The Palladium Maple Leaf is the Royal Canadian Mint's .9995-fine palladium bullion coin, struck in 1 troy ounce since 2005 with recorded production gaps in 2008 and from 2010 through 2014. JM Bullion priced the coin at a 32.1% premium over its $1,394.50 palladium spot ask on 5-6 August 2026, more than double the 13.4% a generic 1 oz palladium bar carried the same day and well below the 71.7% premium on its US counterpart, the American Palladium Eagle. What sets that premium, what the coin's mintage record does and does not show, and whether it qualifies for a palladium IRA under IRC §408(m) are covered below, alongside a dated comparison against plain palladium bars.
What Is the Palladium Maple Leaf?#
The Palladium Maple Leaf is a palladium bullion coin struck by the Royal Canadian Mint, first issued in 2005. It is one of the physical routes compared on investing in platinum, alongside bars, exchange-traded funds and futures, though this page covers only the coin itself.
The mint has produced the coin at a .9995 fineness since introduction, though not continuously: output ran from 2005 through 2007, resumed for 2009, paused from 2010 through 2014, and has continued since production resumed in 2015, with JM Bullion still listing 1 oz coins for sale as of 5 August 2026. Palladium (Pd) is element 46 on the periodic table, CAS number 7440-05-3.
Palladium Maple Leaf Specifications#
The Palladium Maple Leaf weighs 1 troy ounce (31.1035 g) of .9995-fine palladium, with a C$50 face value. That C$50 denomination is legal tender in Canada at its stated value only; it is a legal-tender denomination fixed by statute, not a market price, and the coin's market value tracks the palladium price plus a dealer premium, covered under Current Palladium Maple Leaf Premium Over Spot below. The coin's diameter and thickness are not confirmed from a primary source in DailyPlatinum's research: a widely circulated dealer listing states 34 mm and 3.2 mm, but the Royal Canadian Mint's own product page could not be reached to verify those two figures this cycle, so they are not stated as fact here.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Denomination | C$50 |
| Weight | 1 troy oz (31.1035 g) |
| Fineness | .9995 |
| Metal | Palladium (Pd) |
| Mint | Royal Canadian Mint |
| First year | 2005 |
| Diameter | not confirmed from a primary source |
| Thickness | not confirmed from a primary source |
Palladium Maple Leaf Mintage#
The Royal Canadian Mint does not publish an annual mintage figure for the bullion Palladium Maple Leaf. The mint struck the coin from 2005 through 2007 and again in 2009, paused production from 2010 through 2014, and resumed striking it in 2015; JM Bullion listed 1 oz coins for sale as recently as 5 August 2026, indicating the program remains active in the dealer market. No proof edition or separate proof mintage figure for the Palladium Maple Leaf is recorded in DailyPlatinum's sources, unlike the annual proof program run alongside some sibling platinum coins.
Current Palladium Maple Leaf Premium Over Spot#
As of 5-6 August 2026, JM Bullion priced the 1 oz Palladium Maple Leaf at $1,841.49, a 32.1% premium over its $1,394.50 palladium spot ask that same day. That premium runs more than double the 13.4% JM Bullion charged for a generic 1 oz palladium bar and nearly triple the 12.6% on a 10 oz palladium bar the same day, though it stays well under the 71.7% premium on the American Palladium Eagle. The table below lists every product JM Bullion priced that day.
Table: Palladium premium over spot, JM Bullion, 5-6 August 2026, palladium spot ask $1,394.50/oz
| Product | Price per oz | Premium % |
|---|---|---|
| 10 oz palladium bar | $1,569.49 | 12.6% |
| 1 oz palladium bar, varied condition | $1,581.49 | 13.4% |
| 1 oz Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf | $1,841.49 | 32.1% |
| 1 oz American Palladium Eagle | $2,394.49 | 71.7% |
This is a snapshot from a single dealer on a single day; a different dealer or a different week would show a different premium, not this exact figure.
What Drives the Palladium Maple Leaf's Premium#
Three factors set the Palladium Maple Leaf's premium: coin size, its sovereign recognizability, and elevated palladium lease rates in the fabrication pipeline.
- Coin size: fabrication cost per unit is roughly fixed regardless of weight, so it amortizes across less metal as the format shrinks; the sequence runs from a 10 oz bar's 12.6% premium up through a 1 oz bar's 13.4% to the 1 oz coin's 32.1% (JM Bullion, 5-6 August 2026).
- Sovereign recognizability: a national-mint coin with legal-tender status commands a wider premium than a generic bar of the same weight; the Maple Leaf's 32.1% runs well above the 1 oz bar's 13.4% on the same day.
- Palladium lease rates: DailyPlatinum's reference research attributes the American Palladium Eagle's 71.7% premium, the widest in the palladium complex, in part to fabrication economics under extreme palladium lease rates, the same leasing mechanism that, on the platinum side, the World Platinum Investment Council documents rising from about 3% in late 2024 to above 20% by mid-2025.
Fabricators typically lease metal rather than buy it outright to supply a coining pipeline, so a higher lease rate raises the annualised cost of holding palladium mid-fabrication. When that cost climbs, fabricators tend to cut small-format output rather than raise prices smoothly, which widens premiums on the smallest bars and coins first. Current palladium supply and demand data sits on the palladium market.
Is the Palladium Maple Leaf IRA-Eligible?#
The Palladium Maple Leaf meets the 0.9995 IRA purity threshold for palladium under IRC §408(m)(3)(B). Section 408(m) treats an IRA's acquisition of a "collectible" as a taxable distribution, but §408(m)(3)(B) exempts bullion of a fineness at or above what a regulated futures contract market requires for delivery, provided a qualifying trustee holds it in physical possession.
Palladium's IRA minimum fineness, like platinum's, is stricter than gold's, tied instead to palladium's own futures delivery standard, as the table below sets out.
| Metal | IRA minimum fineness | Derivation |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 0.995 | COMEX gold delivery standard |
| Silver | 0.999 | COMEX silver delivery standard |
| Platinum | 0.9995 | NYMEX platinum delivery standard |
| Palladium | 0.9995 | NYMEX palladium delivery standard |
Rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium carry no such route: §408(m)(3)(B) names only gold, silver, platinum and palladium, so an IRA cannot hold any of the four minor platinum group metals under this exception.
Palladium Maple Leaf Compared with Palladium Bars#
Gram for gram, the Palladium Maple Leaf carries a higher premium over spot than a plain palladium bar, in exchange for sovereign recognizability and, where eligible, IRA use. A bar's lack of legal-tender status and annual design largely explains the gap: a bar's premium tracks fabrication and dealer cost alone, while the coin's wider premium buys a recognizable, IRA-eligible product a bar of the same weight and purity does not automatically provide.
Table: Palladium Maple Leaf vs palladium bars, premium over spot, JM Bullion, 5-6 August 2026
| Product | Premium % |
|---|---|
| 10 oz palladium bar | 12.6% |
| 1 oz palladium bar, varied condition | 13.4% |
| 1 oz Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf | 32.1% |
Unlike investment gold, neither a palladium coin nor a palladium bar qualifies for the European Union's investment-precious-metal VAT exemption under Council Directive 2006/112/EC, Articles 344 to 356, or the United Kingdom's equivalent VAT Notice 701/21; buyers in the EU and UK pay standard-rated VAT on either form, a cost gold investors avoid. On resale, both forms are paid on assayed palladium content; see scrap palladium price for how a refiner values palladium that is not resold as an intact bullion product.
Other Palladium Bullion Coins#
Palladium's other national-mint bullion coin program, and the Royal Canadian Mint's sibling platinum coin, are covered on their own pages.
| Coin | Mint | Metal | First year | Fineness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Palladium Eagle | United States Mint | Palladium | 2017 | .9995 |
| Platinum Maple Leaf | Royal Canadian Mint | Platinum | 1988 | .9995 (1988-2002); .9999 (2009-present) |
Fineness aside, each program sets its own terms, listed below.
- Face value: each mint sets its own legal-tender denomination, unrelated to the coin's metal content.
- Mintage policy: mintage disclosure varies by program and by bullion versus proof strikes, covered on each coin's own page rather than assumed here.
- Premium: coin size and sovereign recognizability, covered above, do not carry the same weight from one program to another.
Frequently Asked Questions#
How much is 1 oz of palladium worth today?#
Palladium's spot price is tracked separately on palladium price today. Against a $1,394.50 spot ask on 5-6 August 2026, JM Bullion priced the 1 oz Palladium Maple Leaf at $1,841.49, a 32.1% premium.
Why is palladium so cheap right now?#
This page tracks the coin's premium, not palladium's own price level. That 32.1% premium (JM Bullion, 5-6 August 2026) reflects coin size, sovereign recognizability and elevated lease rates, not the metal's price.
Is palladium worth any money?#
Yes. Palladium trades on its own spot price, and a 1 oz Palladium Maple Leaf carried a market value of $1,841.49 on 5-6 August 2026 (JM Bullion), well above its C$50 face value.
Is palladium rarer than gold?#
This page carries no sourced palladium-to-gold rarity comparison. The two metals share only that both are struck as legal tender by national mints; no production ratio is confirmed in DailyPlatinum's sourcing.
What metal is 30 times rarer than gold?#
No primary source in DailyPlatinum's research confirms a specific "times rarer than gold" multiple for palladium or any other platinum group metal, so none is stated here.
What are the downsides of palladium?#
The Maple Leaf's premium runs wider than a plain palladium bar's, 32.1% against 12.6% to 13.4% (JM Bullion, 5-6 August 2026), and neither gets the EU or UK's VAT exemption for gold. Lease-rate stress can also widen premiums or limit supply.