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The Royal Canadian Mint's flagship 1 oz gold bullion coin, launched in 1979 as a direct response to the popularity of the South African Krugerrand -- but struck purer. It started at .999 fine gold and was raised to .9999 in November 1982, a full "nine" ahead of the Krugerrand's 91.67% and still among the purest gold bullion coins minted anywhere.
Canadian Gold Maple Leaf melt value tracks gold spot price directly — this chart is the same live gold price used to calculate the melt value above, so you can see the trend behind today's number.
What is actually struck on each face, and who designed it.
A portrait of the reigning monarch — Queen Elizabeth II from 1979 through 2023, and King Charles III on coins struck from 2024 onward — with the coin's date and denomination.
A single maple leaf filling most of the coin face, with "CANADA" and the fine-gold content marked around the rim — the same reverse family as the Silver Maple Leaf, designed by Royal Canadian Mint engraver Walter Ott.
When the Royal Canadian Mint introduced the Gold Maple Leaf in 1979, the South African Krugerrand — only 91.67% gold, alloyed with copper for durability — dominated the world bullion market. The Mint's answer wasn't a cheaper coin, it was a purer one: .999 fine at launch, then raised to .9999 fine in November 1982, giving investors a coin with meaningfully more actual gold content per ounce of "coin" than the Krugerrand offered.
As the world's most widely counterfeited gold coin by some estimates — a direct consequence of its own popularity — the Maple Leaf has picked up serious security engineering over the years, including a micro-engraved radial-line pattern and a laser-etched maple leaf privy mark visible only under magnification, aimed specifically at making convincing fakes harder to produce.
The reverse maple leaf design has stayed essentially unchanged since 1979, while the obverse portrait tracks the reigning monarch — Queen Elizabeth II coins ran through 2023, and King Charles III's portrait began appearing on 2024-dated coins, giving the series a natural generational marker the way the Silver Maple Leaf also has.
About the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf
At the current gold spot price of $4,615.95/oz, the melt value of a Canadian Gold Maple Leaf (1 troy oz, .9999 fine gold (raised from .999 in November 1982)) is approximately $4,615.95. This updates continuously with the spot price above — sellers on the marketplace typically price above melt value, since the premium covers minting, distribution, and dealer margin.
Melt value is the raw metal content only — what you'd get scrapping the coin. The premium above it pays for minting, distribution, and dealer margin, and on this marketplace specifically, it's set by each individual seller rather than one company's price list, so it's worth comparing a few listings rather than buying the first one you see.
Like any commodity, gold trades on global supply and demand — mine output and recycling on the supply side, industrial use, jewelry, and investment buying on the demand side. Short-term moves are usually driven by macro factors: interest rates, currency strength, and how much uncertainty investors are pricing into markets generally.
Government-minted bullion coins like this one are legal tender, widely recognized, and easy to resell — that recognition is usually worth the modest premium over generic rounds or bars of the same weight. For buyers who want to add to a physical position gradually, one-ounce coins are also just a convenient, liquid unit size.
This page shows melt value — spot price times pure metal content, recalculated on every page load. Individual seller listings add their own premium on top, and that premium (not the melt value) is what actually varies between sellers, so it's normal for listing prices below to sit above the number at the top of this page.
Melt value at the same live gold spot price of $4,615.95/oz.
