The precious gold coin is made almost entirely of gold which is usually 0.9999 in purity. The gold coin, unlike newer forms of this investment such as a gold ETF, has been around ever since the concept of money was invented. Gold, in its natural state, looks like a yellow piece of rock which is found naturally in the Earth. It is often discovered around water beds of streams and rivers and can be mined from mountains and hills.
These days, gold is mostly mined by private companies in bulk and sold to the Government for minting. The US Mint is the country’s largest minting plant. They distribute gold bullion to all financial institutions as a way of insuring the dollar’s value. In theory it can replace the dollar in case of the dollar decreasing in value and economical down turn.
In the private sector gold coins are collected by gold coin collectors due to their increasing value. They are however also a primary vehicle for gold investors in addition to the gold bar or more advanced investments like a gold bullion ETF. In the last several years gold’s’ value has tripled and keeps going up. It has very little depreciation and its value is based on supply and demand, just like other commodities such as oil.
There are many types of gold coins available today. The type of coin you get depends on the location you obtain it from. Every country you visit will have their own version of a gold coin standard. In the US the most popular type of coin is the 1933 double eagle, or the buffalo head. Other coins available include the Gold Guilder, Portuguese gold coin and the Ducat. A coin from the Islamic origin is called the Tari which was the Christian designation. In the Islamic world it is designated as the dinar or ruba’i. The ruba’i is a smaller version of the dinar thus making it more popular.
Related posts: