Thinking about buying my first gold coin

I have a local coin show coming to town on Sunday. I am thinking of buying a 1/10oz modern gold eagle. Either in proof or uncirculated. Is the resale better on one or another?

What should I look for when buying? What should I expect to pay at a show? I really don't know what avg gold premiums for dealers are. How much is too much?

 

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Forgot to add that I am looking to buy raw coins.

 

premiums on gold are usually $10-20 dollars more.

 

fallguy, proofs usually sell for more. However I will say that fractional gold like 1/10th oz and 1/4th oz sell for more premium but cost slightly more. They are easily sold too, its just that the average Joe may have a few hundreds in hand vs 1300+ in hand

 

keep in mind that it cost more money to make small fractional coins 1/10 and 1/4 than say a 1/2 oz'er or 1 oz. regular bullion usually sells at a small premium over spot. proofs always get more.

 

I agree with Mkman that the 1/10th proof gold eagles are a better buy than the mintstate gold eagles. Check the US Mint price on the 2013 or the 2014 1/10th proof gold eagle, right now they are about $180 ish. So when looking at proof gold eagles I would keep that in mind, you can always come home an order 1 from the mint at that price !

1/10th Proof gold eagles are really cool coins, the one in my avatar is a 1992 PF70 that I bought for less than $200.

 

I would recommend checking out Provident Metals' prices before going to the show. A fair price might be somewhere between the cash price and the cash price plus shipping. If you live in a sales tax state, I would keep that in mind as well, since it could easily run as much as the shipping expense.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies thus far.

I checked the US mint website and they are sold out of 2013's and I didn't see the 14's listed for sale yet.

And good point about tax Blaubart, and I'll have a look at provident metals. Thanks.

 

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I'm in the same boat as you. Looking to buy my first hold coin and can't afford a full ounce. I'm looking at 1/4 Eagles, I think they're called? $5 gold pieces?

 

How much are you looking to spend on your first gold coin Doug?

 

Are you buying to have one because you want it, or are you buying it hoping to make some money? Most places that will buy these coins from you will pay you spot at best with very little premium. If that's the case you are way better to save for a full ounce. Otherwise you are paying a high percentage over melt for the smaller coins with little return. Do the math and add up ten of those for an ounce and you will see how much premium the small coins cost to buy. Unless you have a place that will pay you the premium over melt be careful.

 

I would buy one because I want one. You make an excellent point though, thank you.

 

I see no use in 1/10th OZ modern gold coins, they're a bad deal if you want to invest in gold and there's no collector's value either.

 

If you mean the modern bullion 1/4 oz American gold eagles they hold a face value of $10 and the 1/10th oz are face valued at $5. If you mean pre 33' gold the $5 pieces are half eagles, with $2.5 being a quarter eagle, $10 an eagle and $20 a double eagle.

 

Why not spend a couple dollars more and buy a $2.5 classic gold coin? A common year in a high AU grade should be affordable...

 

What do they go for generally? I am not opposed that, my only concern is that I have no experience with gold coins. I am fairly knowledgable in older US silver coins, but not at all in gold. My concern would be buying a raww $2.5 gold coin that looked AU to me, only to find out that it's a problem coin and I over paid.

 

I would only buy slabbed gold to be sure they're genuine and problem-free. In the range from let's say AU-55 to MS-62 I really don't care if it's an ANACS, NGC or PCGS coin, if I think it's a good deal I go for it. Just watch a number of eBay auctions to get an idea of realized prices...

 

Around $300 would be nice, but I want a pre-1933 coin. That should easily get me a quarter eagle, but I've been told I should look at and handle a half Eagle before I decide (and take some $ from my "trade dollar" account!)

 

The quarter eagle is the $2.50 gold coin right?

Yeah, definitely skip over that one and hold out for at least a $5 gold coin. The feel is better in hand and if you have a $300 budget $2.5 I could find you a low mint state $5 for about $500-$525

On the other hand though, i myself have been looking at some older world gold as an option too.

Here's one in MS-62 and under $300 for an early 1900s world gold coin.

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That's the stuff I like.

Actually looking at gold content, that's not exactly the best buy, but I think it's a nice balance between bullion value and numismatic value.