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Gold Coins
What gold coins are in circulation today?
Although several countries produce legal tender gold coins, few are really designed for circulation; rather, they are produced with collectors and investors in mind. Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Mexico and the United States all produce popular gold collector/investor coins. Additionally, the South African Krugerrand and British gold sovereign, while no longer produced, remain popular in this market.
What were the earliest known gold coins?
Examples from the ancient kingdom of Lydia date to approximately 510 BCE, and are both the earliest known gold coins and the earliest known coins of any type.
Examples from the proto-Chinese kingdom of Chu date to the 5th century BCE and possibly the sixth. However, the Lydian examples remain the oldest confirmed.
Why do so many government-issued gold coins have face values far less than their metal value?
Although many modern mints produce gold bullion coins, and those coins are generally legal tender, the face value of the coins is much lower than the underlying value of the metal in the coin. For example, the one-ounce bullion coins issued by the U.S. Mint have a face value of $50, compared to a market price (as of September 2011) approaching $2,000 each. This wide (and typical) variance between face and actual value is simply a product of the fact that, while these coins are technically legal tender, they are not intended to circulate -- they are designed specifically for collector and financial markets.