The First Coins

It has been decided by scientists and archeologists that the first of this style of coins in history were made by the Egyptians. Apparently Pharaohs who ruled in the late 2,000 BC time period decided that they could use this style of coin as a gift. They were given to dignitaries and were often passed out to members of the lower houses as a way for the Pharaoh to show favoritism to certain people.

King Croesus, however, decided that he could create this style and to use it for money. They would not, during this time, use gold coins for sale, but instead used them to buy things. This was around the time of 560-546 BC. Around the same time, the Chinese decided to make the same style of coin and to use it for money as well, even though the two cultures were miles apart in distance as well as in ideals.
T

he 20th Century

This style has been used for centuries as a way for people to purchase good and to reward others. It was only during the 20th Century that these coins have become known as collector’s items rather than as the type of coins that are used to purchase products. Now you can find gold coins for sale in a number of places, from the internet to your local auction house.

Many do not understand what makes this style so special and so sought after by collectors. To begin with there is the pure beauty of these. Because of the material that they are made of, they are absolutely brilliant to look at. They were often carved and made into stylish designs in order to make them look even more beautiful than the natural material allows them to look.

Those who are looking for gold coins for sale can find them in a variety of places. Unlike hundreds of years ago, however, you’re not likely to find them in your local market or store. Thanks to the invention and popularization of paper money and plastic money, people no longer use this style as a way to buy things, making them only good enough for becoming a collector’s item.

Production

In order to end the bank crisis of the 1930’s, President Franklin Roosevelt decided to issue what was called Executive Order 6102. The signing of this order meant that citizens of the United States were not allowed to hard gold bullion, coins, or certificates. The Gold Reserve Act, signed a few months later, outlawed the circulation and possession of this style of coins for circulation, exempting those that were deemed collector ones. Because these were no longer considered legal tender, citizens of the US were told to turn in their coins for another form of currency.

That very year, the 1933 Double Eagles were created at a US mint. These were not to survive, however, because of the order that the president had signed. They were destined to be melted down and turned into something else. Two of these, worth $20 each, were given to the National Museum of American History and were put on display, and that should have been the only two to survive being melted down.

Switching

They, however, were not. Like many gold coins for sale that wind up being infamous, it is believed that a mint Cashier by the name of George McCann snuck out 20 or more. No one knew, however, until nine of them came into the hands of a jeweler in Philadelphia. Once it was discovered that some of them survived the melting process, the Secret Service went into action, trying to find all of these rare and very special gold coins for sale that they could.

One of these was found in Egypt and was owned by King Farouk. He purchased the coin legally but through a complication, the government was unable to get it back from him, and it disappeared.

The last Double Eagle gold coins for sale were sold in 2002, when an anonymous bidder at a Southeby’s auction purchased the rare treasure for over seven million dollars, a great amount indeed. Because they are so popular, there have been some unauthorized replicas which have been minted. Those who are looking to purchase this need to beware of these bogus coins so that they do not lose the money that they would invest in them. They are a bit hard to spot, however, as they do not have the phrase “replica” or “copy” anywhere on the coin itself. Moreover, if you’re a US citizen, they remain illegal to possess, so it’s quite unlikely you can ever find one available for purchase.

There is, however, a risk. It is not difficult to defraud someone using an online auction, especially when that someone is not familiar with how the auctions run or with how to protect themselves from buying a bogus product on an online auction. There are some ways that you can ensure that the collector’s item that you’re looking to purchase online is going to be coming from a reputable dealer.

First, make sure that the seller has a good rating. Many auction sites online use a percentage system in order to rate how well the seller has been doing. They get a 100% for having an excellent rating from buyers and sellers, and the lower the number goes, the easier it is to cross them off of your list as sellers of gold coins for sale.

Make sure, before you cross someone off of that list, however, that you do a little bit of investigating, as sometimes things aren’t exactly as they appear. If a seller, for instance, has had 255,000 transactions and has a rating of 94.5, he may still be a better option than a seller who has had 2,500 transactions and has a rating of 96.6, simply because the first seller has had many more transactions and has gotten more feedback. Always try to do a bit of research on those who have gold coins for sale.

The Product

The easiest way to make sure that the product is what you’re looking for is to ensure that the picture is one that the seller has taken of the item. If you are unsure as to the condition of the gold coin, as the seller to send you a separate photo and to put it next to, or on, a copy of their local newspaper. This will make it easy to figure out if the seller is selling something based on an old photo, or if they’re actually taking a picture of the photo in real time.

Buying items for your coin collection through an online auction can be fun and can actually save you a great deal of money. Just make sure that you always look twice before buying and that you question every seller.

Believe it or not, every year thousands of people stumble across ones that are worth a great deal of money, but because they don’t know that the coin is worth money, they simply tuck it away and forget about it. Some choose to put them in a locked box to keep them safe, but others will leave their coins out in the open for anyone to see and to steal. Can you imagine how you’d feel if you found out that someone had stolen $100,000 from you? That’s what could happen if you leave a coin that is worth money laying around simply because you’re unsure what it is worth.

What to Do

If you stumble across one and you’re not sure what it’s worth, the first thing to do is to get it appraised. Find a seller who specializes in gold coins for sale so that you know that they will have a good idea about how much your coin is worth. If you find a seller who only has others, they may be able to help you, but those who specialize in that exact type of collecting would be a better, more reliable bet.

If you can’t find a dealer in your area, turn to the internet. You can find almost any coin ever minted on the internet. The trick about that, however, is to take what you read with a grain of salt. Not all sites are correct, and while many do have the right numbers attached to the coins you see on the screen, many also do not. You can use the internet, however, to give you a jumping off point so that you can figure out a ballpark figure about how much your coin may be worth.

Keeping It Safe

If you’ve decided that you don’t want to look into gold coins for sale in order to sell your find, it is imperative that you keep it safe. You should never leave any collectable item just laying around, especially when it’s worth a great deal of money. Invest in a fireproof locking box that you can have in your home and put it in there. Some people choose to vacuum seal their coins, while others do not. Ask a specialist before you choose to do either.

If you choose to sell, make sure you find a reputable dealer; one who is known for being honest about selling gold coins for sale.

You need to come up with unusual and imaginative storage locations.  Some can even be right out in the open as many people will overlook the obvious in their attempts to discover what would seem to them to be a likely hiding spot.

It’s not so unusual because companies manufacturer them, but it’s not “run of the mill” either, to store valuable treasure in a “false” book or “false” soda pop can.  These were invented for exactly this purpose – to hide and disguise valuable objects.  A false book located on a shelf with a hundred other books should not stand out as obvious to a would-be thief.  As well, a phony soda pop that is empty inside for storage, located on a back row of more soda pop cans, should not stand out as being anything different than what it looks to be.

If you have exercise equipment, such as a treadmill or a stationary bicycle, that has arms or handles that can be opened, the inside area can offer great storage space.  Plus, this ploy will keep a metal detector from finding your precious metal assets if the machine’s parts are made of metal as well.

Often, real live plants can offer a storage space for your gold coins as dirt and water will not affect them.  You can encase the round bullion bits in a plastic covering to ensure protection if the plant and pot are large enough to accommodate your assets without affecting the growth of the plant.  If your plant is in a metal flower pot, so much the better because it should assist in throwing a metal detector off its trail.

Much plumbing is made of metal or copper pipes.  This is another good venue to hide and store your precious metal treasures out of sight and next to a metal source that a burglar should cast aside as soon as they discover it’s probably the metal plumbing that is setting off the metal detector.

If you have renovation or restoration work to perform on your home, look for a good hiding spot within the building materials and reconstruction efforts that would provide a safe hiding place for your valuables.  You can also bury them underground in your yard, as long as they are deeper than four feet so that a metal detector will not find them.

Finding safe hiding spots for your gold coins can be challenging, but it can also be an adventure.  Put on your thinking cap and plot a strategy of the best places in your home where your bullion will be the safest.

Getting a Budget

Before you can go out buying, you need to know how much you can afford. While buying this style of coin is a great way to help you to solidify your future a bit, as gold is always worth money, it is not a good idea to jeopardize your current status in order to provide for your future. This is why you need to come up with a budget before you make any purchases. Figure out how much you can afford to spend a month on your collecting. If it is only $50 a month, that is fine. You can certainly find a number of gold coins for sale with that amount budgeted, and if can’t afford that much and have to budget less, you can find ones for that amount too, or you can wait a few months and can save up your money to buy one that’s worth even more.

Finding a Seller

Once you’ve figured out how much you can afford to spend every month, you next have to figure out where you’re going to be purchasing your items from. Most people look to their local area first, as you can often find great dealers without having to go very far at all. Sometimes these dealers have their own coin shops, but most of the time you’ll find ones that sell a variety of items, including coins. Ask your friends and family about their experiences and if they know anyone who is a reputable dealer. If you are unable to find someone who knows any good sellers in your area, start looking online for reviews. Quite often you can find a review for a local dealer right on the internet, helping you to know if you should trust them or not.

If you can’t find one in your local area, or if there isn’t one around that you can trust, you can always use the internet to help you to find some gold coins for sale. Just remember that there are those on the internet, just like in real life, that can try to cheat you out of your money. Make sure you get a recent photo of the coin that you’re looking to purchase, and that the seller has a great reputation online for being honest and fair. Then simply start buying! Before you know it you’ll have a wonderful collection.

Find Someone Reputable

The biggest tip of all is to find a company that is reputable. Make sure that it’s a company that has not only been selling this style of collectable items online, but that has also had a great deal of success selling them in the real world as well.
There are a number of ways that you can tell if they are a reputable company or not.

• Do they have a phone number? All reputable companies will have a phone number that you can use to get in touch with them. Don’t be afraid to use it.

• Do they have a physical address? Even if they’ve moved to selling their items solely online now, they should still have a physical address in order to send and receive items and/or money. Make sure that any company you are going to work with has a physical address.

• Are there reviews about them? Reviews are vital. Make sure that you find good reviews about any company before you look for gold coins for sale from them.

Getting a Second Opinion

You may have found the coin you’re after, but is it really worth what you want to pay for it? Before you make any purchase online, make sure you get a second, real-life opinion. Head to a dealer that you know, or one that is local and that you can trust, in order to get a second opinion. Ask them to honestly evaluate the gold coins for sale that you are looking at from their perspective and using their expertise. Any honest seller will be able to give you a clear and concise answer to your questions. It doesn’t hurt, however, to assure them that you are interested in their merchandise as well.

As long as you’re careful and take your time (compulsive shopping is not a good thing in the collecting world), you will be able to find an online dealer who is reputable and who will be able to sell you the item that you’re looking for without taking advantage of you.

The Rarity

The first thing to understand is how important rarity is. Those that are less easily found are usually worth more. Some coins are minted in a limited quality. This means that the company that created the coins decided to only release a few of them. These are often very expensive to purchase from the very start, which is why they become worth even more money when you start looking at gold coins for sale.
Then there are those coins that are released in regular quantity but that, for one reason or another, simply don’t survive. Many times people used to destroy them or to melt them down to use for something else. This meant that there were fewer and fewer of a specific type. The fewer there are, the more they are worth. If you are trying to sell ones that are more easily found, it is necessary to understand that you will not be making a great deal of money off of them, as they are too frequently found to be worth any great amount of money.

The Condition

The condition of the gold coins for sale is extremely important and is what will help any appraiser to value how much they are worth. In order to make a good amount of money off of them, even off of the rarer ones, it is necessary for them to be in good, or mint, condition. Mint condition means that the coin is fairly close to looking like what it looked like when it was first released. If it is described as near mint it is in good shape and is likely still worth a good amount of money, again, depending on the rarity of the specific coin.

Quality

While the grade and the rarity of gold coins for sale are important, the quality of them is what is the most important. It is the quality that ultimate determines the value and the price that is placed on the coins. This, however, is something that only a certified and practiced appraiser of this type of merchandise is capable of doing properly. The quality of the coin is basically what makes up the story behind the coin. How old it is, how well it’s fared, and if there is any interesting history that goes along with it. The more rich in history it is, the more money it is inevitably worth.

First Things First

The first thing that is vital is to see if the child is truly into collecting coinage or not. Most of the gold coins for sale that you’ll find may break into your budget a bit, especially if you’re looking for ones that are more rare and harder to find, so before you spend that money, you may want to have them start collection coins of smaller denomination, not only to whet their desire but also to figure out if they’ve got what it takes to truly collect something that could grow to be a very nice, and expensive, collection.

Start with a budget. Give your child a budget every month to use on their collecting. Some parents start with $5 a month, others with $20 or more. Do whatever you can financially do comfortably. Once your child has received their budget for the month, point them to places where they can purchase coins. Show them different ones online, and bring them to a dealer in the area who has regular options and gold coins for sale. They will then be able to see the huge variety of different types of these that they can collect, and will help you both to figure out what type you enjoy collecting.

Getting Serious

Once a few months has gone by and your child is still interested in collecting, it is time to get serious. You may want to look for gold coins for sale and to purchase one or two with them so that they can decide if they want to stick with the ones that are of lesser denomination, or if they enjoy the golden ones better. Younger children often tend to enjoy the yellow ones simply because they look like something a pirate would find. As you begin to get serious, you’ll want to look in all the right spots. Help your child search online auctions or even conventions to help expand the collection in the right direction.

Make sure you’ve got a way to save or to display the collection that your child has begun to collect, and don’t discourage them. They may want to buy one that you find fairly worthless. Remember that children see things with different eyes, and to them the coin may be worth more than any other coin they have collected, even if it cost a great deal less. With a little time, and a little patience, you can help your child to collect something that they’ll enjoy for the rest of their lives. And, chances are, they’ll also enjoy spending a great deal of quality time with you.

The Benefits

The truth is that there are many benefits to collecting that most people never stop to think about. Gold has been important to mankind for a number of years. It has symbolized affluence and has been made into jewelry and into precious heirlooms that get passed down from generation to generation. While it isn’t used today for real currency, it is considered to be a great thing to collect for a number of reasons, the first being for its value.

The Value of Gold

Those who are looking for gold coins for sale are often purchasing them because they want to ensure that they have a solid future for themselves or for their children. These people may like simply owning them, but are more likely on the hunt for certain ones that are worth money and that can make them money in the future. Gold has been known as the standard form of payment for many years. It is what is behind most banks and most nations and is something that never changes. Because it is a natural resource, it can’t just be created. Often, when the markets rise or fall, the value of it remains the same because it can not be created or destroyed, only changed, making it a valuable thing to own indeed.

Gold Portfolio

Some look for gold coins for sale as a way to bolster what they call their “portfolio”. This is a collection that have been chosen specifically because they are guaranteed to make, or retain, their value. Those who collect these portfolios know that they can have an instant way to get cash into their lives should anything go wrong, as it is always possible to sell this style.

Another reason why many search for gold coins for sale is because they are a legal way to defer taxation for an investment. When you purchase them you do not have to pay tax. The only time you would have to pay tax would be if you sold the coinage or liquidated it, which means that you can invest your money without having to pay Uncle Sam, often saving the collector a great deal of money.

There are any number of reasons why someone would want to start collecting these types, and a true collector would be the first one to realize how special their collection is, not only for its value, but also for its history.