Luckily, you can still buy Gold Eagle coins from online certified firms. In any event, the thing about gold is that you don’t want to wait too long to get in on it. During this recession, gold is only going to keep climbing, and it’s always best to get involved in any investment well before it peaks.

Of course, it will likely be awhile before it does peak, but regardless, if you’re looking to buy Gold Eagles, the main thing you have to keep in mind is; the sooner the better. Of course, ideally, we would have all taken our money out of stocks ten years ago and put it into gold, which was sitting at a mere two hundred fifty dollars or so per ounce in 1999. The last decade or so has been one of the most extraordinary periods for the metal, with the value nearly doubling.

You can only blame this partially on inflation. The dollar is worth less today than it was ten years ago, but it isn’t quite worth a mere quarter of what it was worth ten years ago. It really is the recession that’s driving the price up right now.

Of course, common sense will tell you that, if it’s wisest to buy Gold Eagle coins before a recession, then is it unwise to buy Gold Eagle coins during a recession? Well, to be blunt, there’s no such thing as a bad time to buy the metal. Certainly it’d be nice to have a time machine and buy the gold just before an incredible rise, but if you buy gold right now, you’re only likely to see a profit by the time this recession ends.

And to be certain, this recession is most likely not near its end. The American President himself has stated that it won’t be an overnight fix, a one year fix, or perhaps even a one term fix.

The fact is that people always want to buy Gold Eagle coins during a recession, because that is when they’re needed the most. Gold always performs well during times of economic crisis in that the metal tends to do the exact opposite of what the American dollar does. It would be easy to misunderstand this and to jump to the conclusion that "Well then, gold must be bad to hold during times of economic comfort, right?"

Well, you don’t need gold during a recession, and that is exactly why you should make sure to hold onto it, because it will be there when you do need it. You want to make sure that you have that financial backbone when it starts looking like there may be another economic crisis like the one we find ourselves in right now.

Comparing gold to a safety net, it seems silly to say "You shouldn’t bother with gold unless there is a recession going on", which is like saying "You don’t need a safety net unless you fall". Well obviously you don’t need a safety net unless you take a fall, but isn’t it better to have the net there all along, rather than wait until you fall and hope someone will set it up for you in time?

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Stewart Lawson

Aug 24, 2009

If you’re hoping to build a solid retirement account on gold, it really doesn’t matter too much if you use coins, bars or bricks, simply because whatever you choose, you’re still investing in gold, and that’s how you can make sure that your nest egg for your golden years is safe and secure in the event of a recession.

However, we’ve seen a rise in popularity for gold eagle retirement accounts. There are two obvious main reasons why gold eagles are taking precedence over various other forms of gold investing, of course; convenience and accessibility.

Where gold bars are typically sold in one ounce increments, the coins you can use in Gold Eagle retirement accounts are sold in tenth ounce, quarter ounce and half ounce amounts, as well, offering retirees to be the option of investing in smaller amounts.

The primary advantage in terms of accessibility here is for the middle class investor, who wants to use gold to secure their future, but who don’t have the money to invest in gold in the amount of one or two thousand dollars at a time.

Of course, the smaller coins also make the coins much easier for any investor to move money around in smaller amounts, without having to cash in a thousand dollars in gold every time they hope to dip into their savings.

Of course, the bottom line with gold eagle retirement accounts has nothing to do with their convenience and everything to do with their metal content: It’s gold.

It’s a good idea to keep a variety of investments for your retirement funds. It doesn’t matter all that much where you choose to put your money in that we all have our own preferences, however, you really should keep a significant portion of your retirement money in gold.

If you invest in, say, real estate for your retirement funds, then you’ll do fine when the market value is up, but not when it’s down. This applies to nearly any other investment option, as well... except for gold. Gold Eagle retirement accounts are performing at their best as other investments are taking a severe decline.

In short, those holding Gold Eagle retirement accounts have a solid backbone allowing them to invest the rest of their retirement savings however they see fit. Many see gold investing as a way of putting all your money into one place, where you’re not allowed to touch it. The exact opposite is true. Gold investing buys you the freedom to explore any front that interests you when it comes to investing.

It’s hard to get rich overnight on gold alone, but gold will provide you with security and reliability regardless of what happens. Therefore, the idea is not to use gold solely as a way to make money, but as a way to keep your money safe.

The fact is that cash loses value over time. Inflation is simply a fact of life, as certain as death and taxes. Equally true is the fact that gold tends to perform opposite of how the dollar performs, so those who keep both cash and gold eagle retirement accounts are covered in any weather.

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Stewart Lawson

August 9, 2009

The fact is we’ve been keeping in the upper eight hundreds to lower nine hundreds range for a while now and the gold price still doesn’t seem to have peaked.

Of course, the actual Gold Eagle prices aren’t exactly the same as an ounce of gold, as you’re also paying the premium for the minting process, and the US Mint doesn’t exactly adjust the price by the minute to keep up with the spot price of the metal, but obviously gold and Gold Eagle prices do tend to correlate.

If you want some basic advice regarding the Gold Eagle prices and investing right now; hold onto your coins for as long as you can.

Sell a few off when you need to, but don’t think that the metal has peaked or is even levelling off. We’ve seen a number of jumps in the price over the last year or two, some small, some major. The fact is, all those new gold investors who had no interest in the metal or investment grade coins before the recession really hit, they’re still buying more gold, and this is only driving the value higher.

So of course, you don’t need to be an economist to know that this will continue at least until the recession is over, and the recession is not over yet.

Gold Eagle prices are most likely going to continue climbing alongside the metal as the recession continues. While many were hoping that Barack Obama would be the silver bullet to kill the recession, it turned out not to be the case. It’s an uphill battle, and we’ve only just begun to really fight it.

Furthermore, while Gold Eagle prices are likely to simmer down a bit if and when this recession does end, we can only hope that these new gold investors will hold onto some of their coins and be prepared should another recession hit.

Even so, the most optimistic predictions regarding this recession have it that we have at least a few more quarters to go. We’ve seen some small flutters of life in stocks, but very few are expecting those to flourish into a full-blown comeback.

And of course, regardless of whether the recession will ends soon or not, just take a look at current Gold Eagle prices: They’re going up while everything else is going down. This alone proves the importance of gold to American investors. Simply put, investing without a foundation of gold under your financial ventures is akin to taking a road trip with neither a cell phone nor a spare tire. You might never need to call for assistance or put “the donut” on your car, but who in their right mind drives without a spare?

So our advice is simple: Keep an eye on Gold Eagle prices and keep an eye on the financial news of the day. Know what’s going on in both the economy at large and the gold market. Buy when you can, sell what you must, and hold onto some of your gold no matter what happens.

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Stewart Lawson

Jul 12, 2009

However, many are fearing a crash... no, not in gold, but in the paper gold market. If you don't know what this is, it is basically a certified dealer selling pieces of paper, which, legally, hold the same value as an ounce of gold.

Sound familiar? We've just described paper money before the gold standard was abolished in the US. In essence, gold is money, paper is not. Paper is only, well, paper, with a face value printed on the front.

In other words, if you're investing in the metal, it's a good idea to stick with the real deal. Buy American Eagle coins and you won't have to worry about the fate of a piece of paper reading "This entitles the holder to one ounce!"

Many have used the certificate route as a way to get around the pressure of actually holding the physical metal. After all, we don't all have a vault in the basement to horde bars and coins. Of course, this seems a bit odd when you consider that Gold Eagle Coins are so small that you could fit a few hundred of them in a shoebox and a few hundred ounces is plenty for most people building their wealth.

Of course, the convenience of American Eagle coins also negates the problem of the metal being a difficult commodity to easily cash in when you need some money. You can simply purchase American Eagle Coins one or two at a time and sell a few American Eagle coins likewise without having to invest in a forklift and move hundreds of thousands of dollars whenever you need a few hundred to get the car fixed.

And while the certificates are rumored to be experiencing problems in the coming months, you'll hear no such worries regarding Gold Eagle prices. Being the real deal and not simply paper, Gold investments are a tangible commodity and their value has only been going up lately thanks to unprecedented numbers of new investors looking to buy Gold Eagle coins.

The bottom line is that paper is not money. Precious metals are money. Look at the penny. The penny is worth a bit more than its own face value when it comes to metal content, which is exactly why Federal Law has made it illegal to melt them down for their copper. Metal is always worth its weight in metal, whereas, with inflation going as it is now, we may eventually see the day when one dollar bills are discontinued, as a bleached dollar bill is worth more for its paper content than a measly old dollar.

In short, it may be wiser to go with real gold than to try those certificates. American Eagles are real money, paper is not.

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Stewart Lawson

July 1, 2009

What this should suggest to those looking to purchase Gold Eagles directly from the Mint in 2009 is obvious: When the Gold Eagle coins do go on sale again, be sure to buy quickly before somebody else gets a hold of them because there's no telling if the Mint will report yet another shortage in 2010.

While many gold bloggers are ready to look at this in a negative light, even speculating that the Mint might be "stretching the truth" regarding how much gold they have access to and how high the demand really is, the fact remains that this is generally good news. After all, demand is one of the key components to gold prices so the more demand there is for the coins the more the coins in your wall safe is worth, so this event only underlines the fact that, when you purchase gold eagles, it’s still a good, safe idea. Whether you purchase gold eagles a few at a time or in large quantities, 2008 was a strong year for the metal and with unprecedented numbers of investors looking to purchase Gold Eagles, 2009 appears to be following suit.

Luckily, the US Mint isn't your one and only resource if you want to purchase Gold Eagles as you also have the option of buying from an online coin dealer. Of course even so, the worry amongst investors is that the number of Gold Eagles available in the first place will become severely limited.

In that gold coins are perhaps the very most convenient method for investing in the metal, you can see where the worry comes from. Still, the US Mint is making efforts to end the production suspension fast and get back to work putting the coins out there for investors and collectors.

Even so, many critics are claiming that the problem was foreseeable and that the Mint could have done something to prevent it. Of course the fact remains that the US Mint really had no idea how much demand there would be for these coins until the demand suddenly spiked late last year and into early this year. Perhaps the Mint will learn a lesson from all of this and keep a surplus 22 karat blanks in the future for just such an occasion, although considering that this only seems to happen about once every ten years, a temporary shortage of the coins once a decade seems a small price to pay for a solid and convenient investment option.

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Stewart Lawson

May 16, 200 

At that time, the US was a leading gold producing nation, but still lagged considerably behind South Africa, the Soviet Union and Canada. In 1980, the production of gold that had been on an almost steady downward slide since the early 1950s, began to rise again. This was no mere blip in production statistics, however. It represented a tremendous leap forward in mining technology in the form of “heap leaching.” Using this method, crushed rock is treated with caustic chemicals that are able to remove even the tiniest gold particles from the parent rock.

The result over the next decade was incredible. By 1986, when the first few years of gold Eagle investments were offered to collectors and dealers by the US Mint, US gold production had already doubled. By 1990, US gold production had increased nearly ten-fold, making the US the second biggest producer of gold in the world after only South Africa.

However, after an overall upward trend in gold production throughout the 1990s, levels began to fall off again after 1999. Since the production of 22-karat bullion gold Eagles relies, by law, on the production of gold in the United States, this development caused a small about of concern among investors who regularly bought gold bullion Eagles.

However, when the interest in gold piqued in the late 'aughts over concerns about traditional investments and currently values, the amount of gold produced by the 30 mines that make up 99% of US gold production was called into question again. Shortages made it difficult for even mid-level investors to buy gold Eagles in sufficient quantity to satisfy their need to reroute money into a safe haven.

While rationing of gold Eagles was explained as a logistical slip-up in late 2008 when the increase in demand for the coins surged considerably from even the somewhat higher levels that had been observed since 2007. As of early 2009, gold Eagle investing (especially in proof coins) continues to be hampered by rationing.

By 2008, those 30 US mines (with the vast majority of production coming from Nevada, alone) were producing as much gold as South Africa and more than both Australia, Russia and Canada. However, this still represents a further 2% decline from the previous year. In fact, just as the price of gold has increased, worldwide production also continues to decrease. Could the gold-poor rocks that benefit the most from heap leaching lead to a just as precipitous drop-off in production?

The answer most likely depends on the amount of exploration that can be funded. Unfortunately for the supply side of things, this is occurring at a time when risk-friendly investment sources and the overall supply of money in the world has shrunk. There are several mines that are in the process of opening throughout the Southwest as of the late 'aughts. But, investors who are concerned about gold bullion Eagle coin availability worry that the shortage of gold planchets will continue indefinitely as demand remains high.

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Sam Brown

April 18, 2009

For those who are not already in the know, planchets, also called “type 2 blanks” are the unmarked disks that coins are stamped from. The manufacture of these had been outsourced to private firms during the second Bush Administrations after being directly overseen by the mint for many years.

While the US Mint continues to maintain that this problem is in the process of being solved from a purely logistical standpoint, collector continue to be faced with rationing well into 2009 with no sign of letting up, with demand still historically high. Gold production in the United States still remains high, with the US regaining its position as the number two producer in 2008, it remains the only major mint still rationing its gold production.

Among the rumors that have fueled conspiracy theories among collectors is that the company that supplies planchets has been illegally using Australian gold to supply the US Mint. This is not actually true, though the Gold Corp company does operate mines in both countries. It is notable that both the Perth Mint and the US Mint ran out of 2008 coins at roughly the same time.

More likely is the explanation that they simply didn't foresee demand rising to such levels and were caught unaware. Starting at such a deficit, they've been unable to meet the continuing massive demand for gold bullion Eagles.

Whether the mint will be able to catch up in 2009 remains to be seen. Even with gold rising to $1,000 per ounce in February of 2009, investors looking to buy gold Eagles have had to look elsewhere to find either secondary market Eagle coins or invest in the coins of other nations such as the Canadian gold Maple leaf or Austrian Philharmonic coins. The 99.99% pure gold Buffalo coins have also become scarce, further straining the market for full-ounce gold Eagles as well as the fractional denominations.

For the hoards of investors that still want to keep their investment dollars in the United States with the purchase of gold bullion Eagles, the wait remains, with still no conclusive word on when the situation will improve for bullion gold Eagles. There has been some talk as to whether this situation will have a lasting impact on the number of people willing to invest in gold Eagles, but in all likelihood, the number of people who will continue to clamor for the few coins that are able to be delivered in 2009 is likely to actually increase, with an eye toward a potential numismatic value for what could be a low-mintage year for these coins in the coming years.

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Stewart Lawson

April 12, 2009

There are people out there who will only look to take advantage of investors and taxpayers, even in the middle of the hardest recession in decades. People are angry, and in a way, that’s a good thing. Some of us have become determined that we won’t be fooled again.

One of the major problems with this recession actually comes down to the way investors choose to save and invest their money. The problem really comes down to investors relying on what they’ve been using to see their money grow all along. And so, when the stocks crashed, when the banks went out of business, this was basically just burning up money.

Now, what many investors have learned is that you simply cannot bet the farm on this or that investment. You can’t simply put all of your money except for an emergency savings account into your favorite stocks. Throughout this recession, this is why so many have turned to Gold Eagles and other forms of gold investing as a way of keeping their money safe.

The fact is that there will always be scam artists out there, there will always be bankers lending and spending irresponsibly, investment firms asking for bailouts in order to hold a huge party in a hotel lobby or give their CEOs huge bonuses. Wherever there is money, there will be thieves.

The best way to safeguard yourself against these people, as well as to safeguard your money against the recession and inflation that comes as a result of such scandals, is to simply not put all of your eggs in one basket. You can still pursue stocks, still pursue investments in real estate and what have you, but if you invest in metals, invest in Gold Eagles or any rare or precious metal coin, your Gold Eagle investments simply are not subject to corporate corruption.

Many are saying that stocks are about to spring back. We did see a minor flutter of life earlier this month in the stock market, but most anyone involved in Gold Eagle investing isn’t going to see this as a sign that they need to cash in and move their assets into the NASDAQ.

When you buy Gold Eagles and other precious metal commodities, you’re putting your cash into something that really isn’t subject to ponzi schemes and so on. Certified Double Eagles are simply gold coins, a solid commodity that will tend to always be of value regardless of what happens in the economy.

Simply put when you purchase Gold Eagles, you are saving very wisely. The stock market has been making investors angry, these scandals have been making investors angry, bullion Gold Eagles have only proven to be a solid security blanket.

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Stewart Lawson

April 11, 2009

If you want to ask “Why buy Gold Eagles?” the answer is obvious. Gold Eagles are worth very nearly their weight in gold (accounting for the filler metals used to strengthen the gold, of course), and this makes them a great option to keep your money safe in times of economic strife and recession, as we are experiencing now. So certainly, we will invest in certified Double Eagles and other gold coins rather than take a gamble on a stock option.

But… why Gold Eagles? Of all the thousands of different coins that the US mint could have reissued in order to pique the interests of numismatists and investors, why choose the Saint Gaudens Gold Eagles?

Well the answer is simple: Bullion Gold Eagles are widely considered, amongst numismatists, to be the most beautiful coin ever minted in the US, bar none.

The irony of all of this is that it is, in fact, illegal to own an original Saint Gaudens Double Eagle. In fact, four years ago there was a story of a jeweler who got his hands on ten Double Eagle gold coins from 1933. He took them to the US Mint for verification and… the US Mint simply confiscated them without compensation.

So it’s kind of a catch-22 that the original mints of these coins are amongst the rarest and most valuable in the world. If you manage to find one, its value is nearly impossible to measure, however, the actual value will only be as a collector’s piece, as you certainly wouldn’t want to hold an auction and draw the attention of the Mint.

So for the time being, if you want to invest in Gold Eagles, you will have to be content to purchase Gold Eagles that are reproductions of the originals.

The reasoning behind this was that, while Double Eagles started being minted in 1850 and were circulated, the nearly half a million Double Eagles minted in 1933 were never put out into the public. Every one of the coins was ordered to be melted down, but a few US Mint employs managed to salvage a handful here and there, at the risk of their jobs and possible incarceration. Very, very few of these coins exist today.

And so, the US Mint considered the jeweller’s coins to be stolen property. This is technically true, although it seems kind of silly that numismatists would be denied their right to own the original Gold Eagles thanks to events that occurred nearly one hundred years ago, but remember, this is the US government we’re talking about.

Of course, as an investment option, today’s reproductions should be more than enough to meet your financial goals. In light of the current recession, gold has remained a pretty strong investment, and a nice healthy collection of gold Double Eagles is a great way to protect yourself from any economic weather.

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Kenneth Hansen

April 5, 2009

But how do big-time investors who purchase gold Eagles, no matter their motivations for buying, know whether the numismatic market is over-priced? The first sign is that people who have been very active in gold Eagle investing are suddenly no longer able to buy gold bullion Eagles in anything like a reasonable condition.

Consider the prices that some very, very rare gold eagles from the 18th and early 19th century command. Those coins that have just a handful of known examples often sell for prices well into six-figures. While all gold coins from this era are rare compared with more modern coins that were machine stamped in the millions, but there are significant differences between various dates and types.

For instance, the number of relatively common (with 1,000 or so existing coins) early gold Eagles that are still “affordable” (under $10,000) for relatively new collectors have disappeared almost entirely in less than a decade since the turn of the century. Most of these coins graded between extremely-fine (EF-40) and almost uncirculated (AU-55), which is considered a good baseline standard for a collection. However, this increase in the “start-up” cost for gold Eagle investments in a numismatic collection of note has priced a lot of people out of the market, leading many experts to believe that the “common” early gold Eagles have been over-inflated and are heading for an imminent price crash.

On the other hand, the price of fairly rare and extremely rare early Eagle coins has kept steady with the cost of inflation and adjusted when new coins enter into public knowledge by being cataloged and certified by a third party agency. Though there are several coins that are so rare as to only come up to market every few years or so, these coins seem to retain a solid range of values when they come up to market.

The last category of coins, the mistakes and odd-balls, are extremely collectible, from any era. However, the coins from this era were made by hand and thus, more prone to such problems. As such, the odd-ball and error coins are not actually as rare as some of the dates that are less often publicized. Nonetheless, numismatists who want to buy gold Eagles with these unusual marks or errors will pay quite a bit for them – in fact quite a bit more than they would have even just a few years ago. This sector of the market, though historically significant, is also considered by some professionals to be the other over-heated end of the early gold Eagle market.

Numismatic markets tend to adjust themselves very slowly, but eventually, dealers find that they are unable to get rid of the coins that once sold for even more than the asking price without putting them on deep discounts. How a general down-turn in the economy will affect prices remains to be seen, but it is expected that very low levels of selling among the most expensive gold bullion Eagles will bring the prices back into line with reasonable demand that jibes with the actual rarity of such items.

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Victoria Lopez

April 4, 2009

For starters, the post-1986 gold Eagle coins are made with 91.67% pure gold, 3% silver and just over 5% copper, giving the coin durability and the luster that accompanies high gold content. This means that they can be made directly into 22-karat gold items without any additional alloying. However, most often, jewelers will continue to add silver or other metals to bring the content down to 18-karat, which is much more resilient at only 75% pure gold.

However, those who buy gold Eagles for aesthetic appeal often buy them in denominations smaller than the single-ounce that serves as the base for other fractional denominations covering 1/10-ounce, 1/4-ounce and 1/2-ounce sizes. Smaller denomination gold bullion Eagles are the most popular, with the 1/10-ounce size being very much in line with the size of other charms.

Most often such jewelry is simply the coin itself mounted in a gold ring with an eye for a chain soldered on the top. These creations are the most simple and most often seen way for jewelry collectors to get involved with gold Eagle investing on their own terms. However, some find the 1-ounce coin too much like a medallion and hence, too “disco.”

Of course, certified Double Eagle coins from the pre-1933 crackdown on gold are of such high numismatic value that it would be foolish to either melt or mount these gold bullion Eagles that routinely go up for auction at prices several times higher than the spot price of gold on any given day. As collector's items, such coins are scrutinized for every single aspect of their condition and measured against the relative rarity of the coin.

However, both pre-1991 roman numeral dated gold Eagles and the more recent issues dated with Arabic numbers, are equally well-suited for re-purposing and recycling into something more useful. Moreover, any time you buy gold from the US mint you can be assured that the gold itself was mined in the US by well-paid and protected workers, which cannot be said for many other gold producing nations.

Other types of gold Eagle jewelry include the practice of cutting figures right out from the coins and welding them into new pieces based upon the original strike. Other companies offer the smallest denominations as gold signet rings. In addition to the gold Eagles, silver Eagles are often seen on less precious applications such as money clips and cane tops.

Regardless of what eventual use one decides to purchase gold Eagles for, they will always be worth the amount of gold stamped on the front, no matter what that use might be.

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Clint Faust

March 26, 2009

Thankfully, there are plenty of professionals who have been selling gold Eagle coins for many years to investors who have known this time was coming as far back as the early 'aughts, when the price of gold was historically low. In retrospect, those late-night radio ads from the time were correct, it just took about 8 years. Had you chosen to invest in gold Eagles at that time, you'd be enjoying over 300% returns on the bullion market when selling near the spot price in February 2009.

With some speculators and “experts” predicting that prices will rise to henceforth unheard of high levels – a few experts even claimed that $2,300 per ounce was a distinct possibility in 2009 – the pressure for even small investors to buy what gold bullion Eagles they can afford surely has something to do with a sharp increase in the number of advertisements for gold sale businesses that have recently sprung up. Such advertisements and eh companies they represent, especially when the message is aimed at new or otherwise inexperienced at gold Eagle investing, should be viewed with extreme skepticism.

The absolutely safest way to purchase gold Eagles is to order them directly from the US Mint. Until late 2008, anyone could purchase any of the American Eagle Series investment-grade precious metal coins and have them delivered in a matter of days. This route has proven less likely since that time, due to massive shortages and rationing of bullion. Gold Eagles are still available from private dealers, both new and old.

Of course, Associated Dealers who sell certified Double Eagles for the US Mint are sure to be reputable. Coin dealers who have been in business for many years at a physical, local store are also trustworthy. Neither of these businesses could survive for any length of time if they were cheating people – all such frauds are eventually discovered, even if it takes a few years for anyone to notice.

What is less certain, though done on a very regular basis is purchasing coins on eBay. The popular consumer-merchant service is home to literally thousands of people who are both seeking to sell and buy gold Eagles on any given day. Experts recommend carefully monitoring the feedback of clients, and choose to shop with sellers who have at least a thousand positive feedback ratings. This system for buying and selling gold bullion Eagles has been tested for many years and has many safeguards against such things as false feedback built in, but it always pays to give more than a cursory glance to all such ads.

Buying from ads in the newspaper or private customer to customer transactions without the benefit of a selling agency in between should never be done through the mail. Seeing such coins in person and carefully checking them over is the only way to be reasonably certain that the coins are real. Of course, anyone selling gold at or below the spot price is suspect – act accordingly!

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Dario Bell

March 24, 2009

When FDR signed Executive Order 6102 requiring all citizens to turn in their gold coins, bars and certificates in to the Federal Reserve, effectively ending the sale of gold bullion Eagles for over half a century. Usually through local banks, in conjunction with the nearest regional Federal Reserve office, everyone was paid the same “official” US price of $20.50, since an ounce of gold had a face value of $20.

Shortly after the May Day deadline, the price of gold was officially raised to $35 per ounce, deflating and dangerously inflation-addled US economy. The country remained on the gold standard, meaning you could walk up to any Federal Reserve and draw the amount of gold from your account that the certificate declares to be “payable to the bearer upon demand.”

However, with the confiscation of gold, the majority of the US was effectively “off” the gold standard.

With no gold Eagles, defined along with the silver dollar as the only two types of “real” money that exist, made after 1933 (in fact, less than a handful of 1933 gold bullion Eagles still exist). From what was once coin (defined as money) and three types of paper manifestations of said money (gold or silver certificates, banking notes and reserve notes). Only the Banking notes remained after the last silver certificates were done away with by LBJ in the 1960s.

It wasn't until the trade wars of the 1970s that the final action was taken Very shortly after Nixon made his three-pronged final separation from the existing International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreements. Other governments followed and US currency has been “fiat” since. This act, however, didn't result in the stability that Nixon had hoped for – in fact, several recessions ensued and continue to plague the US and World economies.

However, in 1981, the treasury under Donald Regan (and former Merrill Lynch CEO) began looking into whether it was feasible to put the US back on the gold standard at the President's request. The resultant commission that looked into his notion was stocked with several experts, fundamentally opposed to the idea. The result was the passage of what is largely thought of as a compromise bill, now known as the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985. But, it did make it possible for US investors to purchase gold Eagles of contemporary manufacture for the purpose of investing in bullion.

This act specifies that as much gold coin, in four specific denominations ($50, $25, $10 and $5) of the same design, shall be minted and sold by the US Mint, with minimal overhead costs, to all US investors who want them. It also notes that all such coins are are produced shall be considered of numismatic value.

Today, those who buy gold Eagles for investment purposes are guaranteed a coin that contains exactly one-ounce of pure bullion. Gold Eagles, even with the massive increase in demand that has been seen since late 2008, still represent just a fraction of the gold that was

However, in the signing statement that was attached to the bill reveals some of Reagan's thinking with regards to the compromise nature of the legislation. He was of the opinion that the US was missing out on a good opportunity to make some money when it mandated that all gold bullion Eagles must be minted from newly mined gold rather than the massive reserves still kept on hand at the Federal Reserve.

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Sam Brown

March 19, 2009

Since financial markets really began having difficulty in late 2008, there has been are an awful lot of gold bullion Eagles being bought and sold in every major worldwide market. For much of 2008, gold investments were in the form of physical gold. But, in 2009, many investors have been willing to buy virtual gold, in the form of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or other types of “paper gold” at higher prices. Regardless, demand for both commodities and investment accounts in gold continues to send the price upward.

Since it has become difficult to purchase gold Eagles from the Mint, collectors should remember that there are plenty of certified Double Eagles that have been in circulation since the program began in 1986, creating a massive domestic market, not unlike the gold jewelery hordes of India,estimated at 15,000 tonnes. Many investment grade coins are found in coins shops all over the United States and in traveling coin shows. As they age, these coins to take on some additional value other than that of the commodity price, alone.

Sales of the gold bullion Eagles are not confined to the United States. It is true that sales to international buyers do diminish the collective US or North American hoard of gold. While many nations do have import tariffs, movement to raise and lower rates drives much of the short-term speculation. Fees on conducting these transactions, whether in the form of a tax, import duty or any other type of squeeze will always contribute to some markup on cold coins, especially imported ones, over the spot price of gold.

This has caused the price to rise to such levels that some markets are simply cut off from importing gold eagle investments until the price comes down again. Markets being cut off from formerly sound sales include India and much of South-east Asia. In fact, the gold exchanges of nations with poor exchange rates as compared to the so-called “hard currencies” of the world, are buying gold for prices that are already historically high in local value. The same amount of money is reported to still be spent on gold items, but the amount it buys is far less. It's no wonder that people are selling.

Part of the rise in demand has come from China. Gold Eagles have been flowing into China, despite China being one of the world's largest producers of gold. There is still a lot of money in the world that people are looking to put into something more stable than a bank, or stocks or bonds or derivatives or any of the other things that have all taken a beating lately. There's a lot of new money in China, that doesn't own old land, and it has to go somewhere. People not only buy gold Eagles and other coins, but small denomination gold “cards” are often purchased in tiny fractional amounts that are easily hidden.

Another major player is our friendly neighbor to the North, Canada. With their own very successful bullion program, an entire collection of investment grade coins (marked as 99.999% pure) in proof includes quite a few denominations in gold, silver and platinum, all with the same maple leaf on the obverse. However, coins flow freely over the border, with 1-ounce maple leafs just as easy to acquire at a local coin shop as gold bullion Eagles. Because there are so many more people in the US, the trade balance has far more buyers south of the border, but many thousands of ounces of gold are sold in Canada each year.

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Arthur McGuire

March 17, 2009

The very first gold Quarter-Eagle coins were minted in 1796, with the first minting of what is now known as the Turban Head Quarter Eagle. This coin was hand-produced in Philadelphia, based upon a design by the first Head Engraver of the US Mint, Robert Scot. Quarter Eagle coins were issued as 91.67% pure through several designs until the purity was lowered in 1834.

The rest of the alloy is copper, giving these coins a more orange appearance (similar to the modern South African Krugerrand coins) than those alloyed with silver. This also means that early Quarter Eagles are rather soft, with many surviving specimens bearing faults and marks from the manufacturing process. Often this takes the form of soft strikes that are slightly off-center, as the half-finished planchets (pre-formed and finished blanks).

The relatively high gold content of these coins (for the time) coupled with the very low rates of manufacture has made the Turban Head Quarter Eagle coin one of the most collectible coins in US history, with as few as a handful of each date still existing. A great many were melted down during the economic panics of the 19th century. Though always collectible by those looking to buy gold bullion coins, two and a half dollars was a lot of money in the early Republic, keeping the population who could ever afford these coins in a relatively small minority.

In the years it was minted, from 1796 until 1807, fewer than 1,500 coins were produced in most years. The exceptions to this are 1797, when fewer than 500 were made and the final year of production, with nearly 7,000 produced for circulation. A practice not adopted until later in the 19th century, there were no proofs of the Turban Head Quarter Eagle produced.

There were several design changes made to the Turban Head design over its lifetime, with the number and placement of the obverse stars changing from year to year (or omitted completely, as in 1796). They are not normally collected as different types, as the Turban Head is so very rare already.

It is said that there are no “impossible” types of the Turban Head Quarter Eagle to be lusted after people with a genuine historical curiosity buy gold bullion coins. That said, all types 18th century US gold remain few enough to be difficult to find, with prices fetching many thousands of dollars when an Almost Uncirculated (AU-coin is found. A few collectors have been able to assemble an entire set of these coins, but prices have been and remain quite high, for even a good (G-4) grade coin. Most of the remaining Turban Head Quarter Eagle coins are graded as Very Fine (VF-20) or Extremely Fine (VF-40), since the only ones that remain are those that were kept in families for the last few centuries.

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Shannon King

March 12, 2009

There has been an upturn in the activity of large mining interests buying up smaller mines. Some of these have been producing for some time, as has been the case with the recent investments in Australia's Rio Tinto and Oz Mining companies by large Chinese mining interests. Other acquisitions have been new explorations that have proven, or even potential as a source of gold.

In fact, the Chinese mining companies have been buying a lot of metals, precious and otherwise, in both Africa and the recently lucrative gold mines of Oceania, South America and South-east Asia. China is a very large player in the gold markets and is positioning itself to be in a controlling position. The odds of gold rising on this strong position are very good.

The rising price of Chinese stocks, propelled by speculative purchasing, has helped the Hong Kong stock market surge in the early weeks of 2009. The trend continues. Mining interests in China are supported by stimulus spending that isn't saddled with banking industry debt. China is also a major producer of gold bullion coins. Available in even tiny denominations, they have made it possible for the average consumer to begin buying gold bullion.

Most governments have an upper limit set on how much another country can invest in their gold reserves. Australia, for instance has a 14.99% cap on investment, that has been met by several Chinese investment groups. At least 10 large Chinese companies are interested in purchasing significant assets in international mining companies. In some cases these purchases have been made with partnership capital from western mining interests, such as Alcoa.

While buying gold bullion remains one of the safest places for individual investors to put their assets during a crisis (such as the current one), there are higher returns to be had with higher risk investments. Risk has not been on most investors minds since late 2008, but the prices of some speculative interests are low enough to warrant such investment at fire sale prices. Purchasing shares in gold mining companies is a way to hedge your risk, though the returns won't be nearly as lucrative as getting lucky with a more speculative venture.

Mines with proven returns are generally good investments, but they do eventually loose value as the ore is removed. They should be considered a short-term investment unless you purchase shares in a company that is actively acquiring riskier mining options.

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Mark Ortiz

March 10, 2009

These new American Gold Eagle coins are particularly handy for the gold investor, as each one is designed to contain exactly 1 troy ounce of gold. This was intended to make them just as competitive on the world market as some of the other, more pure (99.99%), coinages. These include (but are not limited to) Chinese Gold Panda coins, Austrian Philharmonic coins, Australian Lunar Calendar coins, and South African Krugerrand coins.

In addition, several types of commemorative bullion coins are introduced from the major mints of the world each year that also exhibit .9999 fineness. These coins tend to be sold at prices that are higher than that paid for a state coin of the same size and purity. As such, investors who are not interested in the numismatic value of their investments and only care to keep an eye on the spot price of gold, usually go with these coins that can be sold as new for prices between 2-4% above the spot price.

The release of the gold bullion Eagles is also notable for having bought back one of the most popular coin designs ever created, the Lady Liberty. It was created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens for the 1907 re-design of the $20 Double Eagle coin. The design was to be “high relief” to more fully accentuate the features of his design. However, the US Mint was unable to reliably make the coins at speed and had trouble with bankers who complained about not being able to stack the coins. After about 12,000 coins were struck in late 1907, the design was revisited to include the motto “In God We Trust” and to redesign the obverse side for “low-relief” striking.

91.6% pure gold (22-karat) coins were the standard of choice in Europe for several hundred years. As such, they are sometimes referred to as “crown gold.” These .9160 fine coins are alloyed with 5.3% copper and 3% silver, maintaining the brassy luster and color of a higher purity gold.

In addition to these coins, there was a special order to the Treasury to strike a small number of .9999 pure “ultra-high relief” gold bullion Eagles. Limited to a small run in 2009, these coins have been concurrently issued with the also 99.99% pure American Buffalo coins that have been so incredibly popular since their introduction in 2006, they actually sold out in late 2008.

Aside from their likely availability when the American Buffalo has sold out, the American Gold Eagle coins are somewhat more resistant to wear, with nearly pure gold bullion coins sometimes able to be bent.

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Arthur McGuire

March 5, 2009

When the demand for physical gold spiked in late 2008, the US Mint simply wasn't prepared. Though the price had fallen considerably since its high earlier in the year, private sector makers of plainchants (type-2 blank coins) were blamed for interruption of available gold bullion coins from the US mint.

Since at least 2000, the US mint has focused at least 75% of its production on one-ounce, 91.67% pure (22-karat) bullion. Gold Eagles represented the vast majority of gold coins minted and sold between 2000 and 2006, when the long-awaited pure (99.99%) gold Buffalo coin was introduced to much interest. Fractional sizes of the $50 American Buffalo bullion coins were released in 2008, in the same increments as the fractional gold eagles, with values of $1, $5, $10 and $25.

However, as of February 2009, the US Mint still has failed to release any un-circulated or proof gold coins other than the 1/2-ounce Gold Eagle. This has caused investors in certified Double Eagles to nervously put their money in existing or foreign gold bullion. Eagles remain highly sought after, with even the high-relief proof coins being bought out by eager investors as soon as they were made available.

Partly as a result of the shortage of physical gold to purchase, investors have been funneling money into electronically traded funds (ETF) and other non-physical investments that more closely track the stock market rather than the spot price of gold. After falling off almost completely, these virtual purchases have heavily contributed to the rise in the price of gold that's been observed since the beginning of 2009.

The US Mint maintains that the sale of gold bullion Eagles is not due to a lack of gold but an inability to physically keep up with a crushing demand for Gold Eagle investments. However, with the Mint's inability to keep their authorized suppliers stocked with the coins their client’s demand, those who wish to buy gold Eagles exclusively may have to seek out third party sellers or older coins.

Stocks that trade gold futures or shares in physical gold reserves are available in increments as small as 1/10th-ounce, and continue to be available regardless of the logistical movement of gold, though it is backed up by regular reserve inspections in several countries such as the US, UK and Switzerland.

But just how safe is it to buy ETF gold shares? Many old-timers and respected market-watchers recommend that you should keep your gold investments as physical coins, such as Gold Eagles. However, the rate of investment in gold futures does imply that the fear conditions that have spurred gold investment are waning in favor more economically healthy greed.

The safety of ETF gold shares can be moderated by making sure your purchases are confined to global companies that have proven reserves that are verified by inspection. While the returns on such investments may not be as high as when buying gold bullion Eagles or other bullion coins, it is still more stable than many other financial vehicles that had been thought safe until 2008.

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Arthur McGuire

March 1, 2009

Of course, what makes this interesting is the move of the US Mint to suspend sales and ration supplies of gold Eagle coins in 2008. Indeed, that is the only thing unprecedented about the events of late 2008. This, of course, begs the question: why did the mint choose to horde gold in late 2008? Was it a ploy to increase demand for US-mined gold in 2009?

And perhaps more importantly, will it work? Unlike those who claim there is an actual shortage of the commodity in US government coffers, it seems most likely that the move is speculative on the part of the US Mint. Could this speculation actually be intended to move the price of gold on the markets? Anyone who knows isn’t talking, since neither people or governments are supposed to do that since the anti-trust laws of the 1980s were passed.

It is worth noting that since the introduction of the .9999 pure American Buffalo coin in 2006, many serious gold buyers have abandoned the 91.7% gold American Eagle coins. Though their sales have continued to remain strong, the introduction of the gold American Buffalo coin have certainly impacted their sales. The number of gold Buffaloes the Mint is able to strike before running out may determine the sales for Double Eagles again in 2009.

The also .9999 pure gold First Spouse coins were also introduced by the US Mint in 2006, drawing another portion of the serious gold investor away from gold bullion Eagles. When released, they were sold at a price surprisingly close to the spot price of gold (though it has increased tremendously since), with each spouse limited to a minting of 40,000.

However, due to a change in the policy of the US Mint to more closely track the price of gold in its sales of both platinum and gold bullion coins such as the Double Eagle. While some believe that this move to change the price of their coins weekly based upon the average London price will discourage buying directly from the mint when other types of gold bullion have a set price.

With all these forces at work, it is likely that the sales of the US Mint’s gold Double Eagle bullion coins will top half a million in sales in 2009, though how much of that will be at the end of the year due to selling out of the other coins. The mint itself has not raised any figures on what sort of numbers they are expecting to sell.

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Arthur McGuire

February 9, 2009

The term “eagle” simply describes the base value of $10 that was established as the base value of US coins in 1795. Fractional eagle coins were also minted in the US in the late 18th century, but the $20 double eagle was not needed until large gold deposits were discovered in the California Gold Rush of 1849. Suddenly, there was more gold than anyone knew what to do with for a few years.

However, after more than a century of keeping gold coinage in a limited circulation, the minting of US gold coins as currency ceased in 1933 when FDR used the powers of the federal government to corner the US gold markets for the purpose of international currency manipulation. Once the ownership of gold became all but illegal for most US citizens, there was no point in minting a gold coin.

The first step in bringing gold bullion eagles back to the US market happened in 1975, when President Ford made it legal for citizens and entities such as banks to own gold again. With the signing of the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985 by Ronald Regan, the US Mint had a new mandate to create gold coinage from newly mined domestic sources of gold. As one might expect, US gold production has risen considerably since that time.

Today, the 22-karat (over 91% pure) gold bullion eagles come in a variety of sizes, including the standard 1-ounce eagle with a face value of $50. Fractional sizes include 1/2-ounce, 1/4-ounce and 1/10-ounce coins, with values of $25, $10 and $5, respectively. Like the bullion coins of other nations, these are legal tender in the US, though their actual value (and selling price from the US Mint) far exceeds their face value.

Even the design of these gold bullion eagles reflects an earlier era, with the obverse of the coins featuring the walking Lady Liberty as produced by Saint-Gaudens for the 1907 double eagle coins. In what has become one of the most popular US Mint series ever, the bullion eagle program also includes silver and platinum eagles in various finishes and sizes.

Most recently, special collectors’ editions have been minted at the special US Mint facilities at West Point, including both uncirculated and proof sets. In 2009, technology has caught up to the vision of the coin’s designer, with an ultra-high relief minting that has already brought great interest from the world of collectors and investors, alike.

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Once thought to be far more money than anyone was likely to possess at one time, the $20 Double Eagle gold coin became one of the most popular coins of all time. Pre-1933 specimens remains highly collectible despite the introduction of a new Double Eagle gold coin series.

Until 1848, the US Mint in Philadelphia had been striking rather small denominations of gold coins with the image of “lady liberty” since 1796 that included a quarter eagle, half Eagle and full Eagle. The face value of an Eagle coin was set at $10 four years earlier by government decree when the US Mint was given legal authority to create currency.

Those initial Gold Eagle coins that date back to the 18th century include alloys of different purities, though the percentage has been set at 90% since 1834. By the time of the California Gold Rush in 1849, the first $20, Double Eagle coins were struck. In fact, it was precisely because of the gold rush that $20 coins were even a necessary item, with production ramping up in 1850 to create a coinage that would be used throughout the country.

Though the actual number of people who did get rich from that original Sutter's Mill strike was extremely small, their contribution to the gold stocks of the still young United States was significant and something had to be done with all that gold. The Liberty Head design on the obverse (sometimes called the Coronet design) that was used until 1907, was designed by James Longacre. There were three subtypes of this coin issued:

1. The original design, also called the “common type, ” 1850-1866 2. The “In God We Trust” motto added on the reverse, 1866-1876 3. The “Twenty D. ” on the reverse spelled out as “Twenty Dollars, ” 1877-1907

The St. Gaudens Double Eagle replaced the Liberty Head type in 1907 and has been the gold coin of preference for collectors for many years, due to its artistic quality. In fact, Augustus St. Gaudens is considered to be one of the leading American sculptors of all time.

The coins were originally minted in what is called “high relief” to capture all the nuance of his work, though the mints had difficulty getting a good strike on the first, second or even sixth strike. The high-relief St. Gaudens Double Eagles were also impossible for banks to stack, leading to their being redesigned early on. The high-relief coins are highly prized by numismatic collectors and fetch prices many times higher than their “low-relief” counterparts.

These gold double eagle coins would be produced until the Federal Government decided to recall all gold from private individuals and businesses in 1933. The famous 1933 Gold Double Eagle coin is noted for having fetched the highest value at auction of any US coin in history, netting over 7.5 million dollars for what is the only 1933 Double Eagle that is legal to sell.

It was not until 1986 that the gold Double Eagle coin would be produced. Again. These gold Double Eagles are 90% pure gold with 10% copper. At this time, silver and platinum versions of these Double Eagle coins were also introduced, with the latter appearing in 1997. Unlike their predecessors from the past, the modern, one ounce Double Eagle gold coins have a face value of $50. The $100 platinum American Eagle coin differs by being 99.95% pure.