The Coins, bars, and trade units we offer are made with different karats. A karat is simply a measure of purity, not to be confused with the gemstone ‘carat’ that measures size. There are many reasons that coins come in a variety of karats, but the main reason is strength. Silver, Platinum, and Palladium are much stronger metals and there’s usually no need to strengthen them. But Jewelers and Mints have used alloys to strengthen gold for centuries. It was designed to keep the coins from being damaged or worn down with daily use. Most investment quality gold coins and bars are either 24 Karat or 22 Karat however, the chart below shows the exact about of the metal held within.

Its important to remember that a lower karat does not necessarily mean the coin has less gold. In jewelry, alloys are mixed with gold to help keep the cost down. Not so with coins. For example, consider the gold 1 oz American Eagle. Even though it contains 22 karats of gold that does not mean it has less then 1 oz of gold. When melted down, the Eagle does have full ounce of gold, the other 8.33% is comprised of alloys like silver and copper to add strength. If you were to compare a Gold American Eagle (22 karat) to a Gold Buffalo (24 karat) you would immediately notice that the Eagle feels larger and heavier. Because the Eagle is mixed with these alloys, it makes the coin more durable then the Buffalo.

The Buffalo and the Eagle are only two of the gold coins we offer at Stuppler & Company. We also carry smaller fractional gold coins like the French Roosters and British Sovereigns. The gold is these coins are .1867 (Rooster) that is 0.900 fine or .2354 (Sovereign) with about 22 karat gold. This means that each coin when melted down will each contain .1867 (Rooster) gold with 10% other metals and .2354 (Sovereign) ounces of gold with about 10% of other metals. But these all coins have an additional investor value based on more than just the metals contained within. For more understand of karats and investment coins, please contact a Mint State Gold representative today.