Are Gold Dollars worth saving?

You may have heard that gold is worth investing in during high inflation and political unrest. So does that mean you should hold on to your gold dollars?

True gold dollars were minted in the US between 1849 and 1889. If you have a gold dollar from this time frame, then they could be worth a lot due to the gold within the coin as well as to coin collectors. Unfortunately, the most recent gold dollars are not made with gold, they just have a golden color.

Which golden dollars are worth money?

True gold dollar coins from 1849 to 1889 can be very valuable. The weight of the gold within one of these very old coins is about 1.67 grams of gold, and at today’s worth they would have a value of about $100.

This is just the value of the gold within the coin, and not the value of the coin itself. If you had a coin that was from 1849-1889, that would make it an antique because it is between 133-173 years old. This could be a very valuable coin to a coin collector.

If you own one of these coins from the 1800s, the first step is to go have it checked out by a coin appraiser. They should be able to tell you what the worth is and if they would be interested in buying it from you.

Just because a coin shop makes an offer, doesn’t mean you have to take it. It may be worth more to save the coin and hold on to it for a while later. Gold in general could be very good investment, and typically over time the value does go up.

Are dollar coins worth saving?

In general, most recent dollar coins are considered commemorative or collectible coins. The US Mint actually uses these coins almost like a promotion where you can buy rolls of uncirculated coins at face value to have for a private collection.

Most of these dollar coins are not actively in circulation, even though a ton of them were made. There are over a billion Sacagawea Dollar coins in existence, and over 100 million were made of the gold-colored US Presidential Dollar coins.

So, if you are a budding coin collector, or want to save some for your kids to have one day, then definitely save them. If you are wanting to save them to build them in wealth, then it will probably take a very long time.

Both the Sacagawea coins and the US presidential coins are only worth the face value of $1 in most instances. There are a few error coins and extremely rare printings of these coins, but in general most are just worth 1 dollar.

Why make 1 dollar coins?

The US Mint is a not only the producer of coins, but it is also a money-making entity. The whole point of these commemorative coins is to make the US Mint money.

It’s best to think of them as a souvenir trinket that you pay a small amount for and possibly forget you even own. The cost to make a commemorative coin is approximately pennies on the dollar.

So, what does the US Mint do with the profit from commemorative coins? The profit from the manufacturing and selling of these special coins goes to fund building new museums, maintaining national monuments, helps support Olympic programs, and other ways to preserve history.

These special edition coin programs have raised over $506 million dollars since they started in 1982. This means instead of tax dollars being used to pay for these programs, that buying commemorative coins is like a voluntary tax or donation to help fund these programs.

Should you buy Gold?

A lot of people like to invest in gold during times of high inflation or political unrest. This is a way to stash your money away, so it grows in value, but isn’t subject to sharp turns in the stock market.

The downside to buying gold, is that you can’t buy just any gold. For instance, you would not want to start buying gold jewelry because even though it is real gold it will have to be melted down in order to be of true value.

Part of the cost of jewelry is the design and any other artistic elements, so you will end up paying more than just the value of the gold. You would be better off buying gold in its purist form like a gold bar.

The worst part about buying and holding onto gold is that even though your value could go up, it could also go down. Traditionally speaking, gold has always increased in value over a long period of time, but in the short term it can fluctuate up and down.

If you look at the historical values of gold, you will see that for a few years gold may go down in price, and then a few years later it will go back up. If you are not willing to hold onto gold for a very long time, you may end up selling it during a low period.

Another downside of holding on to gold for a long period of time, is that it can’t make you passive income in interest like a savings account or investment account can. When you buy gold, you pay money up front, and then you sell it for a different amount later. It is just two transactions; a start and a finish with nothing in between.

When you invest or put your money in an interest-bearing account, it can make money over time as well as the original value.

If you are interested in investing in gold, I would encourage you to talk to your financial planner and make a plan that works best for your situation.

If you are looking for more actionable ways to save money now, check out “Save Money on Car Insurance- Tips from an Agent!“. These things you can do right away will probably pay off sooner than buying gold!