Gold coin
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22 karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Buffalo. Alloyed gold coins, like the American Gold Eagle and South African Krugerrand, are typically 91.7% gold by weight, with the remainder being silver and copper.
Traditionally (up to about the 1930s), gold coins have been circulation coins, including coin-like bracteates and dinars.Template:WhatTemplate:Fix Since recent decades, however, gold coins are mainly produced as bullion coins to investors and as commemorative coins to collectors. While modern gold coins are also legal tender, they are not observed in everyday financial transactions, as the metal value normally exceeds the nominal value. For example, the American Gold Eagle, given a denomination of 10 USD, has a metal value of more than $800 USD (being around a half an ounce).
The gold reserves of central banks are dominated by gold bars, but gold coins may occasionally contribute.
Gold has been used as money for many reasons. It is fungible, with a low spread between the prices to buy and sell. Gold is also easily transportable, as it has a high value-to-weight ratio, compared to other commodities, such as silver. Gold can be re-coined, divided into smaller units, or re-melted into larger units such as gold bars, without destroying its metal value. The density of gold is higher than most other metals, making it difficult to pass counterfeits. Additionally, gold is extremely unreactive, hence it does not tarnish or corrode over time.
History
Antiquity
[[File:Achaemenid coin daric 420BC front.jpg|thumb|Persian Achaemenid Daric, circa 490 BC]] [[File:Gold Solidus of Valentinian II - obverse YORYM 1998 853.jpg|thumb|Gold Solidus of Roman Emperor Valentinian II ]]
Gold was used in commerce (beside other precious metals) in the Ancient Near East since the Bronze Age, but coins proper originated much later, during the 6th century BC, in Anatolia. The name of king Croesus of Lydia remains associated with the invention (although the Parian Chronicle mentions Pheidon of Argos as a contender). In 546 BC, Croesus was captured by the Persians, who adopted gold as the main metal for their coins. The most valuable of all Persian minted coinage still remains the gold dramsTemplate:Clarify, minted in 1 AD as a gift by the Persian King Vonones (Matthew 2.1–23).
See also
- Counterfeit
- Gold bar
- Gold as an investment
- Gold standard
- Silver coin
- Palladium coin
- Platinum coin
- History of coins
- Numismatics
- Latin Monetary Union
- British sovereign
- Euro gold and silver commemorative coins
- Coins of the Australian dollar – The $1 and $2 coins are colloquially referred to as "gold coins" because of their colour.
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