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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.
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.
Bullion coins
Other than collector's gold coins, gold bullion coins are popular among people who desire a "hedge" against currency inflation or 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 precious metal price. (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 symbol ISO 4217.
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 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.
Games
Gold coins are also used as currency in a number of games including Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot, and Shadowbane.
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
- Carat (purity)
- Gold bar
- Gold as an investment
- Silver coin
- Palladium coin
- Platinum coin
- History of coins
- List of coins
- Numismatics
- Precious metal
External links
- Articles on Gold coins
- Gold Coins - A Brief History
- A History of Gold Coins
- Gold Coin Pictures
- Bullion gold coin live prices
- The Museum of Gold Coins
"Gold coin"