Before You Buy Gold Coins
Gold coins, a classic collector’s item, can be bought for a number of reasons; they are beautiful, they can have historic and artistic value, and they represent a financial investment. What gold coins to buy depend on your motives.
Gold Coins versus Cold Coin Bullion
Before the 1930s The US, and many other countries around the world, were on what is known as the gold standard. This meant, among other things, that gold coins were often minted as legal tender. A “true” gold coin if you will.
This is not done anymore. Gold coins made today are gold bullion, shaped as coins, often with various artistic engravings. In other words, what gold coin to get, depends partly on whether you want a coin made of gold or gold shaped like a coin.
Legal Tender Gold Coins
The standard size of gold coins is considered to be one ounce. If you want to buy legal tender gold coins, the American $20 gold coin was about this size. Other smaller denominations included $10, $5, $3, and $1.
Popular foreign legal tender gold coins are the British Sovereign and The French 20 Franc coin. These are relatively small coins, the Sovereign weighs about a quarter of an ounce, while the 20 Franc weighs about a fifth of an ounce.
The value of legal tender gold coins depends not only on the weight and the current price of gold, but also on how rare, and in what condition, the particular coins are. People not only buy them as investments, but also as collector’s items, due, for example, to the history behind.
Gold Bullion Coins
Gold bullions coins’ value depends more heavily on the current price of gold, although considerations such as rarity play a part as well. It is advisable to buy gold bullion coins weighing one ounce, as these are the easiest to sell again. Likewise, buying the most well-known coins will make them easier to sell. These include the American Eagle, the South African Krugerrand, and the Austrian Philharmonic.
Before Buying Gold Coins
When you have made the decision to buy cold coins, you should learn how to determine a fair price. This is done by doing a bit of research. You need to check the price of gold as it changes daily. This can be done on the financial pages of most newspapers or on many internet sites. Since the value of the coins depend on additional factors, you also need to know how rare they are, etc.. This information can be found in coin books or by searching the internet.
