Baby Boomer Pocket Change

Selling Your Gold Jewelry? Great Article on Consumer Reports

Now this article is not about coins but other gold you may have. Yet the advice is valuable although it was written in 2008.  Many folks may sell stuff on TV,etc and this is valuable information.  Read this Consumer Reports special article on selling your jewelry.

Tags: gold jewels, jewels

So Want Some Tips You Can Trust on Buying and Selling Gold?

The ANA has proved to be an excellent and trustworthy resource for information on coins. So, here is an excellent article on buying and selling gold.

Let me know if you find these tips helpful.

Tags: buying gold, gold sales, selling gold

Looking for The Mint Mark But Can’t Find It?-Quarters

Look for the mint marks on the following quarters:

Type of Quarter

Barber quarter(1892-1916)     Below the eagle

Standing Liberty Quarter (1916-1930)   To the left of the date. Not to be confused with the M for the designers name.

Washington Quarter(1932 to 1964)  Below the eagle

from 1968 to the present -to the right of George Washington’s pigtail

Tags: location of mint mark, Mint Marks, Quarters

How Much Does Your Gold Weigh? How Do You Really Know?

I just found out this week that if someone brings in coins that have a precious metal value  for  redemption that the weight is measured in something called troy ounces. This measurement is different from the ounces used for food. But it is important for you to know the measurements of coins if you ever plan to cash them in.

I wish I had some to cash in but for now I must be content in knowing that I can always refer to this post. That is another  reason I set up this site in all honesty.  Check out this excerpt on Wikepedia:

The demand for precious metals is driven not only by their practical use, but also by their role as investments and a store of value. Historically, precious metals have commanded much higher prices than common industrial metals. In January 2009, gold was about $840/troy ounce and silver was about $11/troy ounce, compared to copper at $1.50/pound and nickel at $5/pound. (soure:Wikepedia)

So I am listing a couple of references for review. Why? Because if you are getting precious metal weight YOU DON’T WANT TO GET CHEATED. Believe it or not everyone is just not honest.

Troy ounces vs the ounce you you weighed your apples

News item about gold scams and how penny weights are used

How  to sell gold

Do you have anything to add?

Tags: coins, gold, silver, troy weight

Worth The Price Of Silver-Bullion?

I took a friend’s coins to a dealer. He was very informative but I really wasn’t prepared to hear what he had to say.

The silver dollars I presented were he said, “Worth the price of silver…”. He began to explain more about silver prices. He also showed me where the coins she had were not a rare, poor condition, and did not have any errors. Hence, they were worth the price of silver.

Now that is not a bad thing and it is worth following silver prices. But here is more information from Wikepedia on bulion as it relates to coins.

Bullion

A 500 gram silver bullion bar produced by Johnson Matthey

American Platinum Eagle bullion coin

A metal is deemed to be precious if it is rare. The discovery of new sources of ore or improvements in mining or refining processes may cause the value of a precious metal to diminish. The status of a “precious” metal can also be determined by high demand or market value. Precious metals in bulk form are known as bullion, and are traded on commodity markets. Bullion metals may be cast into ingots, or minted into coins. The defining attribute of bullion is that it is valued by its mass and purity rather than by a face value as money.

Many nations mint bullion coins, of which the most famous is probably the gold South African Krugerrand. Although nominally issued as legal tender, these coins’ face value as currency is far below that of their value as bullion. For instance, Canada mints a gold bullion coin (the Gold Maple Leaf) at a face value of $50 containing one troy ounce (31.1035 g) of gold — as of September 2007, this coin is worth about $737 as bullion. Bullion coins’ minting by national governments gives them some numismatic value in addition to their bullion value, as well as certifying their purity.

The level of purity varies from issue to issue. 99.9% purity is common. The purest mass-produced bullion coins are in the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, which go up to 99.999% purity. Note that a 100% pure bullion is not possible, as absolute purity in extracted and refined metals can only be asymptotically approached. Many bullion coins contain a stated quantity (such as one troy ounce) of the marginally-impure alloy. In contrast, the Krugerrand is one of many historic and modern bullion coins of 22 Kt Crown gold, with a stated content (usually one troy ounce) of “fine gold”, with the other component(s) of the alloy making the coin heavier than one ounce in total. Still more bullion coins (for example: British Sovereign) state neither the purity nor the fine-gold weight on the coin, but are recognized and consistent in their composition, and many historically stated a denomination in currency (example: American Double Eagle).

One of the largest bullion coins in the world is the 10,000 dollar Australian Gold Nugget coin minted in Australia which consists of a full kilogram of 99.9% pure gold. There have been a small number of larger bullion coins, but they are impractical to handle and not produced in mass quantities. China has produced coins in very limited quantities (less than 20 pieces minted) that exceed 260 troy ounces (8 kg) of gold. Austria has minted a coin containing 31 kg of gold (the Vienna Philharmonic Coin minted in 2004 with a face value of 100,000 euro). As a stunt to publicise the 99.999% pure one-ounce Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, in 2007 the Royal Canadian Mint made a 100 kg 99.999% gold coin, with a face value of $ 1 million, and now manufactures them to order, but at a substantial premium over the market value of the gold.

Gold and silver are often seen as hedges against both inflation and economic downturn. Silver coins have become popular with collectors due to their relative affordability, and unlike most gold and platinum issues which are valued based upon the markets, silver issues are more often valued as collectables, far higher than their actual bullion value

Tags: bullion coins, gold, silver