When Chinese gold pandas were first introduced they were very successful and were in great demand from coin collectors, people buying coins just for gold value were not interested due to their high price panda mania continued until about 1987 and some coins were selling for over £2000, however the demand for pandas has decreased in recent years, making it hard to get hold of coins minted in certain years. These years make the value of coins produced a lot more than other gold coins of similar weight and size.

Chinese Pandas are available in the same sizes and weights as other gold bullion coins in 1/20, 1/101/4, ½ and1 ounce sizes. They are all made from 24ct gold or .999 fineness and have face values on them in Yauns. One side of the coin has The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, Chinese characters saying Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo which means Peoples Republic of China and the year. If the theme is a commemorative issue this will also be marked on this side. The other side of the coin has different portraits of Pandas depending on the year, except 2001/2002 which shared the same design.

These Chinese panda gold coins are a great addition to any coin collection but if you are just collecting gold coins for their gold content then Chinese Pandas may be a bit too expensive. However due to Pandas becoming harder to buy or find there market price has increased making the panda one of the rare gold coins to collect.

As with other gold coins they do have a face value on the coin but this if far lower than the actual cost and selling price of the coin. As an example the 1 ounce coin has a value of Canadian $50, but in fact is worth over $1200 American at the current Gold price.

The Canadian Maple design has on one side the Maple Leaf which is the national emblem of Canada the weight of the coin and the fineness ie 9999 and on the other side it has the queens head ie Elizabeth II, the value of the coin ie 50 dollars and the date.

In 2007 the Canadian mint unveiled a Gold maple leaf coin with a face value of $1 million this had a weight of 100kg, 50cm in diameter and 3 cm thick at the time had a gold value of over $2 million and was a promotional piece only. However the mint had several interested buyers come forward wishing to purchase the coin and so it announced that it would produce the coins if they were ordered and sell them between $2.5 million and $3 million making them very valuable, at this time there are only 5 confirmed orders making them very rare gold coins.

In certain years they have produced special gold maples such as Hologramed versions and in 1999 a coloured version to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In 2001 they also produced a maple with a Viking privy mark on them making them rare coins and so increase the value of the maples with the Viking privy making under the maple leaf. The finish quality of the maple is rather disappointing compared to other gold coins with striation marks from either the blanks or dies or both have been polished prior to striking; however it would still make a great addition to any gold coin collection.

Canada also produces other commemorative gold coins as well as $50 Mounties, $100, $200, $350 and .9999 Flowers coins, which all have a fineness of .9999. The $50 Mounties coin has a weight of 1 ounce on one side has the queens head and on the other has a Mountie riding holding a pennant, it was only produced in 1997, it is also an unusual gold coin as its decagonal(10 sided). The $100 proofs vary in weight and fineness but each year have a different theme on one side for example 1988 had a bowhead whale and calf on it.

In 1990 the Canadian mint started to issue commemorative $200 dollar proof gold coins thes are in 22ct gold and contain slightly over half a troy ounce of fine gold and again each year has a different theme on the reverse. In 1998 the mint started to produce a $350 proof flower coins of 99.9999 fineness making it the worlds purest gold coin it weights 1.2233 troy grams and again each year has a flower theme on the reverse such as the dogwood flower on the 2000 edition.

The American eagle is a 22ct gold coin which as detailed above comes in four sizes. The front of each coin depicts a graceful striding Liberty design which was inspired by the original design of the $20 Double-Eagle gold coins minted from 1907-1933. The reverse of the gold coin depicts a nest of American eagles, which is a symbolic sign of American family values and traditions.

Gold coins are a popular way to save and even though more gold is still being mined the price remains high for this rare and precious metal. If you gathered all the gold ever mined in the world you would fit into a block of gold which measures 20 yards on each side, so the value of coins made from gold will always remain high and increase as the demand for gold increases the so the value of gold coins will increase.

The only version of the American gold eagle available from the US mint is the proof version of the coin, if you require a normal gold eagle then you will have to go to a coin dealer or buy from the internet.

If you would like a 24ct American gold coin then you want a Buffalo, these coins first became available in 2006 and were only available in a one ounce size, so were one of the more expensive gold coins to collect. The US mint indicated it might start producing fractional sizes of the gold coin and in 2008 the normal fractional sizes of half, quarter and tenth ounce gold coins became available. The design of the Buffalo has on one side James Earie Fraser’s design of an Indian head and on the other side is an American bison or buffalo hence the name for the coin.

The gold coin was introduced to compete with other countries 24ct gold coins as the eagle is only 22ct and the sale of 24ct gold coins makes up for about 60 per cent of all gold sales in a year. In 2008 the US treasury announced a temporary halt to producing 24ct gold buffalo coins as it could not keep up with demand of people investing in gold coins during the current economic climate which had an effect on the gold price and so affected the value of the coins.

If you want to collect rare gold coins such as the pre 1933 gold coins produced in America then you will probably have to purchase the coins from a coin dealer. The price of these gold coins will depend on the quality of the coin and how rare it is, the value of the coins differ greatly and this is due to the availability of the coins ie more were produced in some years than others and the quality of the coin ie the condition of the coin, the better condition then the value of the coins increases.

As well as buying the gold coins from coin dealers or the US mint you can also purchase the gold coins from sellers on the internet, such as eBay. If you do purchase coins over the internet you will have to take care not to buy forgeries or replica coins. The best way is to check on the seller’s feedback and if it’s all ok then it should be safe to buy from them.

Early Gold Coins

The Romans mainly used silver coins because the metal was freely available, and could be made into a durable alloy by adding a small amount of copper. They regarded gold primarily as being primarily for jewellery and rarely used it for coins.

From the 6th century BC, coins were struck in relative weights, so that one gold coin was worth 20 of the same weight in silver. Something along these lines survived in Britain until the outbreak of World War I, with one gold sovereign being worth 20 silver shillings.

The fineness or quality of gold was, and still is based on a unit known as the carat which, as well as being a weight, represents a 24th part. Using this measurement, pure gold is described as 24 carat. The purest gold used for medieval coins was 23 carat 3 ½ grains (.997 fine), which was the highest quality that could be produced at the time. English gold was reduced to 20 carat by 1545, but was eventually set at 22 carat (.9167 fine). This was originally known as ‘crown gold’ due to its initially being used for the crown series of coins. The remaining percentage was made up of copper, added to produce a long-lasting alloy with a reddish lustre and this 22 carat gold continues to be used for sovereigns today.

The USA eventually settled on .900 gold fineness. Mexico opted for .875, while France and Germany preferred .900 fine. The first major bullion coin of recent times, the Krugerrand, was also minted to .9167 standard (22 carat; the most practical and hard-wearing quality), but later bullion coins were made for the highest purity. Canada achieved .999 pure gold for the Maple Leaf (from 1979), but improving refining techniques brought the famous ‘four nines’ gold introduced in 1983. Bullion coins now have both the weight and fineness of the metal inscribed on them.

British Gold Coins

Gold Guineas – The gold guinea was first issued in 1663 under Charles II and was named this because most of the gold came from Guinea in Africa. It was valued at 20 shillings, but this increased as the price of gold climbed. The very last guinea was issued in 1813, as the ‘Great Recoinage’ of 1816 replaced it with the pound, though it continued in common parlance valued at 21 shillings, until 1971 when the move towards decimal coinage made it obsolete.

It is important to remember the different finenesses of gold used when thinking of investing in or collecting old coins 22 carat was used for the sovereign (20 shillings), half sovereign (10 shillings) and crown (5 shillings), but 23.5 carat for the noble (6s 8d) and its sub-divisions. The gold guinea (21 shillings) was replaced by the sovereign in 1816.

The Isle of Man Manx Angels were first issued for Edward IV in 1464 and continued to be issued until Charles I in 1642, on the reverse of the coin is the archangel Michael killing a dragon the modern version of the Angel is a copy of this design with the current queens head on the reverse of the gold coin. The coins are available in various sizes and weights from the largest which is a 25 ounce or 777.5 grams to a twenty fifth which weighs 0.0400 ounce or 1.2441 grams. The new Manx angels have been issued every year since 1985 to present day. The value of gold coins will depend on size, weight, year and whether it is a proof coin or not.

The Manx cat crowns are a copy of the original Isle of Man crowns which were produced for Henry VIII in 1544. The Manx cat crowns were first produced in 1988 and are available in the same sizes as the Manx Angels above. Each year the Manx cat crowns are produced with a different cat on the reverse. Although these gold coins are not old coins they are still very collectable and a lot of the early years ie 1988 to 1998 are not readily available to buy, so have become rare coins even though they are not old coins. To collect a set of Manx cat crowns from 1988 to present would make a nice collection to any cat lover and also a fine investment in unusual gold coins.

The Isle of Man gold Sovereign is very similar in design to the British gold sovereign coins. Instead of George and the Dragon on the reverse the Manx gold sovereign has a Norse warrior on horseback. You can also get a half gold sovereign. Unlike most countries the Isle of Man did produce gold sovereigns and half gold sovereigns in 1973. The Isle of Man also produces gold crowns with the following denominations Five pounds, two pounds, half sovereign and sovereign these are available in proof sets and make an excellent present and a great addition to any gold coin collection. In summary the Isle of Man gold coins are a great investment and make a great addition to any gold coin collection.

The future is looking good for the gold prices to keep increasing as demand for gold from both commercial retailers and banks, keeps the gold price high, lots of people have turned to gold investment as the safest way to invest their cash and with the still uncertainty of the stability of banks , it seems gold is the way forward.

As with most things as demand for a substance outstrips supply then the price can only increase another good indication of this is the amount of adverts on the television from companies asking for you to scrap any gold you have. Normally these companies will not offer a decent price for your gold but due to the demand for gold then they are being forced to give customers a decent return at scrap value or just above the current scrap price for your gold.

Even if the gold price does drop in the next few months you can still be sure that eventually the price will increase, so for a long term investment opportunity I don’t think you can go wrong with investing in gold and one very good way would be to collect gold coins. This is not only going to be profitable but also interesting.

Once you decide to invest in gold coins you will have to decide which ones you would like to collect, there are lots to choose from on the market. To break them up you could decide on collecting a certain type of coin such as a British Sovereign/Britannia’s or South African Krugerrands which are probably the most famous gold coins but there are also American gold Eagles and Buffalos, Canadian Maples, Pandas from China, Philharmonikers from Austria, natural gold Nugget Kangaroo Wallaby Lunar calendar series which are all from Australia and Manx Angels and Cat Crowns just to name a few.

The value of coins will depend on the weight, condition, rarity and carat of the coin. Some people only collect uncirculated coins which normally sell for premium prices but if you are only interested in the gold weight, you will not want this type of coin as they are rare gold coins and so the price is higher.

Some rare coins are worth more because not many were produced in a particular year or they are very old. If you are just collecting the coins for gold weight then I would advise you to stay away from rare coins, but if while collecting gold coins you start enjoying them then it would be nice to have a few rare gold coins in your collection, this would also be a backup if in worse case the price of gold fell, then due to the coins in you collection being rare coins then the value of the coins would stay the same or even go up.

As gold coins come in various sizes, weights and quality then so the price will be dependent on a lot of these factors, the more rare coins will also increase the price and whatever you decide to collect the only thing in the end collecting gold coins will come down to your budget. Most of the best gold coins are 24 or 22 carat gold, these are the best ones to collect.

Coins like the British gold sovereign are 22 carat gold and weigh just short of 8 grams and can be bought new from the Royal mint for about £210, Half gold sovereign approx £125 and quarter gold sovereign about £67.50. The same gold sovereign you will pay £210 for if you decided to buy a Proof version of the same coin, date and weight will cost £294. So you can see there are all different things to take into account when deciding to collect.

There are lots of places to buy gold coins there are lots of sites which just sell gold coins, which is probably the safest place to buy coins. You can also buy the gold coins from eBay, but you have to be careful as there are fakes about and the best idea if you decide to buy from an eBay seller would be to check out their feedback to see if they are trusted sellers.

You can also go to and auction and buy gold coins, you will not normally pay as much for the gold coins as you would from the other two methods and at most auction houses you will pay just over the scrap value of the coin unless they are rare coins. If you buy from an auction house remember to add in the total price with commission and vat if applicable as this will increase the overall price of the gold coin.

The interest in gold coin collecting, particularly rare gold coins and British coins is growing. Starting a gold coin collection for yourself or someone you love is a fantastic investment for a future where other traditional types of investment are fraught with uncertainties as to how they might perform.

British gold sovereign coins are recognised the world over and are one of the most desirable and collectable gold coins that has ever been produced. There are also half sovereigns and even now a miniature quarter sovereign for those that find the price of full sovereign coins outside of their budget.

When you are looking at buying gold sovereigns, old coins do command much higher prices generally. However, for a gift, a new or recent gold sovereign coin in a capsule or presentation case is a highly desirable alternative.

Gold Sovereign in Box

Full sovereign coins weigh just under 8g of 22 carat gold, but although the scrap price of gold is rising almost on a daily basis at present, the value of a gold coin will always be far above its scrap value. The most collectable type of gold sovereigns is the ‘proof’ which can command higher prices as a result.

Giving a gold sovereign as a gift can result in an interest in rare gold coins which can be an engrossing and extremely profitable hobby.