A History of Gold Coins and Their Value

Gold and silver have been used to make coins for both business and trade ever since the first coins were made in Lydia, or western Turkey, in the 6th century BC. They bore faces of either a bull or a lion on the front and either a seal or a punch mark on the back. They were made from an alloy of gold and silver called electrum, which could be found in the local rivers of the region. They weighed anywhere from .2 grams to 17.2 grams. When these first coins were produced, the practice of coin collecting and investing began and has evolved in various cultures over hundreds and thousands of years.

Gold coins were extremely popular, and as the value of the dollar began to fall in the United States in the 1920′s, many people began buying up gold coins and gold bullion as fast as possible. Due to this, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order in April, 1933 stating that people were no longer allowed to personally own an abundance of gold coins, gold bullion, or even gold certificates. They were required to deliver all but five ounces of their gold to the Federal Reserve, with an exchange rate of $20.67 per troy ounce. This limitation was lifted in 1974 and gold coin purchasing and collecting became popular once again.

Gold is the favored metal for value exchange since it can be easily broken down into small portions without having its value affected. Gold is also preferred to silver because it has a higher value but lower weight, making it easy to transport, and has a higher density, making it harder to counterfeit. It also takes longer to decay than other metals, regardless of its surroundings.

The following coins are produced in various countries and traded all over the world: American Eagles, Chinese Pandas, South African Krugerrands, Canadian Maple Leafs, and Australian and UK Gold sovereigns. The Canadian Maple Leaf is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint and is the official gold coin of Canada. With a gold content of .9999%, it is one of the purest gold coins in circulation in the entire world. This means it contains no other base metals at all, only real gold from Canada. This coin was first introduced in 1979, and since then the Royal Canadian Mint have also produced the Maple Leaf coin in silver, platinum, palladium, and bimetallic.

The American Eagle gold coin comes in four different sizes (1/10 oz, oz, oz, and 1 oz) with the price varying according to the size and are made of 22 karat or 91.67% of fine gold. They were first authorized by the United States Congress in 1985, first minted in 1986, and come in a proof or bullion coin, both known to be sound investments because of their high content of gold and guaranteed quality. The American Eagle gold coin is also available in both silver and platinum. All three are leading bullion coin investments.

The American mint introduced the first American Buffalo gold coins in 1913. They became known as simply the “gold buffalo.” Shortly after that, the United States government publicly guaranteed the quality and purity of these coins, making them the safest kind of risk free trade available on the market. They are available from a chain of authorized purchasers. The American Buffalo gold coins were designed by the widely known American sculptor James Earle Fraser; they portray a Native American Chief on the front and a buffalo on the back. Also seen on the back side of the coin is the denomination and gold content of the coin and the coin’s weight in an inscription.

Nowadays gold coins are seen to be a very profitable investment because their value remains high, and because the national wealth of nearly all of the countries and civilizations in the world is measured by their total amount of gold. This also means that gold can be bought, sold, and traded all over the world without having to worry about currency exchange making it extremely profitable all over the world. If you are looking to capitalize on a price movement, gold bullion coins are the way to go. There is no timing when buying gold coins and building a portfolio like there is with the stock market, just buy one coin at a time whenever you feel that you are ready.

Investing in gold and gold coins minimizes the available risk for investors because it is a standalone investment. The value of gold is usually inverse to the value found on the stock market. Gold is considered a commodity that is always in demand regardless of inflation, thus it will always have a good return. You even have the ability to transfer gold without any documentation. You can acquire gold coins in small amounts to build up your portfolio over a long period of time. If you find that you are in need of money, you will easily be able to sell your gold at current market rates.

The price of gold is rising. Find out more about buying gold coins at www.GoldCoinCollection.net.