# 20 dollar gold coin **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 21, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848 "2014-02-21T06:28:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/21 "2014-02-21T21:32:57Z")
Currently, gold is $1323 US. per ounce. A $20 gold coin melts for approx. $1277. US. If the coin has been cleaned or used for jewelry, most coin dealers would pay less than the melt value and sell one for about $50 more than the melt value. If the coin is nice and uncleaned, a coin dealer would pay $1300-1350 for it. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/22 "2014-02-21T21:39:16Z")
Why does cleaning reduce the melt value of the coin? Or am I misunderstanding, and cleaning means the coin loses whatever collectable value it may or may not have had, and is worth only the melt value, which is of course less than the spot value since the dealer has to make a profit or he won’t buy the coin from you. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/23 "2014-02-21T21:41:39Z")
I shudder to see all the recommendations to melt down what may be a collectible coin. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/24 "2014-02-21T21:52:08Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I shudder to see all the recommendations to melt down what may be a collectible coin. Hypotheticals are rarely collectible. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/25 "2014-02-21T21:54:36Z")
OMG, I didn’t even remember reading that part of the OP. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/26 "2014-02-22T04:15:52Z")
[QUOTE=Kimballkid] I shudder to see all the recommendations to melt down what may be a collectible coin. [/QUOTE] What some of us were obliquely referring to is a 1933 Double Eagle, all of which have been deemed by Federal courts to be stolen from the US Mint, and the government wants them back. IIRC, they were pre-production samples or proofs and none were ever released as currency. If you had one of these in your attic, you’d probably be best off to melt it and sell the lump of gold as these coins will most likely remain illegal to own for all eternity. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/27 "2014-02-22T05:09:57Z")
I know all about the 1933 Double Eagle as I’ve collected coins off and on for years. One was sold at auction after the owner and the Federal Government came to a compromise after a lawsuit. The buyer is unknown. There are 10 more whose status is in limbo after the owner sent them to the mint for authentication and the Fed confiscated them. The owner is fighting to get them returned. They were not preproduction or proofs, they were standard business strikes. There were 445,000 minted before production was stopped and the coins ordered to be destroyed. All the above information can be found [here](http://coins.about.com/od/famousrarecoinprofiles/p/1933_Gold_Eagle.htm). ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/28 "2014-02-22T06:40:46Z")
In _Building Blocks of the Universe,_ Isaac Asimov noted that a cubic inch of gold weighs 11 ounces. Remember the cliche about the country bumpkin to whom the city slicker sells a painted clay brick, as as gold brick? Those are usually 2x4x8 inches, or 64 cubic inches; a real gold brick of such dimensions would weigh no less than 44 pounds (and, according to Samclem’s information, be worth $84,672.00)! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/29 "2014-02-22T12:53:56Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Why does cleaning reduce the melt value of the coin? > > Or am I misunderstanding, and cleaning means the coin loses whatever collectable value it may or may not have had, and is worth only the melt value, which is of course less than the spot value since the dealer has to make a profit or he won’t buy the coin from you. An old style $20 gold coin weighs less than an ounce. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/30 "2014-02-22T14:43:54Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > What some of us were obliquely referring to is a 1933 Double Eagle, all of which have been deemed by Federal courts to be stolen from the US Mint, and the government wants them back. IIRC, they were pre-production samples or proofs and none were ever released as currency. > > If you had one of these in your attic, you’d probably be best off to melt it and sell the lump of gold as these coins will most likely remain illegal to own for all eternity. Suppose you happened to have such a coin outside of US jurisdiction, e.g., Japan, UK, etc. Could you legally sell it in such a country to a collector there? Or would the US be able to still claim ownership and obtain the coin? While there are no doubt countries where any US claim to ownership of the coin would be laughed off, the chances of finding a rich collector locally and being able to get out alive with your proceeds are reduced. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/31 "2014-02-22T15:08:23Z")
Depends of course. Try this page; [Pre-1933 U.S. Gold | Collectible Coins and Rare Coins | APMEX](http://www.apmex.com/category/507/pre-1933-us-gold) Note they have a buy price listed on most items. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848/32 "2014-02-22T15:33:03Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I know all about the 1933 Double Eagle as I’ve collected coins off and on for years. One was sold at auction after the owner and the Federal Government came to a compromise after a lawsuit. . … Almost a real-life Maltese Falcon. It moved around from person to another, ending up in the hands of King Farouk of Egypt, and was for a while stored in the WTC only a year or two before their collapse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-dollar-gold-coin/681848.md?page=1)