Canadian Gold Coins

Canadian Gold coins come in commemorative editions and bullion coins. The bullion coins have more standardized gold content and are often used for investment purposes. The commemorative coins have gold content that varies widely. Although many of the commemorative coins have $100 denomination the amount of gold they contain can vary by 75%. If you buy a commemorative coin buy one with a certificate of authenticity which clearly states its gold content.

Canadian Gold Coinage

Canadian gold coins have always come in denominations of $5, $10, $20 and $100. But It gets a little confusing nowadays because coins are now minted for special occasions much more often. The rising cost of gold is also a factor. Now we have coins in $200, $300 and $500 denominations. Some coins are stamped 1 ounce of pure gold, some are not stamped at all. Not all coins are 1 ounce of pure gold, many times fractional amounts are issued. Thats why there are $5, $10, $20, $100, $200 and $300 face values even though the coin might look basically the same

Gold Weights and Measures

Many vendors will quote the weight of their gold coins in "Troy Ounces". Troy weight is a standard adopted by the jewellery industry for measuring the weight of gold and silver. Troy weight get its name from the french city of Troyes, where the system was developed in medieval times to value their own coinage.

A Troy ounce is heavier than a regular U.S. or "avoirdupois" ounce1 Troy Ounce = 28.349 grams

Gold Plated Coins

There are also gold plated canadian coins. Typically you will see commerative coins such as nickels, dimes and quarters in gold plated versions. Some vendors will try to impress you with terms such as "24k gold plated", just bear in mind that all gold plating is done with 24k pure gold. The gold plating itself is just mere thousands of an inch thick. So the plated gold really only adds a dollar or two to the value of the plated coin at best. So the value of the coin becomes more what the individual buyer is willing to pay. If the coin is beautiful and is something you really want then buy it, as always, beauty and value is in the eye of the beholder. Just be sure you have plenty of other beholders around in case you dont like it and want to sell it.

Canadian Bullion Coins

Below is a listing of Canadian bullion gold coin prices on EBay. The list is sorted by face value or denomination, then by year. The face value is not an indication of the amount of gold in the coin. A good vendor will tell you what the troy weight and karat weight of the gold is in the coin. This information is usually found on the coins certificate of authenticity. Notice the wide variation in shipping prices from vendor to vendor. The shipping prices are just within the continental USA.