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What
Are Fractional Gold Coins?
Fractional
gold coins are coins that contain less than one Troy ounce
of gold -
usually around one-half ounce of gold or less. For purposes of this
article, I will concentrate on those coins containing approximately
between one-half ounce and one-tenth of an ounce of gold.
The gold coins I have listed below are far from a complete list of
fractional gold coins - there are several others. However, the ones
listed are the more popular
and better recognized coins which is important.
It doesn't do you
much good to invest in little known/little recognized gold
coins that have no demand. Dealers are
aware that "one-off" gold coins are hard to
sell and are reluctant to buy
them or give you a fair price for them. So (gold)
buyer beware.
You
can use this information...
To purchase more
affordable gold coins -
with spot gold solidly over $1000 per ounce, it is less
expensive
for you to purchase fractional bullion coins (see my comment on
fractional gold coin premiums below).
For purchasing gold coins as gifts - if
you have
thought of giving your grandchildren or children a special
gift or
keepsake to remember you by, some of these coins would make a
wonderful and potentially very valuable gift.
To
help you identify coins you may have -
if you have one or more gold coins that have been handed down to you,
this information may help you identify their gold content and value
relative to the current spot gold price.
Keep
in mind that the premium for fractional gold coins (based on
the
spot gold price) can be quite high so it pays to shop around.
As a
rule, "the smaller the coin, the larger the premium" so buy
the larger gold coins if you can.
Let's
get started...
Fractional
Gold Coins (Pure Gold)
These
popular fractional gold bullion coins are pure gold: Australian Gold Nugget,
Austrian
Philharmonic, Canadian
Gold Maple Leaf and Chinese
Gold Panda. All come in half-ounce, quarter-ounce
and tenth-ounce sizes and have the same gold content, gold
purity, Troy weight and number of grams. Here are those
numbers...
Half-ounce
.5000 gold
content, 9999 purity, .5000 Troy ounces, 15.5517 grams
Quarter-ounce
.2500 gold content, .9999 purity, .2500 Troy ounces, 7.7758 grams
Tenth-ounce
.1000
gold content, .9999 purity,
.1000 Troy ounces, 3.1103 grams
They make beautiful
gifts. Just keep in mind that
gold is a
soft metal and these coins must be protected/handled with care as they
can be scratched, nicked or show signs of wear quickly.
Fractional
Gold Coins (Not Pure Gold)
The
following fractional gold bullion coins are an alloy of pure
gold and
at least
one other metal, such as copper, to "harden" the coin for better wear
when circulated.
After each coin, I have listed fine gold content, gold purity
of
the coin, gross coin weight in Troy ounces, net gold weight in Troy
ounces and gold weight in grams (metric).
American Gold
Eagles
Half-ounce
($25) .5000 gold
content, .9167 purity, .5454 Gross Wt., .5000 Net Wt., 15.5517 grams
Quarter-ounce
($10) .2500 gold content, .9167 purity, .2727 Gross Wt.,
.2500 Net Wt.,
7.7758 grams
Tenth-ounce
($5) .1000 gold content, .9167
purity, .1090 Gross Wt., .1000 Net Wt., 3.1103 grams
British
Brittanias
Half-ounce
(£50)
.5000 gold
content, .9167 purity, .5454 Gross Wt., .5000 Net Wt., 15.5517 grams
Quarter-ounce
(£25)
.2500 gold content, .9167 purity, .2727 Gross Wt., .2500 Net
Wt.,
7.7758 grams
Tenth-ounce
(£10)
.1000 gold content, .9167
purity, .1090 Gross Wt., .1000 Net Wt., 3.1103 grams
Mexican
Gold Pesos
Twenty Peso
.4823 gold
content, .9000 purity, .5358 Gross Wt., .4823 Net Wt., 15.0012 grams
Ten Peso
.2411 gold
content, .9000 purity, .2678 Gross Wt., .2411 Net Wt.,
7.4990 grams
Five
Peso
.1206
gold content, .9000 purity, .1340 Gross Wt., .1206 Net
Wt.,
3.7510 grams
South
African Krugerrands
Half-ounce
.5000 gold
content, .9167 purity, .5454 Gross Wt., .5000 Net Wt., 15.5517 grams
Quarter-ounce
.2500 gold
content, .9167 purity, .2727 Gross Wt., .2500 Net Wt.,
7.7758 grams
Tenth-ounce
.1000 gold content,
.9167 purity, .1090 Gross Wt., .1000 Net Wt., 3.1103
grams
Semi-Numismatic Gold
Coins
Unlike
gold bullion coins which are mainly valued for their gold content,
semi-numismatic (and numismatic) coins are valued more for
their
rarity and condition. True numismatics are very expensive and not
covered here. Semi-numismatic coins are less
expensive and may be more within your means. Typical
grades are
XF,
AU and uncirculated MS-60s, 61s and 62s.
After each
coin, I have listed the face value, fine gold content, gold
purity of
the coin, gross coin weight in Troy ounces, net gold weight in Troy
ounces and gold weight in grams (metric).
U. S. Liberty
Head (1850-1907) & U. S. Indian
Head (1907-1933) Gold Coins
Eagle ($10)
.4838 gold
content, .9000 purity, .5375 Gross Wt., .4838 Net Wt., 15.0478 grams
Half-Eagle
($5) .2419 gold
content, .9000 purity, .2687 Gross Wt., .2419 Net Wt.,
7.5239 grams
Quarter
Eagle($2.50).1209 gold content, .9000 purity, .1343 Gross Wt.,
.1209 Net Wt., 3.7604 grams
Other
Popular Fractional
Gold Coins
Listed
below are other fractional gold coins that are or have been popular in
the past. I have listed them because: 1) you may pay a
lower premium than any of those
mentioned
above; 2) you may have some in your possession and don't know
exactly how much gold they contain.
After each coin, I have listed the coin's pure gold content and the
gold purity of the entire coin. This information can be useful if you
sell any of these coins to a dealer. Knowing the gold content is key to
calculating how fair a price you are offered based on the spot gold
price.
Austria
20 corona (.1958 gold content, .9000 purity), British sovereign
(.2354
gold content, .9167 purity), Dutch
ten guilder (.1947 gold content,
.9000 purity), French
twenty franc "Rooster" (.1867 gold content, .9000
purity), German twenty
marks (.2304 gold content, .9000 purity), Hungary twenty korona
(.1958 gold content, .9000 purity), Italy
twenty
lira (.1867 gold content, .9000 purity), Russia ten ruble
(.2489 gold
content, .9000 purity), Swiss
twenty franc (.1867 gold content, .9000
purity).
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