Hallo all, I have been lurking around here for awhile now and thought is is time to post my question. I am starting to collecting gold coins, mostly new bullions, and the different motive they have. I know that the mintage is important for those collecting. I am torn between the different sizes that you can buy. I love the 1 oz. coins but they get a bit expencive if you want to colelct alot of coins. It seems that the 1/2 oz. coins have the least mintage of all the different sizes. I know that the premium over gold for the smaller coins is more but does the mintage off set this(being rarer)? would you collect the smaller coins (1/2 oz. in particular)?Is there even a collectors market for the 1/2 oz? Here are the rule I would like to follow (if possible 1. collect only gold coins with the gold content stamped on the coins. 2. Collect one coin from each country 3. expand the collection to the different motive in each country (motives I like) 4. grabing a few coins that are also the same size but do not have gold content stamped on them. Many thanks
hello rainwalkers, welcome to the forum! I think the market for the coins you are talking about is mostly dependant upon the spot price of the bullion in the coin. 1/2 ounce, 1 ounce, whatever you have. Some demand a premium x% over bullion value on the books. I have a couple 1/2 ounce pieces, myself - but most of my bullion coins are 1/10 ounce, because of price range and design. I think that, from a value standpoint, 10 of the 1/10 ounce pieces would be about the same as one full. The market is about the same.
There is a market for modern gold coins, but the number of those who collect them, as opposed to those buying them for bullion, is somewhat limited. And from the tone of your post it seems you are interested in the potential value increase more than collecting for the fun of it. At the present time, certain dates and denominations of the modern gold coins have been appreciating in value. But there is no way to know if that will continue or for how long. It has only been the last few years that value has appreciated much at all. So, if I am correct in my assumption about your reason for collecting, then I would suggest a different route. I would recommend collecting older gold coins from countries other than the US.
Australian Gold In reference to your post The Australian gold Nuggets have the gold content stamped on the coins. Their sizes range from 1/20th of an oz to 1 kilo - a price for every budget. The coins change each year so you can tell the year just by looking at the coin design. Have fun Leave some for the rest of us.
Rainwalkers, I started a world gold collection a couple of years ago and have enjoyed every minute of the hunt. It really doesn't matter to me whether or not it is bullion as all of it is GOLD. I do like the beauty of the old gold and purchased a much sought after 1897 Netherlands "Childs Head" Wilhelmina just this past weekend for less than I would have paid for a 1/4 ounce of bullion! Don't sell yourself short by limiting purchases to bullion as there are a lot of beautiful gold coins out there that can provide you, your family and friends, with a huge amount of history and educational opportunites and much of it will cost less than the price of bullion. Welcome to gold and enjoy the hunt! Keep us posted!
Hi I have not ruled out the old gold coins, just wanted to give me time to learn more about them before I dive in I did pick up a 1968 Sovereign yesterday because it was cheap (spot price). Just wanted info on the bullion coins because I have just started out and the Bullion coins can be bought at the banks, plus some really look great (panda, Philharmoniker) . I am looking for the potential value increase because it add to the fun of collecting, but only if the coins looks good to me. GDJMSP So, if I am correct in my assumption about your reason for collecting, then I would suggest a different route. I would recommend collecting older gold coins from countries other than the US.--- Sorry for the novice question but why not the US coins? crystalk64 I need to buy a book so I can see the coins designs. I have no idea how much gold the coins has. I have much to learn
There's a couple of reasons actually. First of all the US coin market has been in very bullish phase for going on 5 years now. And like all markets, the coin market cycles up & down. I think this down phase has already started. And typically bear markets will last for up 10 yrs. So buying US coins & expecting value increases would be oxymoronic. Secondly, if you were to compare world gold to US gold you would find that in regard to rarity, mintage, date and cost - the world gold coins had smaller mintages, has fewer surviving examples and can be many times more rare than US coins. Bust most importantly - the world gold coins are a fraction of the cost of US gold. For years, world coinage was not very popular among collectors. That is changing now in a big way. So world gold has a much, much better chance for future value appreciation.
The question I have always had was "how much gold"? You know as well as I do that all that foreign gold coinage isn't the same in purity. So what are you actually buying, in the way of gold weight. A part of the difference in pricing could be a reflection of the amount of gold in the coin, and not if it is domestic or foreign. Just a thought!
Good point Old Dan but I still feel the extra splash of history and culture are well worth the efforts. We can by a million bullion coins and with each purchase NOTHING changes, which is great if you are only interested in purity or investing, but being a coin collector I seem to look for other things as well and you know exactly what I mean. RAINWALKERS---Please do a LOT of comparison shopping before EVER buying anything from a bank. I have yet to see a bank sell coins or bullion at a reasonable price as their markup is unbelievable. Almost as bad as the home shopping network!!! There are plenty of coin dealers out there who would LOVE to have your business to tread lightly when you do jump in! Last but not least----ENJOY the hunt and the priviledge of owning what you so desire!
It is something that needs to be considered. But take those ducats I collect - .986 gold. The older hammered coins I collect - .999 gold. The Venetian ducats - .999 gold. The French coins from the 17th century and early 18th - .917 gold. More modern French gold 18th, 19th & 20th centuries - .900 gold. The US gold coinage - varied from .8992 to .9167 depending on date with the majority being .900 gold. It just gets better & better
