I am frequently asked to value gold coins and this is a list of the more popular gold coins usually found in Ireland.  In perfect condition, a gold coin has a fixed weight but, as they get worn and polished over the years, they can lose up to 15% in weight.  This affects their bullion value and this is why discerning buyers actually ‘weigh’ the coin(s) before giving a price.

• The prices in the tables below are for the gold bullion content only, based on the London Gold Exchange prices.

• A coin dealer or a jeweler will offer the gold price minus their individual margin when buying these coins.
  • These margins vary from buyer to buyer, so I am not going to comment on individual pricing strategies here.
• Specific dates, design variations or errors may be worth considerably more than the gold price.
  • A piece of precious metal has a ‘bullion value’ and this price tends to be the lowest
  • A coin, on the other hand, is a ‘piece of history’, a much sought after ‘collectible’ and/or an historical ‘artefact’
  • A ‘coin’ is usually worth more than its ‘intrinsic value’ by weight, i.e. it is usually worth more than its ‘bullion price’
• This is why it is often best to consult a reputable coin dealer in the first instance.
  • scrap merchants, bullion dealers, jewelers and goldsmiths usually only know about ‘intrinsic’ value
  • specialist coin dealers should know about ‘collectible’ value

Old ‘Circulating’ Gold Coins

These coins once circulated in their respective countries, i.e. they were ‘legal tender‘Notes:

1. • The UK abandoned the gold standard in 1931
     • British gold sovereigns circulated in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa
     • They also circulated throughout the rest of the British Empire
     • Newfoundland was the only British Empire territory to introduce its own gold coin in the 19th C
     • At the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, Britain suspended the gold standard and replaced gold coins with Treasury notes
   • Germany suspended the gold standard in 1914, and could not effectively return to it because War reparations had cost it much of its gold reserves. During the Occupation of the Ruhr the German central bank (Reichsbank) issued enormous sums of non-convertible marks to support workers who were on strike against the French occupation and to buy foreign currency for reparations; this led to the German hyperinflation of the early 1920s
     • Over 70 different German ‘states’ issued their own gold coins prior to WW1
     • Some of the gold issues of ‘smaller’ states some are quite rare and are worth many times their ‘bullion value’
   • The US did not suspend the gold standard during WW1 – the newly created Federal Reserve intervened in currency markets and sold bonds to “nullify” some of the gold imports that would have otherwise increased the stock of money. By 1927 many countries had returned to the gold standard. As a result of WW1 the United States, which had been a net debtor country, had become a net creditor by 1919. The USA abandoned the gold standard in 1933.
2. Overall Mintages vary from year to year – some are scarce and command a premium above their ‘bullion value’
   • Mintage = number issued that year / Survival rates determine the current rarity
     • In 1933, some 445,500 specimens of the US ‘double eagle’ were minted
     • None of these coins ever ‘officially’ circulated but two are in the U.S. National Numismatic Collection
     • All of the remainder were ordered melted down but about twenty are known to have been stolen from the vaults and found their way into the hands of collectors. Nineteen of these ‘stolen coins’ were subsequently recovered by the FBI, who destroyed nine of them, making this one of the world’s rarest coins.
       • The remaining one coin is in the hands of a private owner who paid US$7.59 million for it in 2002
       • The ten others (not destroyed by the FBI) are held in Fort Knox
   • Check with a reputable coin dealer before going to a bullion dealer or jeweler
3. Individual Mintages vary from each Mint – some are extremely rare and are worth many times their ‘bullion value’
   • There are 7 different mints for British ‘sovereigns’ but they did not issue coins for all years
   • Mint Marks on modern gold coins usually take the form of a Letter, or lack thereof (for the main mint)
     • Some mint marks are scarcer than others – check for mint marks !
     • O’Brien Coin Guide: Mintages for British Gold Sovereigns
   • In the USA during the 19th C, there were many small, private mints that minted coins of good weight and standard
     • Some of these are extremely rare and sell for large sums at auction
     • Once again, check with a reputable coin dealer before going to a bullion dealer or jeweler
4. Personally, I hate to see these coins ‘melted’ since they are an important part of our numismatic history

Modern ‘Bullion’ Coin Values

2015 $50 – USA – one ounce gold eagle

They are usually 99.99% pure gold and (apart from the ‘proof’ versions) usually sell at or slightly above the gold priceThese ‘bullion pieces’ never circulated in their respective countries, i.e. they are neither ‘currency‘ nor ‘legal tender‘

Notes:

1. Proof coins are always sold a high premium (by the producer – usually The Mint) due to production and special packaging costs
2. Commemorative proof coins sell at an even higher premium because they are usually ‘limited editions’ for collectors, i.e. these are usually not suitable for bullion investment
3. Some dates are scarcer than others, and may command a premium
   • O’Brien Coin Guide: Mintages for modern US ‘bullion’ coins