Why So Expensive? Canada Gold Maple $200

Supply and demand.

@DBM I agree to that but still can't explain the nearly $3000 difference between Hong Kong coin trader/distributor and ebay.

Sometimes there is no logical reason for a huge spike in prices. The perception that prices will go up may cause them to rise due to speculation, where the supply is limited.

I avoid anything with unstable prices. It is as likely to drop suddenly as it is to rise suddenly.

I agree that this is the situation. There are apparently relatively few of these up for sale right now, so sellers will try to make a killing.
If someone wants to actually pay $17,000 to have one (but apparently NOBODY has), then that becomes the current value.

But until there is evidence someone has paid that much ...

But the coin is for 2021, the mint is really becoming a business. They can decide to min how ever many they want but mint 50 and sell them for 100k a piece or mint 100k and sell them at 50 a piece. Kinda controlling the bullion market. And they could depreciation in value, a crazy investment that's for sure.

@tdziemia, thanks for correcting me there. Absolutely right didn't mean bullion market, but selling 50$ worth of gold or 150$ for 100,000$ is like selling a masterpiece work of art lol, seems a bit overboard.

In the world of non-circulating coins there are both precious metal bullion and collector coins. Generally speaking, bullion coins are minted to an "Brilliant Uncirculated" standard and most coins are minted in large if not massive quantities. These are available at bullion dealers for the market price of the precious metal + a small premium to allow the dealer some margin on the transaction. Recently the premium has been higher than usual for a number of reasons that are discussed on the Precious Metal forums. Occasionally, a bullion coin will go for a significant premium based on some measure of desirability vs. rarity... Australian Swans or older Chinese Pandas come to mind but remember that any premium you pay is a potential loss if the value of the underlying precious metal is stable as dealers will only pay market price (or sometimes slightly lower) for a bullion coin. When buying bullion, you are speculating that the value of the underlying metal will appreciate over time such that your purchase premium is covered at the time you choose to sell.

The coin the OP listed though is one of the other category... collector coins. These are typically sold by the various world mints at significant markups. They tend to be struck to a higher quality... specimen or proof and have specific mintage amounts. This coin while appearing on the surface to be just another 2oz gold maple leaf, was minted in proof quality with a "super incuse" maple leaf... clearly intended for a collector market... not a bullion investor. The RCM usually sells gold collector coins at around 1.6x current spot price and depending on perceived desirability and rarity the value can go up or down. Most mints issue too many collector coins and you can often purchase a release from a few years earlier at auction for much smaller multiples than the original sale price... that said, there are always the rare items that go up in value and retain that value.

While bullion issues can be purchased for collections, most are purchased as an investment vehicle. Collector coins should never be purchased for investment purposes as it is highly unlikely that you will return your investment... Collector coins are for a collection hobby... so in that respect, they do have more in common with a work of art though nobody would accuse the proof incuse maple leaf of being a Mona Lisa.



Today's bullion spot price is $1,799USD My local Bullion Dealer (Vancouver Canada) will sell you a 1oz bar for $1861 (3.4% markup) a 1oz Maple Leaf for $1,880 (4.5% Markup), a 1oz Gold Eagle for $1,979 (10% markup) and a bunch of other non Canadian, special issue or other weight options for similar reasonable markups. (All prices in USD) Most LCS I know refer to other internet dealer prices for collector coins so the actual price of any item "sold out at the mint" will be whatever the market is prepared to pay.

My only comment on ebay is as noted above.... You can ask for the moon for anything on ebay... doesn't mean the sale closes. Only look at "Sold" listings on ebay and if a seller is serious about moving an item and have a "Make an Offer" option, you can often make a successful offer more consistent with a price closer to current market value. Just remember... if paying more than 5-10% over the bullion spot price for a coin you had better want it for a collection... It doesn't make fiscal sense otherwise.