Where Are All The U.S. Gold Coins?

[coiltime]

I've read a bunch of threads here and almost none of them contain a find of a gold coin. There are a few but they are rare.

So, I read that gold coins were taken out of circulation in 1933, but were people not using them before that?

Why aren't we finding more gold coins?

It seems the people finding gold on this forum are on the beach and it' jewelry, but it would be really cool to find a gold coin.

[ROLL METAL ROLL]

How many people do you think carried gold coins around in their pockets in the 20's? Its rare for a reason.

[Jressman]

Would be awesome to find a gold coin. I guess its that they typically were issued in higher denominations and more than likely wouldn't be found in pocket change. Especially since back in the day $10 and $20 was a weeks pay or more back in those days.

Also parks tend to be super trashy and a lot of people discriminate the trash out and therefore the gold. At the beach I dig any and every target. Its a lot easier to dig a million targets in sand than in dirt.

[Jressman]

Seems like a lot more people dig old gold coins in Europe than we the USA. I like watching the YouTube videos

[bigstemz]

With the government taxing everything do you really think that everyone who finds one will post it? I don't even post a mere fraction of my finds for that reason. "Loose lips sink ships". Money ships that is.

[BrakingGnus]

Uh -- I have them.

[milco]

The key word is "circulate". While gold coins were produced in to the early thirties, they did not circulate as much as normal change for a variety of reasons.

[Diggler]

I found a gold coin. But it was a Panda coin in a ring. Don't personally know anyone around here that has ever found a U.S. gold coin though. And if anyone does find more than one, I bet they keep it pretty quiet.

[coiltime]

How many people do you think carried gold coins around in their pockets in the 20's? Its rare for a reason.

I don't know that's why I'm asking What about the 1890's? What about the 1850's? Was it rare then also?

The key word is "circulate". While gold coins were produced in to the early thirties, they did not circulate as much as normal change for a variety of reasons.

cool, but i reckon they did circulate? when where poeple using them? for what transactions? where? I wonder

Seems like a lot more people dig old gold coins in Europe than we the USA. I like watching the YouTube videos

no kidding, i'll see like "i found a gold ring" and then I'll look and they will be like it's from 1400 or something, and I'm like OMG, gold and old as dirt, too cool

@all saying "i wouldn't tell" or "loose lips sink ships", the people finding gold jewelry have no problem showing their finds or piles of rings, so I'm guessing that people finding gold coins wouldn't have a problem showing them off either, they just aren't finding them, imho

[Wildcat1750 (nyjrbethelct)]

Perhaps they were just worth so much that folks were not so careless with them. Also dropped gold would be easier to spot on the surface and picked up sooner?

[PhotoRob06]

1. Most people have found a 1 dollar bill on the ground at some point, but it's rare to find $20, and even rarer to find $100 (probably for the same reason - it's just not something you drop).

2. When the above DID happen (and I'm sure it did) we're talking about the least likely signal for any MD-er to dig.

So all that considered, it surprises me that people have found them at all - and there are some threads on this forum where people have. But gold coins have EVERYTHING working against them in terms of getting lost and being recovered.

[NHKeith]

Its like carrying your entire bank account around in the form of one small coin, most people didn't do it.

Usually gold coins were used for selling large assets(a steer, car, horse, house), and personal savings(hid under the bed).

A 20$ gold coin could be months worth of pay.

most gold coins will be gold coins made into jewelery and dropped.

[pulltabMiner]

Burien's got them all. Check his posts on this here forum. He's found three. Yep, THREE.

Actually, in his blog he's got a new gold coin posted so he's found FOUR. Incredible isn't it? He's got the mother of all honey holes.

[coiltime]

Its like carrying your entire bank account around in the form of one small coin, most people didn't do it.

Usually gold coins were used for selling large assets(a steer, car, horse, house), and personal savings(hid under the bed).

A 20$ gold coin could be months worth of pay.

looking into it more they made a $1 gold coin for 40 years

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_dollar

and they were small "Because of the high value of gold, the gold dollar is the second smallest coin in the history of US coinage, after the silver three cent piece."

certainly a gold coin with the smallest value would be in many people's pockets back then? so where they at?

Also, smaller things get lost easier.

I reckon I need to research where they were selling steers and horses back then

[PhotoRob06]

Originally Posted by coiltime

looking into it more they made a $1 gold coin for 40 years

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_dollar

and they were small "Because of the high value of gold, the gold dollar is the second smallest coin in the history of US coinage, after the silver three cent piece."

certainly a gold coin with the smallest value would be in many people's pockets back then? so where they at?

Also, smaller things get lost easier.

I reckon I need to research where they were selling steers and horses back then

Unfortunately, gold that small doesn't register on a lot of detectors.

[CoiltoSoil]

Originally Posted by Jressman

Seems like a lot more people dig old gold coins in Europe than we the USA. I like watching the YouTube videos

For most of history they did not have paper money in Europe so silver and gold coins where the only currency and not only that they have over 3,000 years of people dropping gold and silver coins while we only have about 300 or less depending on your region. In the states paper money seemed a more popular form of currency throughout our history now i'm not saying preferred just more popular but I wish more people carried and lost gold here in the States.

[turtlefoot]

Originally Posted by pulltabMiner

Burien's got them all. Check his posts on this here forum. He's found three. Yep, THREE.

Actually, in his blog he's got a new gold coin posted so he's found FOUR. Incredible isn't it? He's got the mother of all honey holes.

Beat me to it! I was going to mention Burien's finds.

Doug

[goes4ever]

The one dollar gold coin is super tiny, I have one and air tested in on my etrac it comes in at 12-06
Now do I dig these signals.....99% of the time NO, if I am in a field yea, but anywhere else, no. It would be a can slaw or gum wrapper type signal

[carcur]

Originally Posted by goes4ever

The one dollar gold coin is super tiny, I have one and air tested in on my etrac it comes in at 12-06
Now do I dig these signals.....99% of the time NO, if I am in a field yea, but anywhere else, no. It would be a can slaw or gum wrapper type signal

or a platinum ring
curtis

[wayne_etc]

I've heard that old churches can be good spots for finding gold coins. Maybe folks brought them to use as tithes. Ten percent with one coin.


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