Gold coins

Buying specific gold coins: valuation and research

Buying gold coins from our store means:

• Having access to a vast collection of coins from every era and provenance.
• Being able to deal with top experts for both evaluation and research.
• Get a fast and accurate valuation.
• Security at all stages, from online contact to buying or selling.

If you have not found what you are looking for in our online store, you can ask our experts to search for a specific gold coin according to your needs. Simply contact us via our contact form.

Why is buying gold coins a smart choice today?

5 advantages of gold coins

Gold is a scarce commodity, a safe haven asset that protects your savings from financial, social and political crises. This makes it an extremely attractive investment for an investor who wants to preserve the value of his capital over the years. Gold coins also have advantages that make them a viable alternative to the classic gold bar.

As we all know, the advantages of buying gold are many:

• it is the refuge asset par excellence;
• it is an investment portfolio diversifier;
• it is physically owned by you;
• it has immediate liquidity;
• it is exempt from VAT;
• it is easily guarded;
• it is accessible to anyone.

Gold coins have additional advantages because they have established themselves over time as a major trading currency, a product that is resistant to the fluctuations of national currencies and can also be used as a form of payment, because gold coins are also legal tender.

The weight of gold contained in the investment coin also makes it possible to include a certain amount of physical gold in one's investments, gold that has a value far beyond the coin, be it Sterling or Marengo, because the gold price has a global value applied wherever you are. This means that you can sell your gold coins anywhere for the same price.

Buying gold coins online is even more convenient because it allows you to buy and resell your coins quickly and effortlessly, and this system allows you to protect yourself from inflation and create a treasury to pass on.

Better to buy gold coins or gold bars?

Those who decide to include physical gold among their investments often face the dilemma: is it better to buy gold bars or gold coins? Obviously, it depends on the budget and the goal.

Buying a gold bar means having to come to terms with its size. This means that buying a small bar may not be worthwhile, either because of the price of gold per gram, which becomes cheaper with a larger quantity purchased, or because processing and shipping costs come into play.

A gold coin in this sense is more flexible and easier to eventually resell. On the one hand, it is possible to buy smaller gold coins without discounting the production price and thus making them more divisible; on the other hand, the recognisability of the coin, e.g. of a Gold Pound or a Kruggerand, makes them easier to resell at the right price.

Then there is the not insignificant fact that gold investment coins have a different attractiveness than bullion. They are part of the history of a nation or a state, they certainly look more fascinating and they please even a numismatic enthusiast. This has made some of the best known gold coins more valuable precisely because of their collector value. A gold coin that is part of a series, such as the Queen's Beasts or the Lunar series coins, the Lady Liberty or the American Buffalo coins have an emotional and historical value, which entices collectors and investors.

Gold bullion and collector coins

Gold has been used as a form of payment since ancient times. The first gold coins date back to the 6th century BC and in particular to the monetary reform of King Croesus, who decreed that gold and silver would be the minting metals. It was he who declared the value of the first coins, creating the basis for a new medium of exchange of universal value, from then to the present day.

Gold coins today have a completely different meaning. They are no longer current currencies that are used on a daily basis, but are collectors' or investment pieces.

But what is the real difference between collector and investment coins?

Collector coins have value based on several characteristics: the special mintage, the limited number of issues, special historical reasons, the year of issue, etc. The value of these coins is very different, and often much higher, than the mere value of the gold they contain.

Investment coins are minted in much larger quantities, precisely to prevent them from taking on a value that is inappropriate and different from the value of the gold. Their value always and only depends on the gold price at the time of purchase, their weight and the fineness of the coin.

Bars coins, as they are called, usually have recurring patterns and annual print runs, so that the premium for investors at the time of purchase is only very small.

Which gold coins are most popular?

If you want to buy gold coins as an investor, we recommend an investment in classic and popular gold coins: these have an interesting history, their workmanship is particularly accurate and they are of high quality. Their market is stable and their quality is guaranteed by the mints that issue them.

Gold Pound

The Gold Pound (or Sovereign) is by far the most sought-after gold coin by collectors and investors. Minted for the first time in 1489, it must have some special characteristics:

• have a purity of 900 thousandths
• have been minted after 1800
• be included in the special EU catalogue;
• the selling price must not exceed 80% of the gold price (spread).

The standards in force on weight and quantity of gold have been the same since 1816:

• Weight: 7.9881 g
• Fineness: 22 kt (91.67%)
• Thickness: 1.52 mm
• Diameter: 22.05 mm

Gold Krugerrand

The South African Krugerrand is the best-known and most widely traded gold coin in the world. Minted in 1967, it was the first coin that allowed anyone to invest in physical gold and precious metals. Today, it is the coin with the largest mintage and distribution and its value is always very close to the price of gold. Its design has remained unchanged over the decades, which is why it is also one of the most recognisable and easy to resell coins on the market.

American Eagle

The American Eagle was first minted in 1986 in the United States. The patriotic designs include distinctive symbols of US culture such as the US flag, the bald eagle or the Statue of Liberty. The American Eagle tried to establish itself over the years as an alternative to the Kruggerand at the time of the trade embargoes against South Africa. It has not managed to undermine it as the most traded currency, but has become one of the most important.

Gold Marengo

The Marengo was initially minted in 1801 by the Subalpine Republic following Napoleon Bonaparte's victory over the Archduchy of Austria at Marengo. The coin initially had a face value of 20 francs, with a total weight of 6.45 g and a gold content (in thousandths) of 900. The pure gold inside the coin thus corresponds to 5.80 g.

After the birth of the Latin Monetary Union (the first form of ante litteram European monetary union to which as many as 32 countries belonged), an attempt was made to favour the circulation of coins within the member countries by calling them all Marengo and using the same French benchmark (6.45 g coins with a value ratio between gold and silver set at around 15.5).

It was the fixed ratio between the two metals, which did not take into account the fluctuation in value of the two metals, that ended the union with its dissolution in 1927. From that moment on, the Marengo became an investment coin, given the high percentage of pure gold in it, but also a collector's item for enthusiasts and numismatists in its Swiss, Italian, French and Belgian variants.

Maple Leaf

In 1979, the Canadian Royal Mint minted a gold version of its popular Canadian Maple Leaf silver coin. As with the silver coin, the Maple Leaf gold coin features the Queen on the obverse, while the reverse of these Canadian gold coins depicts the iconic Canadian maple leaf.

Maple Leafs are among the purest gold coins on the market with a mintage of 999.9. They are available in five sizes, 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/10 oz and 1/20 oz, and have been in constant demand since they were first minted. As with all coins, the gold maple leaf is easy to store, transport and use as legal tender. They have extremely high resale values and are easy to sell due to their popularity.

As of the 2016 mintage, the Canadian Maple Leaf features brand new security measures, including micro-engraved design features behind the iconic maple leaf.

Buying gold coins safely: some best practices

When you invest in gold coins you want to do so by buying at the best price on the market, but you also need to be sure that you do so safely. Where to buy gold coins without risk and how to make sure you get the best price?

• Only buy from reliable and certified dealers. Counterfeits are extremely widespread and, unfortunately, well made. If you are not dealing with a solid and certified company, you risk running into nasty surprises or sellers who are not experienced enough.
• Do you want to buy investment or collector gold coins? You may have to deal with different dealers.
• Always assess the breadth of the dealer's offer: the greater the offer, the higher the competence and reliability.
• Can you ensure the safe storage of coins or do you have to rely on a safe deposit box? Or can your dealer provide you with a preservation and storage service?
• The larger the coin, the cheaper the price per gram, but buying smaller denominations is more advisable if you need smaller fractions that are convenient to resell quickly.
• Buy online. Online stores, such as our Orovilla store, have undeniable advantages in terms of operating costs and speed of order completion.
• Choose the right year. If you are interested in investment coins, buying newer vintages is often cheaper than buying older, rarer vintages.
• Don’t believe in the Golden....Opportunities. A coin sold for less than the price of the gold it contains is probably a bargain to steer clear of. Real gold is always sold at fair market prices and never below its price.

How gold coin taxation works

Gold is not subject to taxation. No VAT is charged on the purchase. Any taxation occurs at the time of sale if there is a gain over the purchase price. This is taxation on the capital gain, a substitute tax at a fixed rate of 26%. This is why it is always important to keep the invoice for the purchase of gold coins.

In fact, if you do not have the purchase invoice, a fixed capital gains tax of 25% would apply. In the case of gifts or inheritances, however, you do not have to pay any tax to the state.

In order to pay tax on gold coins, you have to use the 'personal income' model in the RT-form.
To get the correct taxation when purchasing gold, you can turn to professional operators authorised by the Bank of Italy, such as Orovilla.

How to resell gold coins?

You can disinvest your gold coins at any time. Orovilla buys investment gold coins, also online and remotely, with a dedicated service for remote gold sales. We buy all common gold coins, appraise coin collections and rare and collector gold coins.

At the time of purchase, we appraise the coins, check them carefully for gold content, authenticity and condition. Damaged coins can be valued at their melt price.

The possibility of selling physical gold in any form and state of preservation, at any time and place, is its advantage over other forms of investment.