The Golden Buffalo As Jewelry?
The image of the American bison, the symbol of the American West, will shortly be available on a new offering from the U.S. Mint. A report from Fox News Channel mentioned the possibility of a two-for-one starting promotion. The AP article about the Golden Buffalo is here, and a larger sketch is available here. This coin will be struck at the West Point Mint Facility, located near the U.S. Military Academy in New York. The pricing of this new coin will be determined by current gold-quotes, which have been rising at a steep rate.
My husband ran a coin shop for some ten years. Typically, when the U.S. Mint issues a new piece, coin-collectors flock in to buy. This new 24-karat-gold piece, however, will primarily attract investors as opposed to collectors.
Many coin shops sell bezels in which to mount coins so as to wear them as jewelry. Some bezels allow for a plexiglass shield, which protects the coin from scratches. I have a few such pieces in my jewelry box. A Golden-Buffalo pendant would be a nice addition to my collection. Wearing one's gold investment as jewelry is an added pleasure and beats keeping the investment locking in the safe!
One of my favorite pieces of coin-jewelry is a 1911 British-sovereign ring. The coin, 21-karat and depicting St. George slaying the dragon, was bent so as to be mounted on a band. The piece is very attractive and creates what amounts to a single brass-knuckle. Because my father was born in 1911, this ring has special meaning for me. Today is Father's Day and tomorrow marks what would have been Dad's ninety-fifth birthday, so I'll be wearing my British-sovereign ring today and tomorrow.
posted by Always On Watch @ 6/18/2006 09:42:00 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Mussolini,
Hello! Long time, huh?
I've never eaten buffalo meat, but I have eaten "beefalo." Pretty good stuff.
In OZ if you buy anything made of gold (including coins) you just lose money, unless it is a collector' item or shares as a long term investment.
Missing Link,
Of late, the price of gold has been on the upswing, for the most part. The spot-price reached $800 in 1980, and the current spot is somewhere around $580, I think. THIS SITE provides current quotes, bid and ask.
Basically, retail runs spot plus 8% plus sales tax, and wholesale runs spot + 4% to 6%, with no sales tax.
Typically, buying sprees, which themselves can drive the price up in a feeding frenzy, reflect a desire to obtain a hedge against inflation and/or the devaluation of the present currency of a nation.
Personally, I'm not much into accummulating bullion or coinage, but I DO like the jewelry. :)
such detail in that coin...bootiful AOW!
WHT,
The color in the photo isn't true to the actual coin. But this was the best graphic I could find in the limited time I had.
Maybe you've heard that the image of St. George slaying the dragon is offensive to Muslims. Well, I've had that ring for decades, so that aspect doesn't really play in for me.
I don't have a matching pendant of the British sovereign, but I do have a flying-eagle pendant which I usually wear when I'm sporting the ring.
Very beautiful, AoW!
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