Investors craving pure gold now have an American supplier: The U.S. Mint plans to unveil today the nation's first 24-karat gold coin at an official strike ceremony at its West Point, N.Y., facility. Modeled on the traditional buffalo nickel, the American Buffalo coin has a buffalo on one side and a Native American on the other. It comes in two versions, both stamped with a $50 face value but worth substantially more because they are made of pure gold. A 'proof' version with a high-relief, mirror finish aimed at collectors will sell for $800, while the less flashy bullion version of the coin — targeted at investors known as 'gold bugs' — will retail for the price of an ounce of gold plus a 5 to 7.5 percent markup to cover the cost of making and selling it. . . . The coin's debut in West Point comes at a time when gold prices have spiked and then dropped significantly. Gold prices hit a 26-year high of $732 an ounce in mid-May but have now dropped more than 22 percent to close at $568.80 yesterday. (Washington Post, Tuesday)
Quintessential government action: confiscate the people's gold, mint it (1933), then sell it back at a marked-up price.
FEE Timely Classic
How to Return to Gold by Henry Hazlitt