Collecting and Investing in Rare Gold Coins

There are a variety of rare gold coins available in the world today, and you aren't going to find them very easily in most cases. By taking the time to check out collections from around the world and various dealers, you can find out exactly which coins are the rarest, as well as how you can get your hands on them, if you can at all. There are so many different coins that are considered rare, many because there were not a lot minted or released into circulation, and others for a variety of features that they have.

Gold coins were once used as a form of legal currency. However, they have now outgrown their uses and have been replaced by our paper money system, leaving them no longer needed as currency and only used for collecting and investing. Their value in the stock market, as well as the huge collecting market for coins, has actually made rare gold coins more valuable and collectible now that they aren't in circulation.

Some rare coins that you can find include the 1863 Liberty Head gold Eagle with a mintage of only 1,248. Some issues of the St Gaudens $20 Double Eagle are quite rare and are also exceptionally popular. You can still get many examples of these coins for under $5,000. The most rare gold coins include the 1933 St. Gaudens $20 gold coin, which at the present time includes only 1 legal example of this coin. It is the most valuable coin in the world right now.

For nearly 100 years between 1838 and 1933, the government minted an excessive amount of gold coins to be used in the U.S. and for international trade. However, most of these coins have been melted down by the US Mint or lost, making them nearly obsolete. In actuality, fewer than five percent of the gold coins that were actually produced during that time are still in existence today. Those which are left are often quite valuable and are sought after by collectors to add to their investment portfolios or gold coin collections. So, those rare gold coins are even more valuable and harder to get a hold of.

You can find rare gold coins all over the world. It isn't just the U.S. coins which have become rare and valuable. Gold is still a universal tender, and is publicly traded in New York, London, Zurich, Hong Kong, and Sydney, making it popular for collectors and investors around the world. However, the coins that come from the U.S. are generally of a better quality, making them a better investment. When it comes to collecting gold coins, you want to consult with professionals to find specific coins to collect, rather than buying bullion coins, which is a bulk method for purchasing gold. Gold bullion coins are popular today as a store of wealth, but are not quite yet on the rare gold coins list.

Alan LeStourgeon runs a gold coins web site where you can find information on precious metals and the current gold price to keep track of your gold investments.

By Alan LeStourgeon
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