| If you are considering a way to boost your | | | | historic consideration or just the visual effect. |
| investment in gold or other precious metals, | | | | Mint mark - whether minted in Denver, |
| perhaps you may be interested to know about | | | | Philadelphia, or San Francisco, a coin may have a |
| numismatics. What's that you say? Yes, it's coin | | | | different value due to the number of coins made |
| collecting! Sounds like something for kids, right? | | | | at that particular mint. |
| Thinks again, there is some real money to be | | | | So how do you grade the condition of a coin? |
| made in collecting, trading, and selling rare coins. | | | | Well there is actually a scale, which is called the |
| That's if you know what they're worth, of course. | | | | Sheldon scale which was created by William |
| Buying gold can be a good investment, of course. | | | | Sheldon in 1948. Before that coins were not |
| But investing in gold coins that can really increase | | | | graded on an industry standard, but now have a |
| in value, let's find out how you can cash in on that. | | | | scale that ranges from 1 to 70. Here is the |
| Have you ever heard of the double eagle gold | | | | breakdown: |
| coin? It was first minted in 1849 during the gold | | | | AG-3 (AG stands for about good) - the |
| rush, and had a face value of $20. They actually | | | | lowest grade, where the coin is barely discernable |
| got the name "double eagle" because the $10 gold | | | | due to excessive wear |
| coin, which was minted first, had an eagle as well | | | | G-4 - Good - only a little good, really. Still |
| but was worth half as much. Hence the double | | | | pretty low |
| eagle was probably the most popular gold coin | | | | VG-8 - Very good, although still in the middle |
| ever minted - in fact, a 1933 double eagle holds | | | | of the scale |
| the world record at auction for a price of $7.59 | | | | F-12 - Fine |
| million. Sounds pretty steep, right? Not all of them | | | | VF-20 - Very Fine |
| are quite that rare of course. | | | | VF-30 - Choice, very fine |
| So what really makes a coin so valuable? | | | | EF-40 - Extra Fine (now we're getting |
| Let's take a look at the various attributes that | | | | somewhere, right?) |
| can effect the price of any coins, whether rare or | | | | EF-45 - Choice extra fine |
| not. | | | | AU-50 - About Uncirculated, which means |
| Metal Content - if a coin is to have real | | | | nearly untouched |
| collectible value, it should be either gold or silver. | | | | AU-55 - Choice About Uncirculated which is |
| Any other metal will not be enough to make a | | | | very good |
| precious collectible. | | | | AU-58 - Very Choice About Uncirculated |
| Rarity - only certain coins are made on a | | | | MS-60 to MS-70 - Uncirculated or mint |
| strict set of circumstances, or limited number. | | | | condition |
| These are of course the rarest and are meant to | | | | MS-70 - Perfect, mint condition (no marks or |
| be collectibles. | | | | imperfections at all) |
| Grade or condition - depending on the | | | | There are a lot of other things to learn about |
| condition of the coin, the value can vary quite a | | | | collectible coins, but these facts should be a good |
| bit. Numismatics know this and only purchase the | | | | start. Learn all you can about the intricacies of |
| highest grade. | | | | collecting them, and you can certainly make some |
| Popularity - some coins are simply more | | | | great investments. |
| popular than others, whether due to a certain | | | | |