Posts Tagged ‘gold coins’

To some people there may be a barrier between them and their coin collecting ambitions. This barrier is the perceived cost of buying gold coins which have some collectible values to them. In reality there are many collectible gold coins which are within the price range of even the most humble budget. These include many fine examples of five dollar gold coins which are not anywhere near as expensive as some of the larger denominations that you can find.

One of the solid foundations to buying gold coins for the purpose of owning a vast collection of them is that they are also a very solid investment which has the ability to hold its value like few other commodities are able to do. This is has been proven for as long as human beings have shown an interest in this beautiful yellow precious metal. Gold in the form of gold coins for instance is typically weighed in ounces. The actual value of the coins can be measured as a percentage of pure gold within the coins. This simply means that the budding coin collector will have opportunities to buy gold coins which are smaller, like five dollar coins, and lighter in weight.

Factors to Consider

• Weight of the gold coin
• Percentage of gold in the coin
• Rarity of the coin
• Condition of the coin
• Mintage of the coin
• Historical Values

It is necessary to understand that just because the face value of the coin says five dollars it does not mean that is what its value is. Remember the value is going to be based upon other things like the percentage of gold within the weight of the coin. Still, being able to buy gold coins in the smaller denominations typically means they will have lower prices than the larger denominations.

One more thing to consider is any numismatic values which the gold coins have. These can be based upon several other factors such as rarity, condition, mintage or historical value. These are what the coin collectors will be able to learn about as opposed to merely buying gold coins for their intrinsic values. This is also a lot more enjoyable and educational as well.

The variations in gold prices this year have seen a fairly wide range when you look at certain periods of 2011. The price rising has certainly caught a lot of attention as it always does when this happens. The prices falling though seem to make a bit less of a splash in the media overall though. This year has seen gold prices reaching upwards of $1,900 while declining into the range of $1,650 recently this year as well. The fluctuations may not represent the wildest ranges ever but it does cause many of the would be investors to take proper notice of the fact that all that does go up must eventually come down.

Timing is certainly the chief element in the minds of many people who either decided to get in, get out or stay away completely. The opinions of the rapid declines witnessed latter in 2011 do range just as widely but no matter who you actually listen to, you have to wonder if gold is still worthy of investing in just to take advantage of the upward motion of its prices. This is what some call a hot topic and many say that it is too late to jump on board. We as coin collectors however really may not feel the direct impact of falling gold prices because the gold coins which we focus on have numismatic values as well as all that being a collector brings to the table so to speak.

For investors though, gold is as you know used as a hedge against the times we are experiencing economically on a global scale hence all the upward movement in price during 2011. It is, no matter what side of the fence you sit on, representative of the economic times around the entire world obviously. Gold is indeed a powerful commodity but it may be best left to those who are interested in the investing side or the gold bullion side when it comes to following the heard. We have seen some nice increases in gold coin values over the last year and more stability as well, but thankfully this is not quite so directly tied to the wild ride which gold investors have been on and will likely continue to experience into 2012 from the look of things globally.

The 5 dollar gold coin includes the Half Eagles which some people may know as part of the Liberty Head Series of coins. These are part of many wonderful coin collections today and like most things this old people can really show a great appreciation of them. Times were very different when examples of the 5 dollar gold coin were made, for instance the 1854 $5 gold coins. In comparison these coins were made much differently than the way that coins are minted today. However the technology which existed back in the 1800s has to be appreciated based upon what they had to work with. However, as technology improves so does the overall consistency of the coins being made.

If you take a look further into the coins of this era you will find the name of James Longacre who was behind the design of these original Liberty head gold coins. This is again worthy of appreciation if you consider the technology of the day. Yet it is a beautiful design nonetheless with the multiple stars around the head of the Statue of Liberty. This is obviously an attempt to show a true tribute to the wonderful statue and what it represents. The sense of freedom in the United States at that time must have been awesome.

The composition of gold within coins of the era did vary by coin with some having .900 gold. More than just a bullion value being attached to these coins, even in bad condition, the typical coin collector will certainly be able to find an appreciation for them. We see lots of older 5 dollar gold coins for sale from many different eras. Each one will have its own unique claim to fame so to speak. Yet we should never loose our appreciation for the older gold coins from the past.

Technology has changed greatly but when you look at some of what was produced with minimal tools to work with compared to the standards today, it is a wonder that any of the old coins could survive in such significant numbers as they do today. This truly does make it even more exciting to be involved with coin collecting.

The precious metals which trade in markets on a worldwide scale can allow you to see what the spot price is, yet this is an always changing figure. This can make the valuation difficult to make, but the spot price plus premium on precious metals will be the price you should expect to pay. The investors who are concerned with the actual gold or silver content are often not going to have any numismatic interests in their investments. This is the greatest difference between them and coin collectors.

Looking beyond spot price at the actual quality of many collectible coins, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf which contains ultra-high purity is going to have a very strong appeal to coin collectors. This beautiful coin is a wonderful example coming from the gold mines in Canada and can be up to .99999 fine. The face values of these coins are $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50. Coins like these are a great way to own gold which goes beyond the spot price, and offers a high degree of collectability.

These coins, along with many others, show that there is still a much stronger ability for the collectability of the gold coins to far outweigh the actual spot price of say 1 ounce of gold on any given day. The value of gold coins can be based on the particular mintage, condition, historical value and rarity among other factors. Still though there are many good reasons to simply have an interest in the actual gold content found in the most commonly found forms of gold and silver bullion such as coins, rounds and bars for investment purposes.

As the economic climate around the globe entices more people to look to gold as a secure investment, the variety of methods for doing so does provide a need to look at the different comparative ways to accomplish this. It may also open up an appreciation for the beauty of the coins going beyond just their bullion prices.