10/13/2010 1:33 PM (PST)

Bonnie, here is a web-site with an online melt-value calculator for precious metals. http://www.silverrecyclers.com/ Once you have figured out the melt-value of the coin you have, you need to find out the intrinsic value of the coin you purchased. You can goto KITCO.com and check for the daily value of the coins you purchased. You did not say what percentage you paid above the melt value of your coins for premiums, spreads, or transaction fees; you need to calculate in those figures also. I hope this helps. Cheers, Francine

10/14/2010 10:15 AM (PST)

I'm going to include the below information in response to both of your posts, since they are related:

One can ascertain the value of Gold Eagle coins or other gold coins sold by the U S Mint by inquiring with a local stamp and coin shop. Coins produced by the mint usually sell at the spot price of gold plus a premium of about 5 percent. Right now, gold is selling for around 1,350 per ounce and most of the coins contain one ounce of gold. Older gold coins will sell at a much higher premium which reflects the rarity of the coin etc.

Gold coins aren’t the best way to invest in precious metals. A much more direct approach and one that gives the investor the most options if they want to liquidate is to invest in exchange traded funds that track the price of gold etc. There are also mutual funds that do this kind of thing. Investments like this are pegged to the spot price of gold and the buyer isn’t paying a premium.

The companies that advertise gold investments usually sell gold coins and the coins are marked up quite a bit. In essence, people are paying the retail price of the coins and when they sell them, they’ll sell at the wholesale price. In other words, to make money, the price of gold will have to rise significantly.