US gold coins – please settle this argument!?
Several years ago my company gave me as a bonus some US gold coins, some 1/4 ounce, some 1/2 ounce. Gold is now up to $900/ounce. My dad is telling me that I can not turn in my gold coins for their value in gold weight, i.e., 1/4 ounce gold coin being worth $225. He said they are only as valuable as what some other person deems them to be. What is the truth in this matter.
Vintage NOS U.S. Gold Type Set For Liberty St Gaudens & Indian Head Coins
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Comments
I think your dad is right. Who would you turn it in to, anyways? Someone has to agree to buy it, and thats what sets the price. The $900/ ounce you reference is simply what the huge international marketplace of thousands of investors and dealers have agreed to buy and sell gold at for now.
Any coin dealer or shop will be happy to make you a cash offer. If you have none locally you will find a reliable one online at:
http://www.golddealer.com/
Since they are coins you should get pretty close to market value but usually a bit less. A dealer might give you (880 per ounce if market is 900 if he even wants to buy it) Especially if they are sealed coins. Although sometimes when dealing with gold that you dug up, they usually give 80% of market value. So if you went out and found a 1 oz gold nugget, took it to a gold buyer, he might give you 720 dollars for it. You can also get MORE than market value for them if you sell them on ebay. Generally you get about 4-7% more for gold if you sell it on ebay. (so if gold is 900 per oz, on ebay it might sell for 940 or 950) Keep in mind that ebay charges a fee for selling so you pretty much end up with just 900 anyway. If you do plan to sell gold, ebay is your best bet to find a buyer right away for as close to full market as you are going to get.
You’re both right…for a collector the value is what they are willing to pay for the coin it’s self as a collector piece…but on the other hand the weight of the coin and purity can be sold as scrap and you could cash it in that way….just keep in mind either way the value will be decreased because those that purchase them are looking for a profit as well.
Coin dealers will typically pay 3% under the spot price is for gold. Right now spot is $909 so coin dealers will pay about $890/oz. A 1/4 ounce would be about $225 as you say. If you go on Ebay, you will be able to get at least spot.
The price of coins depends on two things:
1. The price of the metal they are made of
2. The collectors (or numismatic) value of the coin. Numismatic value is determined by grading agencies and is determined by the rarity and the condition of the coin.
If the coin is in very good condition and is very rare it could be worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. If it is deemed poor quality it still has the metal value. I justy recently sold a coin which was of poor quality for about 75% the current value of the gold. It depends on what the dealer can afford to offer you while still making a profit. I would not settle for anything less than 60% but make sure that the coindoes not have numismatic value before you sell it because it may be worth more than you think.
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