A Guide to Selling Gold Coins

Actual gold weight is the number that matters

Every modern gold bullion coin has an 'actual gold weight' (AGW) stamped or documented, and that is the figure to multiply against the live spot price — not the coin's face value, and not its overall size. A 1 oz American Gold Eagle, for example, actually weighs slightly more than 1 troy ounce because it is struck in a 22K alloy rather than pure gold, but its AGW is exactly 1 oz of pure gold. That distinction trips people up constantly.

Fractional coins follow the same rule at smaller scale — 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz versions of the same design all carry AGW proportional to their fraction, and all are priced off the same spot price, just scaled down.

The most common gold coins we see

A handful of designs make up the vast majority of gold coins that come across the counter, and each has its own alloy quirks worth knowing before you sell.

• American Gold Eagle — 22K (91.67% gold), backed by U.S. government weight and purity guarantee
• American Gold Buffalo — 24K (.9999 fine), the purest widely available U.S. gold coin
• Krugerrand (South Africa) — 22K, the coin that popularized modern gold bullion investing worldwide
• Canadian Maple Leaf — 24K (.9999 fine), among the purest gold coins minted anywhere
• British Sovereign — 22K, smaller AGW than most modern coins, often carries numismatic interest by date
• Mexican 50 Peso — 90% gold, an unusual AGW of 1.2057 oz that catches sellers off guard

Pre-1933 US gold: bullion, numismatic, or both

US gold coins struck before 1933 — Liberty and Saint-Gaudens double eagles, eagles, half eagles and quarter eagles — sit in a different category from modern bullion. These coins were pulled from circulation and largely melted down after the 1933 gold recall, which makes surviving examples genuinely scarcer than their mintage numbers alone suggest.

A common-date pre-1933 gold coin in worn condition may trade close to its gold content plus a modest collector premium, while an uncommon date in excellent condition can be worth substantially more. These are exactly the coins where a proper grading check before selling matters most, since the gap between melt value and collector value can be large.

Why coin size can be deceiving

Because alloy content varies by coin, two gold coins that are physically similar in diameter can contain meaningfully different amounts of actual gold. A Sovereign, for instance, is a smaller coin with a smaller AGW than a full 1 oz Eagle, even though both are widely recognized government-issued gold coins. Relying on visual size, or assuming 'gold coin' means one standard weight, is one of the most common ways people misjudge what they're holding.

This is also why face value printed on a coin — like the '$50' stamped on an American Gold Eagle — is essentially meaningless as a price indicator. It's a legal tender denomination set decades ago, while the coin's real worth tracks the live price of gold, which is many multiples of that printed number.

Getting a fair offer on your gold coins

At Gold King, every gold coin is weighed, its purity confirmed, and its actual gold weight calculated against the live spot price in front of you, plus any numismatic premium the specific date or condition deserves. We buy American Eagles, Buffalos, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, Sovereigns, pre-1933 US gold, Mexican pesos and virtually any other gold coin.

Stop by 6809 Southwest Freeway in Houston, open daily 10:00 AM to 8:45 PM, or call 713-997-0875 to ask about a specific coin before you come in. Evaluations are free and there's no obligation to sell.