ounce version remains the most popular.
Professional gold dealers will reliably keep an assortment of Gold Maple Leaf coins available in inventory. When their inventory is sold out, it is quickly replenished from their suppliers. That is rarely the case with smaller sellers on the secondary market.
Guaranteed Authenticity
Without a doubt, there is nothing worse for a gold buyer than ending up with fake gold. Counterfeit gold is an unfortunate reality we must stay aware of.
Scammers may try to pass off a fake Gold Maple, or one of lower purity, because the coins are so recognizable. This is especially true for older dates that lack some of the newest security features (more on that below).
Any gold dealer will test the authenticity of every item they buy and sell. It requires expensive equipment or the costly process of smelting the metal. Amateur gold sellers can't offer this level of reassurance.
Gold Canadian Maple Leaf featuring the new radial line finish.
Customer Service
High-quality customer service can't be overlooked when you buy gold. Gold bullion dealers hire staff to help answer all of your questions about pricing, inventory, and anything else.
Plus, customer service representatives are there for you when something goes wrong. What if your package is lost in shipping? What if you need to return an item? A professional seller's staff is accountable to you as the customer. They have clear policies about returns, cancelled orders, and so on.
With a peer-to-peer interaction, you're simply out of luck if any problems arise.
Buying Canadian Gold Maple Leafs at Gainesville Coins
The price of Gold Maple Leafs depends on the current gold spot price at the time you place your order. For the most part, a generic Gold Maple coin will sell for a small premium above the gold price. The lowest price will depend on the date of the coins. Many years are common and widely available.
Are you ready to purchase Gold Maple Leafs from a trusted gold bullion dealer? Follow the link to get started or shop from some of our most popular Gold Maple Leaf products below.
Gold Maple Leaf Background Information
The Gold Maple Leaf was born out of necessity. The world's leading gold bullion coin at the time, the Krugerrand, was in short supply due to an embargo on South Africa. In response, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) introduced the new coins made exclusively from gold mined within Canada.
Gold Maples earned the distinction as the world's first-ever gold coins with a 99.99% purity. Rather than .999 fine like most of today's gold coins, they're actually .9999 pure. That's .9999 fine gold (often referred to as "four nines" fine)! This achievement is credited to the state-of-the-art refining capabilities of the Royal Canadian Mint. To date, special "five nines" Gold Maple Leafs have been made with 99.999% pure gold, making them finest gold coin in the world.
Despite being IRA-approved bullion coins for your investment portfolio, these Canadian gold coins also have legal tender value. Each Gold Maple Leaf has a face value of 50 Canadian dollars (CAD), not unlike the American Gold Eagle having a denomination of 50 dollars in the United States. They are never spent as money, but the status as a government-issued coin is an added layer of trust for investors.
Several other interesting factors set the Gold Maple apart from other bullion coins. It was among the first modern gold bullion coins, first issued in 1979, quickly followed by the Chinese Gold Panda in the 1980s. Only the South African Gold Krugerrand (1967) and modern British Gold Sovereign (1979) have been in continuous production for as long.
Perhaps most importantly, all Canadian Maple Leaf coins—including Silver Maple Leafs—offer the best anti-counterfeiting features in the industry.
The micro-engraved privy mark on current Gold Maples is an innovative security feature.
For the past several years, Gold Maples have featured two innovative design choices. These each make it virtually impossible to counterfeit a Gold Maple Leaf coin.
The first is a radial line finish on both sides of the coin. It adorns the maple leaf on the reverse and the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. This pattern in the background (i.e. field) of the coin can only be achieved with the mint's high-tech minting equipment. It also adds another layer of beauty to the coin's appearance.
Each Maple Leaf also has "Bullion DNA": a miniature privy mark on the reverse in the shape of a leaf. The last two digits of the year the coin was minted (e.g. "17" for 2017) are laser-etched into the center of the leaf. This can be verified under magnification.
Moreover, the exceptionally high purity of Gold Maple Leafs is another barrier to being counterfeited. The peace of mind this gives the buyer cannot be overstated.
Gold Maple Leaf Design
In terms of diameter, every Gold Maple measures 30 mm across. Their gross weight is 31.105 grams. The coin features Canada's national symbol, a maple leaf, on the reverse. This famous image was created by the Canadian artist Walter Ott. The obverse side bears Susanna Blunt's portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Of the many effigies of the Queen, this one is only used for Canadian coins. The edge design uses a reeded (milled) pattern. (Read full product description.)
In addition to the standard Brilliant Uncirculated gold version of the Maple Leaf coin, there are also special editions and special issues made by the Royal Canadian Mint. The RCM is also known for its silver bars and many series of collectible silver coins.
You can shop for silver coins from the Royal Canadian Mint by following the link. Please call by phone at (813) 482-9300 for live pricing on Canadian coins and any related products. Gainesville Coins accepts check, credit card, bank wire, or cryptocurrency.
More gold & silver buying guides from Gainesville Coins:
The Best Place to Buy Gold: Key Factors & Options
The Best Way to Buy Silver: A Guide to Buying Physical Silver
Best Place to Buy Silver Maple Leafs
Best Place to Buy Silver Eagles
What Is the Cheapest Way to Buy Gold (Without Getting Bamboozled?)
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Everett Millman
Everett has been the head content writer and market analyst at Gainesville Coins since 2013. He has a background in History and is deeply interested in how gold and silver have historically fit into the financial system.
In addition to blogging, Everett's work has been featured in Reuters, CNN Business, Bloomberg Radio, TD Ameritrade Network, CoinWeek, and has been referenced by the Washington Post.