Are gold coins being melted in quantity?
Overdate
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The price of gold remains high, and premiums on common (and not so common) gold coins have disappeared, Much of the demand is coming from central banks that prefer gold bars. Any ideas as to how much melting is happening now?
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It's a good time not to be selling any gold coins. If the Mint's sales data is meaningful, the number of buyers/sales volume of premium "collectible" gold coins is only about 1/2 that of recent years. Does this mean that 1/2 of all previous issues are being sold off?
Personally, my gold spouses and gold commemoratives will be on the chopping block the next time that I need money for a project, but I'm in no hurry. Based on their historical lack of popularity, they may become rarities, but will people even care?
Rarity, or scarcity may not be much of a factor in (most) areas of gold coin collecting until the dust settles - which could take a few more years before the supply & demand for many issues is reconciled.
I did harvest the premiums on some early date fractional AGEs last year for a nice "profit" - I thought that the timing was right but only time will tell whether or not those premiums will still be maintained in the future. I was all excited to have loaded up on 2019 Gold Buffalos which are the lowest mintage of the regular issues - but it's somewhat doubtful that they will ever develop a collector premium. And so it goes.....
I knew it would happen.
.9999 gold is great gold no matter what trinket a sovereign mint stamps it into. Gold spouses have always been a great bargain.
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Some of the guys who work in shops and rub elbows with a few dealers might be able to give us an idea of the amount of melting that's taking place. It would be very interesting to have a clearer picture of what's being melted.
I knew it would happen.
There are anectdotal reports of melting. I suspect the bulk of the Fairmont Collection may have been sent in for melting, at least the non-certified coins.
We were about to see this phenomenon with silver in 1980 before the price crashed.
Vermillion enterprises on YouTube out of Florida says they are sending pre33 to burn...pictured a $20 liberty and some Indians.
Someone locally should work with him to buy up the pieces and profit.
I'm sure they aren't burning the better dates.
Thinking of pre-33 US gold going to the melting pot is a sad thought. I guess I am a bit eccentric, but I have always thought that this was a nice way to accumulate gold. I guess the implication is that if I take a roll of non-cull AU double eagles to a show, I will get offers well short of spot?
If we curse FDR for melting down all those gold coins in the 1930's, it's a bit hypocritical to do it today even with the excuse of "well, they're not valuable dates/mintmarks and they're in low-graded condition."
JMHO
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FDR can be cursed because he gave people no choice.
If somebody chooses to melt the coins today, that is their prerogative.
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Did anyone go to jail for not turning in their gold?
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Grok said yes.
Dealers are doing the melting....and sometimes just to arbitrage profits. I'd rather the coins be appreciated by strong hands holders for their numismatic and historical worth.
Roger Burdette's Saint-Gaudens book details some of the cases.
One gent tried to get $5,000 in gold from JP Morgan Bank and they took it back. Others sent gold overseas (Abe Kosoff's firm) and were forced to retrieve it. Izzy Switt had a briefcase full of gold coins seized.
A trial and jail were time-consuming, for the most part, they just wanted the gold.
Apparently very few strong hands are willing to outbid dealers paying melt or less.
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ask a refiner
I did just that. Unless impaired the answer is no. My connection told me he (his company) took in over 250 Krugerrands the other day. They have buyers waiting in the wings to buy them.
Zero need to melt when there are still people buying it in coin form, directly through their accounts at the refiner.
The age old question is “ got gold ?” If so, you got money.
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Krugerrands and other gold coins struck in single and fractional ounces for the bullion market (such as Gold Eagles, Maple Leafs and Britannias) are less likely to be melted, due to metallic as opposed to numismatic demand. The melts I heard about involve modern commems and common-dated coins that circulated as money before the early 1930s.
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Correct, good observation. Because of the price of gold from 2010-24 there was lots of demand for fractional coins. Depending on 1/10th or 1/2 ounce...the premiums could be anywhere from 10-40% over spot gold.
You wonder if unlike pre-1933 gold and commemoratives if the premiums on those will hold or even EXPAND as the price of gold is now just under $3,500 oz.
As I mentioned in another thread, cant give it away, most going to smelter.