The Rising Popularity of Gold Coins

The minting of gold coins for commerce has been in existence since before 2700BC. They represent one of the earliest forms of currency.

The Egyptians around 2700 BC were the first people who crafted the first and original gold coins of very impure gold, intended to be used as a form or a gift and later on as a form of commerce and business. Later, King Croesus, of Lydia between 560-546 BC minted gold coins for use in commerce.

In modern times, there are still gold coins being produced in many countries, but the modern bullion coin is of much higher quality and specification have continued to evolve and expand into other precious metals. Nowadays, bullion coins come in gold, silver and platinum, as well as other minor metals such as palladium.

Popular gold Bullion Coins

A bullion coin usually in gold metal is considered to be a reliable quantity and purity of the precious metal.

Bullion coins do not carry a meaningful face value, as their value is mainly dictated by their troy weight, the current market price of the precious metal and the prevailing premium that market wishes to pay.

Many bullion coins produced by governments are minted with a face value. This is done in order to bestow legal tender status on the coin, which makes it easier to import or export across national borders. The face value of the coin is almost always significantly less than the actual value of the coin.

Today, as bullion gold coins are increasing in popularity many leading producer countries are seeing a good future in gold bullion coin production and increasing the variety and quantity of the coins they produce. Due to the high demand, and limited mint runs, shortages of coins are commonplace. However from a gold bullion investors perspective the weight and purity of a coin are the paramount considerations.

Collector Coins

Due to the many types of gold bullion coins that are available to the market, investors and collectors alike need to make a decision on what they will buy, and what they will pass over.

There are a many factors that determine whether collectors or investors will demand or avoid a particular bullion coin. Amongst these factors are the following:

The rarity of the gold coin. Some years of gold bullion coins were produced in very small numbers. For example, certain Sovereigns are particularly rare. Some years were not produced at all. It has been said that some fake Sovereigns have mint dates on them that were never produced, which makes those fakes easy to spot

If the coin was produced by a "Government Mint" or a "Private Mint". Bullion coins produced by government mints are almost universally in greater demand than those "coins" or "rounds" produced by "Private Mints"

The condition of the coin will determine its value. Even though a bullion coin that is scratched or dented it will contain the same weight and purity as a perfect example. The damaged bullion coin will trade at a discount, as it cannot be considered as a collector's item.

Many bullion coins particularly in the United States are graded for numistic value. Higher grades of bullion coin can command higher prices due to numistic value attached to the coin. It is a matter of some debate amongst collectors as to the value of graded bullion coins.

Article Published On: 03 April 2009
Article Revised On: 11 May 2011

Disclaimer
The above article is for information purposes only, and is not advice. Its accuracy cannot be guaranteed and no responsibility for errors or omissions can be accepted by the website owners.

Bullion Supermarket > Bullion Information > The Rising Popularity of Gold Coins

	USD	Date
GOLD	1,719.00	06/02/2012	PM

The Rising Popularity of Gold Coins

Popular gold Bullion Coins

Collector Coins

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