Unlike
bullion gold coins, which represent legal tender and are often purchased for investment purposes,
international rare coins are collectibles and circulate more readily through collectors hands. Thus the price tags on international rare coins are dependant both on the current price of gold and on the person who owns them.
A big part of a
rare international coins value is its historical and aesthetic features. Although numismatics refers to the Greek word numisma, meaning legal money, the study of
international rare coins delves much deeper to uncover past customs, events and places wherein coins were exchanged.
Also important in the study of coin collecting is archaeology as many of the
rare international coins exchanged by
international coin dealers today have been excavated from deep underground. The appearances of these coins also give insight into subjects such as the ancient mythologies, religions, governments, commerce and literature of long-expired societies.
In terms of
gold bullion coins, buyers will not find many produced between the years of 1933 and 1965, when as a result of the Great Depression gold was almost inaccessible to the private buyer. However, when the South African Mint began producing the
Krugerrand in 1967, gold was once again available for purchase in large quantities. Several governments followed South Africas example: Britain produced the Britannia, the United States of America minted the Eagle and Austria minted the Philharmonica gold coin.
Although production
gold bullion coins are not available to buy directly from mints, buyers can purchase them from recognised distributors such as The Scoin Shop. The mints add a premium on top of the golds face value content (known as seigniorage, this value takes into account the cost of producing, distributing and retiring the coin from circulation).
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