The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official bullion gold coin of Canada. It is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint from gold mined exclusively in Canada. It is the purest gold coin on the market, with a purity of 0.9999 fine gold (24 carat). The coins are assigned a legal tender value of $50.

In 1979 the Royal Canadian Mint pioneered the concept of minting a gold coin without the need for a strengthening alloy in order to produce the Gold Maple Leaf in such high purity. Such purity proved to be extremely popular with collectors and investors worldwide. At the time of the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin’s introduction, South African Kruggerands were the only gold bullion coins available. They were in short supply due to a boycott of apartheid South Africa. A few years after its initial introduction, the Gold Maple Leaf was outselling the Krugerrand.

The obverse of the Gold Maple Leaf features a bust of Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states, known as the Commonwealth realms, and their territories and dependencies, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. She is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and, in some of her realms, carries the title of Defender of the Faith. Originally, the bust depicted the Queen as a younger woman. The bust design changed in 1990 to feature a more mature portrait. In both versions, "ELIZABETH II" appears above the portrait; the coin's face value and date of issue rest beneath the bust. The reverse depicts a Maple Leaf, the national symbol of Canada for which the coin derives its name. The gold Maple Leaf's reverse also lists the name of the country and the amount and purity of the gold - in both English and French, the national languages of Canada.

The Royal Canadian Mint, the nation's official mint, was the first mint in the world to commercially produce 99.99% bullion gold coins. More recently, it also became the first mint to produce a 99.999% gold coin. In 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint surprised the numismatic world by creating and issuing two very interesting variants of the classic pure gold Maple Leaf one-ounce coin - the world's largest and purest gold coin ever produced - a 100 kilogram, or 220 pound, "five-nines" fine (or ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine percent pure gold), one million dollar (Canadian) face value coin (although the gold content was worth over TWO million dollars (U.S.) at the time). The Ottawa branch of the Mint has been in operation since 1908. The main branch for production today is Winnipeg.

The Royal Canadian Mint is know the world over for unsurpassed quality. Gold Maples are a favorite with jewelers everywhere, because pure gold bullion is easily alloyed to produce the desired color and hardness. The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is also eligible for IRAs, making them perfect investments. What better way to invest in precious metals than to get your hands on some pure Canadian gold?