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Interesting info the American Art Series gold medals

derrybderryb Posts: 36,781 ✭✭✭✭✭
in Precious Metals
Gold Medals were replaced by Gold Eagles

"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey

Comments

  • tincuptincup Posts: 5,122 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I actually kind of like the American Arts medallions... not sure why, perhaps because they are the first modern US bullion attempt...

    Wonder how many have been melted.
    ----- kj
  • secondrepublicsecondrepublic Posts: 2,619 ✭✭✭
    The later ones which list the gold weight (1/2 oz., etc.) are nice. I'd like to pick up a Steinbeck for the bullion stack. For whatever reason these don't seem to have almost any popularity.
    "Men who had never shown any ability to make or increase fortunes for themselves abounded in brilliant plans for creating and increasing wealth for the country at large." Fiat Money Inflation in France, Andrew Dickson White (1912)
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,112 ✭✭✭✭✭
    We melted a number of them during the runup in gold from 2008-2010.
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,110 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The later ones which list the gold weight (1/2 oz., etc.) are nice. I'd like to pick up a Steinbeck for the bullion stack. For whatever reason these don't seem to have almost any popularity. >>


    That's because they are medals rather than coins. If they were 999.9 fine gold and marked as such they would be more popular. I saw a complete set in a Capital holder that was very neat looking.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • Steve27Steve27 Posts: 13,274 ✭✭✭
    I have one of these. They were the Mint's first attempt to compete with the Krugerrand, which was the premier gold coin on the market at the time. The basic problem was they didn't monetize them, so they were just medals.

    image
    "It's far easier to fight for principles, than to live up to them." Adlai Stevenson
  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,941 ✭✭✭✭✭
    As a PM hound, they are interesting from an historical perspective. They are a beautifully rendered failed experiment.

    As has been previously mentioned, they weren't monitized. The earlier pieces don't indicate a purity, a weight, or even the fact that they're gold. And since they don't mention the United States of America, they don't even hint at being backed by the US government in regards to purity or weight, etc.
    image


    Hindsight is 20/20, but how bad were those decisions, either intentionally or unintentionally, based on how we trade gold today?

    By contrast, the bullion king they were competing against, the Krugerrand, shows the nation of origin, the weight, the fineness, and regardless of the belief of some on the boards, the krugerrand was monitized and designed to circulate--the value of one krugerrand being equivalent to the daily value of an ounce of gold.

    image
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • secondrepublicsecondrepublic Posts: 2,619 ✭✭✭
    In retrospect it's not a big deal. The US Mint moved on to making AGEs, gold Buffalos, etc. which are more effective as bullion pieces. The American Arts series had a dual goal of also celebrating artists/authors etc., unlike the Kruggerand which is a straight bullion piece. However, the early designs on the American Arts series are problematic because they don't even identify the gold amount. I would stay away from those from a stacking point of view. However, the Steinbeck piece lists both the country of origin and also the amount of gold. It's pretty similar to a Krugerrand in that way. I bet 99.9999% of people don't know that "Kruggerand" is even a currency denomination. S. Africa uses the Rand for its normal currency. Most probably assume Krugerrand is just the name of the coin - like Maple Leaf for Canada - and that was my belief as well until reading your post.
    "Men who had never shown any ability to make or increase fortunes for themselves abounded in brilliant plans for creating and increasing wealth for the country at large." Fiat Money Inflation in France, Andrew Dickson White (1912)
  • WhiteTornadoWhiteTornado Posts: 2,102 ✭✭✭
    I have the one-ounce Louis Armstrong piece, always have liked it. Picked it up about 20 years ago.
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,112 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I own two sets because I bought one long ago, and then a friend needed to sell a set because he was buying a house.
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,110 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I own two sets because I bought one long ago, and then a friend needed to sell a set because he was buying a house. >>



    What are the sets selling for these days? Do you have them in some type of album? I think they are a neat series and a great way to own some gold.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,112 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My own set is in a nice wooden box. The extra set is just in flips.
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,941 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Apmex lists the box set, but it's currently out of stock:

    http://www.apmex.com/product/77996/u-s-mint-gold-8-piece-commemorative-arts-medals-set

    image
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
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