One of the oldest forms of money is gold coins, and they have enjoyed the status of being the primary form of money for a very long period of time.
While countries the world over have stopped making and using gold coins, gold-colored coins have successfully made a comeback and have enjoyed patronage in several currencies. Furthermore, there are some countries that continue to make legal tender gold coins not for circulation, but for collecting and investment purposes.
There are several factors that determine the value of a gold coin, including its age, condition, rarity, and the number originally minted. For most of history, however, the correct amount of the precious metal it should contain was the basis for the value of a gold coin. The right weight and purity, which is also called as fineness, were given more importance than on the factuality of where a gold coin was said to be made and under which party it was ordered to be made. To avoid time-consuming tests in transactions that take place every day, the genuine appearance of a gold coin was referred to.
A gold coin is denser than a silver coin and all other coins made by other metals. This characteristic makes gold coins incredibly hard to fake, since the tests of volume and weight prove enough to determine a gold coin's genuineness. Platinum is denser than gold and costs more, so it would be futile to use them to fake gold coins. Other metals are either too light or cannot be made into the right coin size. In theory, fake coins could only be made by uranium, thus making the dilemma a most unpractical one. Indeed, it is mission impossible to fake even just one gold coin.
While countries the world over have stopped making and using gold coins, gold-colored coins have successfully made a comeback and have enjoyed patronage in several currencies. Furthermore, there are some countries that continue to make legal tender gold coins not for circulation, but for collecting and investment purposes.
There are several factors that determine the value of a gold coin, including its age, condition, rarity, and the number originally minted. For most of history, however, the correct amount of the precious metal it should contain was the basis for the value of a gold coin. The right weight and purity, which is also called as fineness, were given more importance than on the factuality of where a gold coin was said to be made and under which party it was ordered to be made. To avoid time-consuming tests in transactions that take place every day, the genuine appearance of a gold coin was referred to.
A gold coin is denser than a silver coin and all other coins made by other metals. This characteristic makes gold coins incredibly hard to fake, since the tests of volume and weight prove enough to determine a gold coin's genuineness. Platinum is denser than gold and costs more, so it would be futile to use them to fake gold coins. Other metals are either too light or cannot be made into the right coin size. In theory, fake coins could only be made by uranium, thus making the dilemma a most unpractical one. Indeed, it is mission impossible to fake even just one gold coin.
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