Acquiring U.S. gold coins put you in great company through American history. Prior to 1933, all U.S. paper currency was backed dollar for dollar by gold reserves. Today, paper dollars are backed only by a government promise, nothing more.

For investors who value gold, they recognize safety, privacy and instant liquidity of U.S. gold coins. As official legal tender, each coin has a guaranteed weight and gold content.

Numismatic coins, especially pre-1933 U.S. gold coins are highly sought after by asture collectors and investors for more than their pure gold content. The Saint-Gaudens, Liberty series, and Indian Head U.S. gold coins are admired and collected worldwide for their historical significance, beauty, and rarity.

Unlike gold that is minted by tons annually, U.S. Gold coins minted prior to 1933 have a fixed and limited supply. No more will be minted ever and older they get, more highly prized they become as important pieces of American history.

We hope your visit will encourage you to add more rare and valuable U.S. gold coins to your collection and to learn how to build sets that will appreciate in value and be greatly admired for many generations to come.

By STEVE RENNER

Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp provider in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution

Circulated Coins

For circulated coins grade is primarily an indication of how much wear has occurred and generally does not take into account presence or absence of dings, scratches, toning, dirt and other foreign substances (though such information may also be noted).

ANA grading standards recognize 11 grades for circulated coins (listed here with brief, generic descriptions):

AU-58, very choice about uncirculated: just traces of wear on a coin with nearly full luster and no major detracting contact marks

AU-55, choice about uncirculated: small traces of wear visible on highest points

AU-50, about uncirculated: very light wear on highest points; still has at least half of original mint luster

EF-45 or XF-45, choice extremely fine: all design details are sharp; some mint luster remains, though perhaps only in "protected areas"

EF-40 or XF-40, extremely fine: slightly more wear than a "45"; traces of mint luster may show

VF-30, choice very fine: light even wear on high points, all lettering and design details are sharp

VF-20, very fine: most details are still well defined; high points are smooth

F-12, fine: major elements are still clear but details are worn away

VG-8, very good: major design elements, letters and numerals are worn but clear

G-4, good: major design elements are outlined but details are gone; for some series date may not be sharp and rim may not be complete.

AG-3, about good: heavily worn; date may be barely discernable While coins more worn than AG are rarely collected, two additional grades are nevertheless used to characterize them:

F-2, fair -- very heavily worn; major portions may be completely smooth

P-1, poor, filler or cull -- barely recognizable While not included in ANA standards, intermediate grades like AU-53, VF-35, F-15 and G-6 are used by some dealers and grading services. When a grader believes a coin is better than minimum requirements but not nice enough for next higher grade "+" or "PQ" may be included (e.g. MS64PQ or VG+) or a range may be given (e.g. F-VF).

Split Grades

When there are significant differences between obverse and reverse sides, a split grade may be assigned. Split grades are denoted with a "/". For example, "F/VF" means that obverse is F and reverse is VF.

The overall grade is often determined by obverse. An intermediate value may be appropriate when difference is significant, especially if reverse is lower. A coin graded MS-60/61 would be considered to have an overall grade of MS-60, and another at MS-65/63 could be considered to have an overall grade of MS-64.

Steve is the ceo of cashcards-goldlynks rare/gold coin club he was the best isp in 1997 check out his about us page at http://goldlynks.tripod.com this article is free for distribution you can sign up for a free email course on buying and selling rare/gold coins for profit by sending email to goldcoinsinfo@yahoo.com membership of the coins club is free to join at http://goldlynks.tripod.com