Expert: Dan Moore - 1/31/2012

Question
QUESTION: i am looking for a  16.8 ounce Gold Medal that was produced at the U.S. Mint circa 1975/1976.
From my research I see that only four hundred of these were minted, I haven't found one yet, did they all get melted?
How much should I expect to pay if I can find one?
Thanks,
Robert

ANSWER: Robert,

The only place I know of, that is selling one is PandaAmerica :

http://www.pandaamerica.com/details.asp?item=566&grp=1&categ=2

They only want $40K for it -- almost double the current gold melt value.

According to them, the medal is 14.6 troy oz. of .900 fine gold, and only 423 were made.


Other than that, you just have to watch the national auctions (Heritage, Stacks, etc.) -- that's the only other place I've ever seen them come up for sale.

I hope this helps,

Dan


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dan,
Thank you for your quick response. I am new to this arena of coins , medals etc. My main interest is the historical significance of the piece. A couple of thoughts I have are regarding the desireability of the medal versus say an actual coin that was circulated. I guess in a way the medals were circulated when purchased, that said, I wonder how they are viewed by say the numismatic community. To me it would seem that the medal would be highly valuable due to it's rarity ( I really wonder how many are still in existance) and the fact that it was actually minted by the U.S. Mint. Another thought was regarding the gold used in the medal's minting, I have read that it was gold from the US Treasury, where does that gold originate? Fort Knox? Finally would you know how I could research this medal through the US Mint?
 It was great that you found one currently for sale. My prior research had turned up a few auction sales over the last decade and it seemed that they were sold for much closer to the gold melt value. I will have to keep searching to find one at close to melt price! Do you think the current High price of the one you found reflects the scarcity, the market, the marketing (PT Barnum approach) ?
Thank you,
Robert

Answer
Hi Robert,

While it's likely that some of them got melted back in 1980 when gold hit $1000, I have to believe that most of them are still in existance -- no way to tell for sure.

I don't think it's specifally stated anywhere, but I have to believe the gold used in minting these medals had to come either from Fort Knox or the New York Reserve.

As for researching this medal through the US Mint, you're probably just spinning your wheels.  You may be able to get some information from the Mint's museum (in the Smithsonian?) or from the ANA in Colorado Springs.

Lastly, I think the high price PandaAmerica is charging is due mostly to their desire to make a lot of profit off that medal.  While they don't come up for auction very often, when one does, you should be able to get it for significantly less.

I hope this helps,

Dan