{"id":21080,"date":"2026-10-10T06:24:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T05:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/glossary\/bullion\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T06:24:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T05:24:46","slug":"bullion","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/bullion\/","title":{"rendered":"Bullion"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mrf-gl\"><p class=\"gl-def\">Bullion is precious metal in a standard, high-purity form, such as bars, wafers or coins, bought and sold for its metal content rather than its design or rarity. Its price follows the spot price plus a premium.<\/p><aside class=\"panel gl-live\"><p class=\"gl-live-h\">\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 Today in Canada<\/p><div class=\"gl-row\"><span>Gold, 1 troy ounce (spot)<\/span><b>5,970 CAD<\/b><\/div><p class=\"gl-src\">Data as of 10.10.2026, updated daily.<\/p><a class=\"btn primary\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">Compare gold coin prices \u203a<\/a><\/aside><div class=\"gl-body\"><h2>What counts as bullion<\/h2><p>Bullion is bought for weight and purity. Three features set it apart from jewellery and collector coins: high <a href=\"fineness}}\">fineness<\/a> (usually 99.9% or 99.99%), a standard weight in troy ounces, grams or kilograms, and a price that tracks the <a href=\"spot-price}}\">spot price<\/a> closely. Canadian tax law uses similar tests: gold and platinum of at least 99.5% and silver of at least 99.9%, in bar, ingot, coin or wafer form, are generally sold without GST\/HST.<\/p><h2>Canadian bullion coins<\/h2><p>The <a href=\"\/ca\/mint\/royal-canadian-mint\/\">Royal Canadian Mint<\/a> is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Canada. Its Ottawa facility houses the gold and silver refineries and makes bullion and collector coins; the Winnipeg facility makes circulation coins.<\/p><ul><li><strong>Gold Maple Leaf:<\/strong> launched in 1979 at 99.9% purity, when the 22 karat Krugerrand was the standard, and raised to 99.99% three years later. The 1 oz coin weighs 31.11 g, measures 30 mm and carries a face value of 50 dollars. See the <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/1-oz-maple-leaf-gold-coin\/\">1 oz Gold Maple Leaf<\/a>.<\/li><li><strong>Silver Maple Leaf:<\/strong> introduced in 1988. The 1 oz coin is 99.99% silver, 38 mm across, with a face value of 5 dollars. See the <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/1-oz-maple-leaf-silver-coin\/\">1 oz Silver Maple Leaf<\/a>.<\/li><li><strong>Platinum and Palladium Maple Leafs:<\/strong> added by the Mint after the silver coin.<\/li><\/ul><p>Imported coins are widely stocked too, such as the <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/1-oz-britannia-silver-coin\/\">silver Britannia<\/a>, the <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/1-oz-american-eagle-silver-coin\/\">American Silver Eagle<\/a> and the <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/1-oz-krugerrand-silver-coin\/\">silver Krugerrand<\/a>.<\/p><h2>Bars or coins?<\/h2><table><thead><tr><th><\/th><th>Bars<\/th><th>Bullion coins<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Premium over spot<\/td><td>Usually lower, especially at 1 kg<\/td><td>Usually higher per ounce<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Recognition when selling<\/td><td>Good for known refiners<\/td><td>Very high for Maple Leaf, Britannia, Krugerrand<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Divisibility<\/td><td>Low for large bars<\/td><td>High, from 1\/10 oz<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Common sizes<\/td><td>1 g, 10 g, 1 oz, 100 g, 1 kg<\/td><td>1 oz and fractions<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><p>Worked example: a 1 kg gold bar holds 32.15 troy oz. To buy the same gold in 1 oz coins you would need 32 coins plus change, each carrying its own minting cost. Bars spread that cost over more metal, which is why their <a href=\"premium}}\">premium over spot<\/a> is usually smaller. Small bars work the other way: a <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/1g-gold-bar-pamp-fortuna\/\">1 g gold bar<\/a> costs far more per gram than a <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/10g-gold-bar-pamp-fortuna\/\">10 g bar<\/a>. Coins win on flexibility: you can sell one at a time. For silver, compare the <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/1kg-silver-bar\/\">1 kg silver bar<\/a> with the <a href=\"\/ca\/cheapest-silver-coins\/\">cheapest silver coins<\/a>, and for gold see the <a href=\"\/ca\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">cheapest gold coins in Canada<\/a>.<\/p><p>Proof and coloured versions of the same designs are collector items, not bullion; see <a href=\"numismatic}}\">numismatic coins<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><h2>Related terms<\/h2><p class=\"gl-chips\"><a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/premium-over-spot\/\">Premium Over Spot<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/fineness\/\">Fineness<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/numismatic-coins\/\">Numismatic Coins<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/spot-price\/\">Spot Price<\/a><\/p><section class=\"mrf-faq\"><h2>FAQ<\/h2><div class=\"faq-list\"><details open><summary><h3>What is the best-known Canadian bullion coin?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>The Royal Canadian Mint's Gold Maple Leaf, launched in 1979 and struck in 99.99% gold, alongside the 99.99% Silver Maple Leaf introduced in 1988.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Is bullion exempt from GST\/HST in Canada?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>Gold and platinum of at least 99.5% and silver of at least 99.9%, in bar, ingot, wafer or government-issued coin form, are generally exempt from GST\/HST.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Are bars cheaper than coins?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>Per ounce, larger bars usually carry a lower premium over spot than coins, but coins are easier to sell in small amounts.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section><details class=\"gl-src-list\"><summary>Sources<\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mint.ca\/en\/blog\/2018-04-world-s-most-secure-bullion\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Canadian Mint: Meet the Mint&#039;s bullion coins<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mint.ca\/en\/company\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Canadian Mint: Our company<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mint.ca\/en\/shop\/bullion-products\/2022-50-1-oz-99-99-pure-gold-coin-gml-bullion\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Canadian Mint: 1 oz 99.99% pure Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mint.ca\/en\/shop\/coins\/2026\/2026-sml-1-oz-9999-pure-silver-coin-bullion\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Canadian Mint: 2026 Silver Maple Leaf, 1 oz 99.99% pure silver coin<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/E-15\/section-123.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Excise Tax Act, section 123: definition of precious metal (Justice Laws Website)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/revenue-agency\/services\/forms-publications\/publications\/17-1\/definition-financial-instrument.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Canada Revenue Agency, GST\/HST Memorandum 17.1: Definition of financial instrument (precious metals, paras 29 to 38)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":21075,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21080","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/"},"comment_info":0,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21080\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}