All that glitters isn’t always solid gold.
That’s the message that many coin collectors need to heed when shopping for gold coins.
While the United States Mint and many other mints around the world — both public and private — strike solid gold coins (like the American Gold Eagle, the Canadian Maple Leaf, and the South African Krugerrand), there are several offers for ‘gold’ coins that really are only gold-plated.
When shopping for gold coins, make sure you’re buying ‘solid’ gold and not ‘gold-plated’ coins.
Also, beware the words 24K or 24K gold plating. 24K looks high and mighty on paper, but in the end if it’s only gold plating, then you still aren’t really buying a solid gold coin.
By the way, gold-plated coins have only a very tiny fraction of the value of a real gold coin.
