? first gold purchase
Melmcbee
Posts: 168
What would be a good start if you wanted to buy gold coins. What are the lower end valued gold coins? All of the gold that I see posted are beautiful older collectibles. I am assuming that even though the price of gold is going up that the value is also in the year it was minted. I purchased some 2000-2004 Sacagaweans and I love the gold color. What is the metal in these Sacagawean dollars. I'm sorry for the lame questions and have tried for a week to think of a way to ask about gold without sounding so blasted new. But I have decided to just ask for advice and maybe some pictures. To the gold collectors out there..... What were your first purchases and why. Thanks in advance for any help.
Melanie
0
Comments
I think a good start would be a PCGS or NGC certified MS63 Saint Gaudens $20.
Good luck.
There are many to choose from. The most expensive is the Jackie Robinson $5 in PCGS MS69. It sells for around $2,500.00.
If you go this route, be sure to acquire a coin that is not toned and that is haze free. Some of these $5 gold coins have developed haze and/or have begun to tone so be sure to verify with the seller that the coin has none of these "problems". The large majority of collectors of modern gold commemoratives do not want toned or hazy coins.
If your primary interest is investment, you should be able to find unslabbed coins or coins with "problems" for slightly more than the melt value of the coin. With the price of gold at $440, the gold melt value of a $5 gold commemorative is around $106.42.
The modern gold $5 commemoratives were made in both proof and mint state (BU). The proof versions are less expensive than the BU version sometimes significantly so due to the proof versions being produced in greater quantity. The exceptions are the very common issue $5 gold commemoratives where the PR and BU sale price is based primarily on the coin's gold bullion content.
If you are interested in US circulating gold, I would suggest AU 20th century type gold. The price isn't out of control, and you get a really nice looking coin for your collection. There are plenty of certified AU coins out there...probably mistakes by people who thought they had mint state coins. With some searching, you can build a nice looking type set to enjoy.
Tom
The lowest "end" would be modern gold bullion, which generally trades at or just above spot, but I wouldn't recommend collecting common modern bullion (there's tons of it in high grade and they quickly get boring -- nice coins to be sure, but it's bullion).
If you've never purchased a gold coin before, I like the previous recommendation about modern gold commemoratives. Why not pick up one or two nice examples, say a PCGS-graded MS69 Capital Visitor Center, last year's First Flight, or any others that interest you? They're about as low-risk as you can get -- nice easy purchase for your first time out.
And once you go gold, there's no going back. Gold coins are exciting and fun.
What is the metal in these Sacagawean dollars.
It ain't gold.
GoldFinger.com has photos of USA gold coins and non-USA gold coins plus some useful information about each coin.
pure-gold-coin-store.com has a rather extensive offering of gold coins from around the world and some photos
You may also want to look at the rec.collecting.coins forum if your internet provider provides access to that newsgroup.
Entering "gold coins" on google will provide a ton of information, some of which may be useful but it requires some digging.
You may also want to search the US Coin Forum archives and enter "gold" as the search argument.
And be sure to ask questions on this forum if you cannot find what you are looking for. There are many knowledgeable people on this forum who enjoy helping people get answers to their questions.
Suggested type sets:
4 coin 20th Century type set: Indian $2.50, $5, $10, and Saint Gaudens $20.
8 coin type set: Above plus Coronet Liberty $2.50, $5, $10, and $20.
10 coin type set: Above plus gold dollar and $3.
12 coin type set: As above, but collect all 3 different gold dollar types instead of one for the denomination.
There are many, many others. Feel free to post additional follow-up questions.
Otherwise MS64 Saints.
Your interest in gold is understandable. My suggestion is a little more advanced than what you may currently want to do, but I would suggest a gold type set of various countries and periods in history. Saintguru's suggestion of the Maple Leaf is a good one. But, you can go farther back in time if you like. One of the good things about going to the darkside is that you can get very cool coins at prices that are relatively cheap to US coins. (It's a supply vs demand thing.)
Imagine getting 18th C. South American gold coins, or pre-Revolutionary Russian? Lots of history. Many of our own fractional gold coinage are fairly affordable too. How about an English fractional crown commemorating the end of the War of the Roses or an Austrian one with Maria Theresa on it?
This will be a big task, but it will keep you interested for a very long time! Caveat: make sure that the coins are authentic!
EVP
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
I agree. There are many interesting darkside gold coins that can be had for the value of the gold they cointain.
1 $1.00 Type 1 Gold Dollar
2 $1.00 Type 2 Gold Dollar
3 $1.00 Type 3 Gold Dollar
4 $2.50 Liberty Quarter Eagle
5 $2.50 Indian Quarter Eagle
6 $3.00 Three Dollar Princess
7 $5.00 Liberty Half Eagle
8 $5.00 Indian Half Eagle
9 $10.00 Liberty Eagle
10 $10.00 Indian Eagle
11 $20.00 Liberty Double Eagle
12 $20.00 St. Gaudens Double Eagle
If you haven't already, check out coinfacts (www.coinfacts.com) to do some research.
The $3 gold is far and away the most expensive, but is my favorite. I just recently purchased the following for my 12 piece set...
I am not a good person to ask. The Krause catalog, perhaps. I'd also check recent auction catalogs.
EVP
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
Tom
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
There are few good guides to values of gold coins. Generally this applies especially to
the coins made in the later years. Krause is an excellent resource for collectors but the
prices (especially for gold) should be taken with a generous helping of salt. Generally
listed prices and premiums are much higher than what you have to pay but it's getting
increasingly difficult to find real gold coins at bullion value. If you want to specialize there
are numerous home country guides and some of these are good. They usually don't ap-
pear in English, however.