The History Of Gold Coins And Understanding Gold Coin Values - By: Cindy Heller

According to history, King Croesus of Lydia was the one who
introduced gold coins around 643-630 B.C. A pale yellow mixture
of gold and silver called the electrum was a natural resource in
Lydia. As people did not know how to separate these two metals,
the first gold coins were a mixture of gold and silver.

In 560 B.C., the Lydians found out a way to separate gold from
silver. At last, real gold coins were produced along with silver
coins, although gold was considered to be more precious than
silver. In 546 B.C., the Lydians captured Persian army and when
the Persians walked around the Lydian kingdom, they were
astonished with the gold coins. The Persians started learning to
mint gold coins and after some time they used them for trading.

In the past, one of the most progressive nations in the world
was Persia and they popularized the used of gold coins around
the world. As a result, gold coins became an important currency
for commerce. Many nations used them for trading and for some
people, collecting gold coins became a way to accumulate wealth.

After many centuries, gold coins were stopped being used as a
currency in 1933 because most countries considered them too
expensive. There are some gold colored coins today, but they do
not contain any gold.

How to determine gold coin values

As gold coins are not circulated anymore, they become valuable.
Many collectors are chasing them to add their collections and to
gain profits from them. If you want to gain profits, it is
essential for you to understand factors that affect gold coin
values as discussed in this section.

The first factor is age where the older the coin, the higher its
value. These coins are antique artifacts and their age can reach
centuries old. Some tests can be done to check the coin's
authenticity and age if you want to determine gold coin values
based on this factor.

The second factor is condition. Weathered coins will have lower
values than good condition coins. There are some qualities that
collectors look for to determine gold coin quality, such as the
sharpness of the relief, the text, and the edges. Normally it is
more difficult to sell weathered coins than coins that are in a
relatively good condition.

The last factor is its rarity. When a gold coin is extremely
rare, its value will skyrocket. In general, there are two
factors that affect rarity. The first is the number created and
the second is the number of coins that has been lost, damaged,
or destroyed. There is a rare double eagle $20 gold coin minted
in 1933. It was worth more than $7 million in an auction.

According to history, King Croesus of Lydia was the one who introduced gold coins around 643-630 B.C. A pale yellow mixture of gold and silver called the electrum was a natural resource in Lydia. As people did not know how to separate these two metals, the first gold coins were a mixture of gold and silver.

Cindy Heller is a professional writer. To learn more about href="http://www.famouscoincollections.com/gold-coin-values.php">gold coin values, please visit href="http://www.famouscoincollections.com">famous coin collections.