The mint says "American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins are the first .9999 fine 24-karat gold coins ever struck. Why is this different from the Gold eagles?? I'm not sure what I'm missing here. Thanks, CJ
Perhaps what you are not missing is even more important. Both the $50 Buffalo and the $50 AGE contain exactly 1 oz of pure gold. In that regard there is no difference at all between the two.
They both contain one TROY ounce of gold (31.1 grams). The Buffalo is pure gold...no other trace elements...the real deal with 99.999% gold and only gold. 31.108 g (1.0001 troy oz) Diameter: 32.7 mm (1.287 in) Thickness: 2.95 mm (0.116 in) Edge: Reeded Composition: 99.99% (24K) Gold Face Value: $50 The Eagle is alloyed with elements like copper (and a little silver) to provide added strength as pure gold coins are no way as strong and hard (i.e., brinell hardness) as alloyed coins. 1 troy oz coin Diameter: 32.70 mm Thickness: 2.87 mm Weight: 1.0909 troy oz (33.930 g) Face value: $50 Also, the color of this coin is a bit rosey, due to the addition of copper. It is not a true gold color like that of the Buffalo or Canadian Maple Leaf Golds.
oops.. Dougs first mistake?.. j/k from what i heard, as Midas put it, the buffalo is pure gold - aka 24K and the eagle is 22K gold .. with both containing 1 ounce of gold ....
sorry GDJMSP, what am i missing? both coins are not pure gold at all ... the Buffalo is .9999 24K - the Eagle is .92 (there abouts) mixed with copper at 22K ... How are they both 1oz of pure gold? maybe i think i see what you are saying. they both contain 1 oz of pure gold, and then the Eagle has some copper mixed in withthe pure gold to give it a net grade of 22k ???
The buffalo is almost pure gold (close enough to qualify as 24k); the eagle is 91.67% gold (rest being silver and copper). Both coins contain the same net amount of gold, 1 troy ounce. It's just the buffalo that's pretty much all you're getting, gold and almost nothing else (probably a trace amount of copper), but with the eagle you're getting gold with some silver and copper. That's how they're both 1 ounce of gold. For an easier illustration, imagine two theoretical gold coins: Coin A weighs 1 ounce and is pure gold. Coin B weighs 2 ounces and is 50% gold. The purities are different obviously, but in either case you have the same net amount of gold, one ounce. That pretty much sums up the difference gold-wise between the buffalo and eagle; they both have the same amount of gold in them, but the buffalo is more pure, the eagle is less pure but weighs more to give the same net amount of gold. Hope that clears it up.
It seems a bit off that both the Buffalo and the Eagle have the same diameter but the Eagle, despite having the same gold content is slightly thinner than the Buffalo. I would have expected it to be thicker to accomodate the additional Ag-Cu. Is the alloy is more malleable; I imagined that the 4-9 Au, being softer would be more so...?
The alloy is actually less malleable; the addition of copper and silver makes it harder than the almost pure gold the buffalo is made from. (This makes the coin more durable, but wears the dies down faster.) The alloy is also more dense than pure gold; is why the coin made from it weighs more despite having less volume.
they are not both 1 oz of pure gold one. the american gold eagle is one 1oz of 22K GOLD as the american buffalo is 1 0z of 24K GOLD. the american eagle is made up of gold with alloys of copper and gold. the buffalo is made up of pure gold no alloys so there is actually a big difference in compistion and price lol.
No, they are both one ounce of gold. The AGE weighs more than one ounce to account for the other alloys, it's still the same amount of actual gold.
Not correct. They are the first US coin, but not the first .9999 fine gold coin. Don't trust the dimension shown earlier in the thread. Those figures have to be taken from measurements of the diameter and EDGE thickness of a finished coin. If you use the figures they give for the .9999 buffalos to determine volume and multiply it by the specific gravity of pure gold you come up with the coin weighing 46.8 grams or almost an oz and a half. If it is the edge thickness of the finished coins it also explains the apparent size difference. The softer .9999 fine coins strikes up more fully using the same pressure resulting in HIGHER rims and a thicker edge. The alloyed eagle is less malleable and so doesn't flow as readily and doesn't strike up the rims as thick. The alloy is NOT denser than the .9999 fine coins. Pure gold has a density of 18.88 the 22KT eagles have a density of 17.45
My concern about the differences is'nt the gold content, but about the mintages. Other sites mention a mintage of around 12,000 for the Eagles and 300,000 for the Buffalos. Some collecters say that the Buffalos are the mints way of competing with the world market. Luckily, I bought the gold one ounce Eagle before it went up in price. Otherwise, the original purchase prices were about the same. I'am thinking I'am going to sell the Buffalo because the Eagle looks so much better.
I don't think the buffalo will ever go up much due to the high mintage beyond the price of gold so it might be better to buy a low mintage coin if you want something that will appreciate numismatically.
Any thoughts as to what the 24k gold design might be if not the buffalo .. why change it.. its a beautiful design!!!
