The South African gold Krugerrand coin has been in production since 1967 in an attempt to market South African gold. Depending on the current gold market price, gold coins
such as the Krugerrand are worth a lot more than their actual face
value. It can be used as legal tender which means that it can be
exported to other countries without any taxes on it. The Krugerrand was
also the first coin to contain one troy ounce of gold. It was
originally sold at 5% premium over the value of the gold, which
continues today for orders for over 100 pieces and around 10% for
single pieces.
The Krugerrand and other gold coins
American Gold Eagle
The Gold Krugerrand was first produced in the 1967 it was not available
in many countries until the mid-nineties because of the ban on South
African Products due to Apartheid which ended in 1994. It is reported
that since 1967 over 54 million Krugerrands have been
produced which roughly works out at 42 million ounces of gold. The South
African Mint has since started to mint smaller coins such as the
1/10,1/4 and 1/2 ounce. The one ounce Krugerrands
have remained popular with investors due to the low premiums unlike the
smaller coins which generally have higher premiums. The gold Krugerrand coin was certainly the the first of its kind and led to several other national mints soon following in their footsteps. The American Gold Eagle was first minted in 1986 and was offered in the same denominations as the gold Krugerrand. The American Eagle gold coin prices
are generally equal to the current price of gold and the American
government actually guarantees the gold weights of the coins and the
gold comes solely from American mines. The gold coin
features Liberty as designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and is a much
more attractive coin than the Krugerrand. The American gold mint also
produces Gold Eagles in silver and platinum. The silver and platinum coins have enjoyed similar success to the American gold Eagle since their launch in 1986 and 1997 respectively.
British Britannia
First produced in 1987, the gold Britannia coin
weighing one troy ounce has a face value of 100 pounds but its intrinsic
value is far greater depending on the current price of gold. The Royal
Mint also produces a number of other coins such as the Silver Britannia
Coin and the Gold Sovereign Coin. There are a number of other gold
bullion coins you can collect such as the Canadian Maple Leaf, the
Mexican Libertad, the Chinese Panda and the French Napoleon.
