1 oz Gold Coins

For most people, the notion of investing in gold begins with buying 1 oz coins. Bullion coins at this weight are some of the most popular gold vehicles today. You can find options to buy them from any sovereign mint on the planet.

1 oz Gold Coins by Mint

Gold coins are, by definition, the products of sovereign mints. That is, they are backed by the governments of their origin countries and are, in most cases, legal tender domestically. 

Each mint offers its own bullion coin or coins, depending on the mint in question. They each have their own designs and features that often become synonymous with the countries themselves. Here are the 1 oz gold coins offered from some of the world’s top mints:

• The US Mint: The US Mint produces two bullion coins. 
  
  • Its original coin, the Gold Eagle, is one of the most popular in the world. It features Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ Lady Liberty design and a portrayal of a bald eagle on its reverse. It is minted at a .9167 purity level.
  • The other coin is the Gold Buffalo, which bears a .9999 purity. The Buffalo is an homage to James Earle Fraser’s iconic design featured on the buffalo nickel.
• The Royal Canadian Mint: The RCM produces a single bullion coin, the Gold Maple Leaf, that features the sitting British monarch and the signature Canadian symbol, a maple leaf. It is also the first mass-produced bullion coin to feature a .9999 purity.
• The Perth Mint: The Perth Mint is the sovereign bullion mint for Australia, and produces two gold coins.
  
  • The Gold Lunar is a .9999 purity coin that uses the Chinese Zodiac to inform its design. Thus, it is one of the most collectible bullion coins, as it is possible to collect complete sets of them.
  • The Gold Kangaroo is more recognizable as a product of the Land Down Under. It features an image of the sitting British monarch and Australia’s signature fauna, the kangaroo. It is also minted at a .9999 purity level.
• The South African Mint: The South African Mint produced the world’s first publicly-available bullion coin when it released the 22-karat Krugerrand in 1967. The coin, which features an image of Boer leader Paul Kruger and a depiction of a springbok antelope, remains one of the stalwarts of the 1 oz gold coin world.
• The Royal Mint: The Royal Mint is one of the oldest bullion producers in the world, and its 24-karat obverse and reverse are unmistakably British. Its obverse features the British monarch, and its reverse depicts Britannia, a well-known embodiment of the British Isles themselves.
• The Chinese Mint: The Chinese Mint creates the Gold Panda, and features both an iconic structure (Beijing’s Hall of Prayer for Abundant Harvests) and the country’s signature bear. Interestingly, though the coin has always been minted to be .999 pure, both its face value and measurement system have changed over time.

As a side note, you almost always get more bang for your buck if you can increase the amount of gold you buy. If you are thinking about buying multiple gold coins - especially if the prospective number nears 10 coins - then you should consider buying a 10 oz gold coin.

Recommended precious metals dealers

If you’ve decided to invest in 1 oz gold coins, you need to have a wide selection of them available to you. Furthermore, your choice of precious metals supplier must be purposeful and prudent, as each gold coin purchase is an important and major decision. 

Although there are plenty of trustworthy and capable dealers out there for 1 oz gold coins, we can strongly vouch for the following sites:

• JM Bullion: JM Bullion is the best precious metals dealer on the planet. It has served millions of customers with great success for more than a decade, and maintains one of the widest selections of 1 oz gold coins around.
• Provident Metals: Provident Metals has a sterling reputation, sporting both an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and tens of thousands of 4 and 5-star reviews from satisfied customers. Its entire mission statement is devoted to helping customers make smart, prudent investments.
• BGASC: The website’s name, BGASC, is actually an acronym for Buy Gold and Silver Coins. Accordingly, there is a large and varied selection of 1 oz gold coins available. BGASC’s purchase process often results in your coins shipped to you within a single business day.
• Silver.com: Don’t be deceived by the name - Silver.com is an excellent purveyor of 1 oz gold coins. Furthermore, it is a site built to be meat-and-potatoes, not flashy. If you want a simple process done properly, Silver.com might be the choice for you.

What To Look For When Buying 1 oz Gold Coins

Regardless of whether you buy from the four sites listed above or someone else, you should examine any potential dealer and ensure that they possess the following attributes before you move forward with any deals.

Dealer Reputation

The first thing to examine is the dealer’s reputation. Start by conducting a search with the Better Business Bureau and/or the Federal Trade Commission. Any significant findings by either agency should be enough to move on and find someone else.

Then, do some Google searching for reviews about the company. Pay special attention to the negative reviews and try to gauge the types of complaints they get in terms of seriousness.

Large Selection

The next thing to do is observe the site’s selection of 1 oz gold coins. Generally speaking, more is better when it comes to selection because of two reasons.

First of all, you can seek out value more easily between the cheaper options and the most expensive of the lot. Second of all, large selections allow you to remain “loyal” to the coins of a particular sovereign mint more easily, which is especially important if you are trying to collect entire sets of coins.

Competitive Pricing and Premiums

Within the selection, you should also compare the prices for gold coins with the prices found on other reputable sites. There is no standard price for gold coins - the spot price for gold forms the basis of their value, but their prices can vary significantly according to the premium that each dealer places on top of the spot price.

Your goal should not necessarily be to find bargain basement prices, as these might indicate a deeper issue with the quality of the products you receive. However, you should not overpay significantly, either, as there are too many dealers competing for your business to justify paying top dollar for the same 1 oz gold coin.

Convenience and Security

Finally, you consider how easy the site/dealer is when it comes to completing the deal. Decide if the site moves quickly and smoothly. Observe how easily you can interact with site personnel or counselors.

You should also take a look at the site’s security practices, both onsite and during shipping. A good site has rock-solid encryption that can protect your personal data against cyberattacks. Furthermore, a site should also take steps to protect your coin(s) in transit, including the use of nondescript packaging, secure courier services, and (if possible) insurance until the package reaches your hands.

Why Buy 1 oz Gold Coins

Buying an ounce of gold is a big deal, and you may be wondering why you would want to buy a 1 oz gold coin. After all, buying comparable weights as gold bars or gold rounds is almost always less expensive. 

The truth is that 1 oz gold coins are the most liquid of physical gold investments. No other gold format has a supply of buyers at all times that can buy your gold whenever you decide to sell.

They also allay the fears of buyers and sellers about authenticity. Gold coins are legal tender and are made with compositions and certifications prescribed by law. Therefore, you never have to worry about drilling a core out of a gold coin to test its purity - in fact, please don’t do that.

Finally, 1 oz gold coins still offer the same inherent benefits that gold bars and gold rounds do. They are still physical stores of value known the world over. They offer protection for your wealth against the tides of inflation and economic instability. In fact, they will always outlast currencies as media of trade, as the collapse of a government never means the collapse of gold.