ponnarasi
09-12-2006, 05:09 AM
On Tuesday, officials in Washington announced the planned introduction of the first 24-karat gold coin in the nation's history. The piece, set to be rolled out sometime in 2006, will boast a 99.99 percent "fineness" rating. In other words, it's almost perfectly pure gold.
When the Mint releases a coin into general circulation, such as the recently introduced five-cent piece, the purpose is simply to provide a medium for transactions -- a few nickels to rub together, as it were.
The new gold coins are different. They won't enter into general circulation, but will be sold instead to investors and collectors.
The purpose of rolling them out, the Mint is making clear, is to make money -- perhaps a lot of it.
Until now, the highest grade U.S. coins have been the 22-karat American Eagle series, first introduced in the 1980s after Congress banned the sale of South African Krugerrands to protest apartheid.
The Mint claims that the American Eagle accounts for 95 percent of all gold coin sales in the United States. But on the much larger international market, 24-karat pieces are more popular. Washington found itself without an entry in the field.
When the Mint releases a coin into general circulation, such as the recently introduced five-cent piece, the purpose is simply to provide a medium for transactions -- a few nickels to rub together, as it were.
The new gold coins are different. They won't enter into general circulation, but will be sold instead to investors and collectors.
The purpose of rolling them out, the Mint is making clear, is to make money -- perhaps a lot of it.
Until now, the highest grade U.S. coins have been the 22-karat American Eagle series, first introduced in the 1980s after Congress banned the sale of South African Krugerrands to protest apartheid.
The Mint claims that the American Eagle accounts for 95 percent of all gold coin sales in the United States. But on the much larger international market, 24-karat pieces are more popular. Washington found itself without an entry in the field.