You can not buy the regular gold bullion coin directly from the Mint. When finding my local dealer, which ended up being 55 miles away, I was informed they would be a third tier contractor and did not know when they would receive the coins.

When asked the price I was told it would be about $100 over the price of gold.

The proof set can be bought from the US Government Mint for $800 today. hummmm?

Its one ounce of gold which is currently $580 give or take $10. So why is the mint selling it for $800 ? Ripping the little people off again ?

It comes in a nice box with a holder, plus the proof has a polished die finish ;)

And ... by the time you can buy a 'regular' Buffalo bullion coin, Bill's 'Summer Rally' bounce could be closing in on that price.

Bill, friend, I am honored that you, man of wisdom of head and wisdom of heart, ask me to speak. A coin of high value is a place of respect and honor. The buffalo is sacred and carries the medicine of abundance. When the coin can reach those who carry light in the mind and gold in the heart, it is good because we know it will increase in value in many ways. Perhaps the coin will also lead to a better understanding of the First Peoples and of the buffalo. The percentage of truth in the common myths is approximately equal to the percentage of truth portrayed in and on financial entertainment media. Thank you for the opportunity to speak

I'm confused guys. I just bought four of the coins directly from the U.S. Mint on backorder for $800 each plus $4.95 shipping and handling. As for the price- that is in line with the price of other gold coins. You can't figure the coin price by the price of gold. There are costs involved in producing the gold coins. Another factor is the total number of coins produced. Gold coins are always significantly more expensive than the per ounce price of gold. If you go to Panda America's website, you can get a real good idea of what 1 oz gold coins sell for- dependent on how many were produced and what year they were produced. As I said, the US coins are in line with the cost of the Gold Pandas. Also, I would not buy any of these coins from an independent broker, because he/she marks up the price even higher. All these coins are purchased by collectors, betting that they will be worth much more in the future. In the case of the gold Pandas, prices have gone up significantly in the past few years, even before gold's current run-up. I think the US coins have great future potential in terms of value because they are the first offered by the US.

Hi Everyone,

To all: Why is the U.S. govt pulling this coin on the market now, given all the shenanigans with gold? I'm wondering if this is not a defensive move on the part of the US govt, to begin getting into circulation in the US a coin that really *is* backed by the gold standard, as it is actually a gold coin. If currencies will eventually be equalized, maybe having some gold in circulation is a "show of strength" for the US$ (i.e. "we have plenty of gold, don't worry...")?

Regarding the price: Is the $800 price not an implicit admission by the US govt that the price of an ounce of gold should go to at least that price?

Beisman69: If you want to buy 24K gold bullion coins, you can do so for about $30 dollars over spot price from a dealer like Kitco - they sell US eagles & Canadian Maples, have been doing so for decades, and are reliable and are based in Montreal - I have bought from them. You can order over the internet. Don't know if they will be selling the new coins or not. I have no affiliation with them other than being a satisfied customer of a few coins.

Best wishes all,

aa asks: "Is the $800 price not an implicit admission by the US govt that the price of an ounce of gold should go to at least that price?"

I wouldn't interpret it that way. $800 represents the premium they have calculated the collector market will bear.

The question, IMHO, should be: Why has the US govt denominated the coin at $50? What does this imply (if anything) about the value of the dollar?

From what I can gather, the mint is only selling the PROOF version of the coin directly. A Proof coin, for those that don't know, is a specially produced collector version of a regular issue.

I would not pay the extra 'vig' here if all you want is some gold for investment. If you want to speculate that this will be a very hot collectors item , then feel free.

A bullion coin like the old Mexican 50 peso (I traded those in the 70's) or some of the new ones, trade very close to the spot price.

Hopefully. when the regular version of these hit dealers, the markup will not be too high. If it is, I'd pass, and wait till things settle down.