Gold Bullion Coins

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Gold Bullion Coins:

Gold Bullion Coins - An Introduction

While gold coins were once units of currency alongside silver and the less precious copper, the relative scarcity of gold and the subsequent changes to the economical status of this modern age has rendered precious metal coin all but obsolete, except in the form of bullion coins - a widely-traded commodity exchangeable to, or convertible to cold hard cash in times of crises. [1]

The lure of bullion investments lies in the fact that unlike money which can fall prey to the whims and fancies of the economy, gold and other precious metals are considered a hedge against currency devaluation, and are hence popular in the modern era of ever-increasing debt. Gold bullion is widely regarded as a far more dependable long term investment; with the only exception being price drops in the event of a sudden rise in the quantity of the precious metal avaiable, eliciting a drop in the demand.

Bullion investments are usually done in gold, but other precious metals such as silver, platinum, and palladium are also employed as bullion investments, either in the form of coins, or bars and ingots. When deciding to invest in bullion, one must consider several factors prior to committing a certain amount of one’s income into the investment of bullion. The most basic things that should be considered are the following: availability, price, demand, and marketability. If a precious metal is scarce, it will no doubt be expensive, but a metal that is too scarce will then be harder to procure and purchase. Investing in a precious (but decidedly ‘common’) metal such as gold is a far more viable investment than investing in say, palladium, as gold is more widely available, with sufficient purchasing power in itself, and is in high demand whereas palladium is not only rare and doubly expensive, but may be less easily tradeable. [2]

Modern coinage was introduced in different countries at different times. The British Great Recoinage of 1816 introduced a set of currency coins produced to a high standard of machine accuracy - and thus, importantly accurate weight. However the commonly accepted date of the advent of modern gold coinage is generally accepted as 1873, when the German Empire introduced the German gold mark[3] as a standard coin that replaced the Gulden[4] issued by the Holy Roman Empire. While machine-made standardized gold coins have existed since 1668 [5] with the introduction of the 'milled' guineas developed by the Africa Company for Charles II, it was not until the introduction of the Goldmark, that the true advent of modern coinage began, along with the development of several standard currencies that would become commonplace in latter centuries. [6] While the Mark was as a "gold standard" coin was abolished during 1914, several modern gold coins from various Empires (British, German) and democratic countries (America) continued to be used - only in the form of bullion. Nowadays, gold bullion coins continue the tradition - being made at specific weights and valued according to the current spot price of gold.

Nowadays, gold coins are still produced in limited quantities by some countries although they no longer serve as legal tender and are sold to chiefly to collectors as well as individual bullion investors who wish to acquire gold wealth. With the introduction of paper money in the West between the latter part of the 1700s on to latter 1900s, the gold coin no longer served as standard currency. Because gold as a commodity did not depreciate, it was highly useful for the growth of a country's economic status. Because of this, modern gold coinage was all but abolished for general usage in the United States by the Executive Order 6102 passed by former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This order prevented the hoarding of gold coins in a bid to help boost the country's lagging economy recover from the Great Depression. [7] While gold coins are still issued by many countries (i. e. American Gold Eagles, Chinese Gold Pandas, Canadian Maple Leaf, Gold Britannia, etc.), they are now considered no more than collector's items and investment material, and are not made en masse for general circulation.

Benefits Of Gold Bullion Coin Investment

One of the advantages of gold bullion coins as an investment commodity is their potential status as tax-free investments, depending on your location. For example in the UK, gold, silver and platinum bullion coins produced by the Royal Mint are exempt from capital gains tax - however bullion bars are not, neither are bullion coins from other mints.

Gold Bullion Coins - References:

[1] http://www.galmarley.com/framesets/fs_monetary_history_faqs.htm
[2] http://sam.davyson.com/as/physics/aluminium/siteus/history.html
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilder
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_gold_mark
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldgulden
[6] http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/goldcoinsbriefhistory.html
[7] http://www.the-privateer.com/1933-gold-confiscation.html

Note - this site provides general information about gold, silver, coins and bullion. None of the contents of this web site should be seen as financial or investment advice.