BessettePersons39

New .9999 fine (24 karat) 1-oz legal tender $50 gold coins will be added to the U.S. Mint's line of gold bullion coins in 2006 when President Bush signs into law a bill that Congress passed in December. The legislation calls for the Mint to have the coins ready to distribute by June 2006, but the coins may be prepared before then.

The legislation authorizing the new .9999 fine gold coins was quite particular, mandating the style and even the technique of packaging. For the initial year of issuance, the coins "shall bear the original patterns by James Earle Fraser, 'which appear on the five-cent coin generally referred to as the 'Buffalo nickel' or the '1913 Variety 1'." This wording, without particularly saying it, calls for the obverse (front) of the coins to carry the famed Indian Head design by Fraser. The reverse will carry the equally-famed buffalo style.

Each Indian Head-Buffalo coin is to be encased in a protective capsule, possibly such as the capsules employed by Australia's Perth Mint to protect its .9999 fine gold bullion coins, which includes the well-known limited edition Lunar Series Gold Bullion Coins. The protective cases "shall be readily distinguishable" from the packaging for proof coins, which are also authorized by the bill.

For years, proof coins have been individually encapsulated in protective circumstances. Individually encapsulating bullion coins will be new to the U.S. Mint. The Mint's 22-karat (.9167 fine) American Gold Eagles, which are the world's finest-promoting gold bullion coins, are packaged twenty to a tube and are not individually encapsulated.

Production of the Indian Head-Buffalo coins will be unlimited, and they will be marketed toward gold investors who prefer .9999 fine (24-karat) gold coins. The U.S. Mint currently has the world's best-selling gold bullion coins with its 22-karat (.9176 fine) Gold Eagles. Nonetheless, there is a huge marketplace for pure gold coins, and the new Indian Head-Buffalo coins will give the U.S. Mint a solution for that market place. The Asian and Indian markets clearly favor pure gold coins, while alloyed gold coins are a lot more popular in the Western Planet.

Presently, the Royal Canadian Mint's .9999 fine Gold Maple Leafs are the world's best promoting pure gold coins. However, the Gold Maple Leafs have fallen into disfavor with investors because of the ease with which they are damaged. To counter this, the Royal Canadian Mint not too long ago introduced new packaging for the 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs.

The new packaging for the 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs will place the coins individually in capsules that are suspended in credit card sizes cards, twenty-5 coins to a box. It is too early to gauge market place acceptance of the new packaging for the Gold Maple Leafs.

Considering the reputation of the of Indian Head-Buffalo design, the U.S. Mint's new .9999 fine gold coins could supply stiff competition for the Gold Maple Leafs. Fraser's designs proved to be a winner in 2001 when the U.S. Mint developed a restricted number of Indian Head-Buffalo $1 silver coins sets. The sets sold out instantly and today carry costs numerous times their initial providing prices.

The new Indian Head-Buffalo .9999 fine gold coins, nonetheless, will not be limited edition, at least not the very first year. The bill permits the Mint to "change the maximum quantity of coins issued" in subsequent years. Additional, the bill authorizes the Mint to adjust the patterns on either the obverse or the reverse right after the 1st year's production.

Although the U.S. Mint produces its popular American Gold Eagles in 4 sizes, 1-oz, -oz, -oz, and 1/ten-oz, the new Indian Head-Buffalo pure gold coins will be minted in only 1 size: 1-ounce. With the popular Indian Head and Buffalo designs, the Mint's new .9999 fine gold coins could speedily turn into favorites with gold coin investors. how to buy gold bullion