Gold coins are one of the oldest forms of money. The first gold coins in history were coined by the Lydian king Croesus in about 560 BC, not long after the first
silver coins were minted by king Pheidon of
Argos in about 700 BC.
Gold coins then had a very long period as a primary form of money, only falling into disuse in
the early 20th century. Most of the world stopped making gold coins as currency by 1933.
However, gold-colored coins (not made of real gold) have made a comeback in many currencies.
Collector coins
Many factors determine the value of a gold coin, such as its rarity, age, condition and the number originally minted. Gold
coins coveted by collectors include the Aureus, Solidus
and Spur Ryal.
In July 2002, a very rare $20 1933 Double Eagle gold coin sold for a record
$7,590,020 at Sotheby's, making it by far the most valuable coin ever sold to date. In early
1933, more than 445,000 Double Eagle coins had been struck by the U.S. Mint, but most of these were surrendered and melted down
following Executive Order 6102. Only a few coins managed to survive.
In 2007 the Canadian Mint produced a 100 kg gold coin with a face value of
$1,000,000, though the gold content was worth over $2 million at the time. It measures
50 cm in diameter and is 3 cm thick. It was intended as a one-off to promote a new line of Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins, but after several interested buyers came forward the mint
announced it would manufacture them as ordered and sell them for between $2.5 million and $3 million. As of May 3 2007 there were
five confirmed orders.[1] Austria had previously produced a
37 cm diameter 31 kg gold coin worth €100,000 ($153,000).[2]
In October 4, 2007, David Albanese (president of Albanese
Rare Coins) stated that a $10 - 1804-dated Eagle coin (made for President
Andrew Jackson as a diplomatic gift) was sold to an anonymous private collector for $5
million. [3]
Bullion coins
Other than collectors' gold coins, gold bullion coins are popular amongst people who desire a "hedge" against inflation or a store of value. South
Africa introduced the Krugerrand in 1967 to cater to this market; this was the reason
for its convenient and memorable gold content—exactly one troy ounce. It was the first
modern, low premium (i.e. priced only slightly above the bullion value of the gold)
bullion gold coin. Bullion coins are also produced in fractions of an ounce – typically half ounce, quarter ounce, and one-tenth
ounce. Bullion coins do not carry a meaningful face value, as their value is mainly dictated by their troy weight and the current market price of the precious metal. (If
a face value is minted on the coin, it is done for legal or other reasons and it is nearly always significantly less than the
actual value of the coin.) Gold has an international currency code of XAU under ISO 4217.
Gold bullion coins usually come in 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/10 and 1/20 oz. sizes. Most countries have one design that remains
constant each year; others have variations each year, and in most cases each coin is dated. A 1/10th oz bullion coin is about the
same size as a U.S. dime. A 1 oz. gold bullion coin is about the size of a U.S. half dollar.
Other gold bullion coins, many named after their design features, include:
Counterfeits
There are well made counterfeit gold coins in circulation. For example, the
Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle omega counterfeit is infamous for its complexity; and has fooled
many numismatics experts. It is a high relief business strike, and due to the extensive wear
on the die, these coins were not made for many years. For poor counterfeits, a good scale can usually tell if it's counterfeit or
not; however, there are many well made counterfeited ancient coins that not only use gold, but the correct amount as well.
The US $20 gold coin ("double eagle") has raised lettering around its rim. If the coin is uncirculated, the letters will be
flat on top. If slightly rounded, and the coin is uncirculated, it is a counterfeit. However, some counterfeits do not have this
defect.
There are other counterfeit double eagles in which the gold and copper alloy was not thoroughly mixed. These counterfeits will
have a slightly mottled appearance.
An old practice to test whether a gold coin was counterfeit was to bite down on it. Since pure gold is relatively soft any
base metals mixed with the gold to lessen its value will also harden the coin, and so make it harder to bite on. The majority of
bullion counterfeits (of all types) are rare, and fairly easy to detect when comparing its weight, color and size to an authentic
piece as the cost of reproducing any given coin precisely can exceed the market value of the original's.
Games
In the fictional settings of innumerable board games and video games, including titles such as Dungeons and Dragons, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, RuneScape, Dark Age of Camelot, Champions of Norrath,
, and Shadowbane, gold or gold coins
are used as in-game currency.
Further reading
- Robert Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World: From Ancient Times to the Present - An Illustrated Standard Catalogue with
Valuations (Coin and Currency Institute, 2003)
See also
References
External links
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