Gold

Gold and silver are the oldest of coinage metals, with the earliest coins minted in electrum, a naturally occuring alloy of gold and silver. Gold has long been a highly valued and rare metal, civilization’s ultimate measure of wealth and universally accepted medium of exchange. Historically, gold was used for storing value when ordinary currency was losing value. When paper currencies fail, investors purchase gold and silver to preserve accumulated wealth. This precious metal is sufficiently rare that a single 20 yard cube could hold all of the gold ever mined.

Gold is among the most ductile of all the coinage metals, and able to be made into sheets of extremely thin metal of as little as .00001 inch. This last characteristic, along with gold’s inherent beauty and lustrous detail, make it a highly sought choice for selective plating on coins of another metal. Gold is also sometimes minted directly into valuable coins. Valuable collector’s items, such coins are timeless in their retention of detail and finish.

Gold coins are most often finished as a proof coin. Such a coin would be held up as among the finest example of the minter’s art, with backgrounds holding a highly mirrored finish and raised sections often appearing as a lustrous gold satin.

Because of gold’s beauty, it is a popular choice to use in selectively plating a coin of another metal, like silver. This option is termed to “gold select”. In this technique, an electrolytic process allows a selected portion of the coin to receive gold plating, resulting in a two tone effect, with gold contrasting with the silver.

As a precious metal, gold is traded in bullion form, and bullion coins are a trading commodity subject to the market price of gold. Gold most commonly arrives at the mint in the form of bars or ingots. The bars can be rolled directly into a metal that can be blanked. It can also be melted, formed into billets and then rolled. The metal price will drive the price of coins that are pure gold and makes them quite valuable in addition to beautiful.

Firehouse Coins is a part of Northwest Territorial Mint, one of the Country’s largest and most respected minters of fine custom coins and medallions.