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ameadows
New Member
United States
22 Posts
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I have been left a collection of coins and there is one coin that has brought up alot of conversation. It is a 1908 $20 Saint gaudens coin however it is a miniature verison of it. Extremely great detail on the coin. It is 1 cm in size. I have had people say are you sure that the date it 1908 and I have had several people look at it under a magnefing lens and everyone has come to the same conclusion that it says 1908.
Can anyone give me any information on the coin or what it is worth.
Thanks
Meadows
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
10425 Posts |
You have a reproduction of a Saint Gaudens $20 gold coin, it is not a US Mint product and was almost certainly not made in 1908. More than likely, it is not gold but it may be gold plated. However, gold plating only adds a minuscule amount of gold so an item like this has little value.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2819 Posts |
I think Franklin Mint or an outfit like that put out a "Miniature Coins of the United States" set many years ago.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1815 Posts |
There's an eBay seller that sells those things for $5.75 each, and puts 24K gold in the title, but buries the letters "HGE" in the description. Then she throws a fit when buyers leave her negative feedback saying that she was deceptive. HGE means it is gold plated.
( edited to fix my facts...just ran across one of their auctions )
Edited by steve199
03/05/2009 09:40 am
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
7047 Posts |
Years ago when gold was cheaper they did actually make 8KT miniature reproductions of double eagles, fantasy Maxamillion peso etc. They had about $8 worth of gold them at the time.
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New Member
United States
1 Posts |
Thank you Steve199!
I just encountered said lady and am hoping to get a refund...if not, she messed with the wrong person...will give her heck!
Thanks again!!
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Valued Member
United States
291 Posts |
I believe I have one of each (or something similar), purchased when I was a kid back in the 80s. Here's one still in a sealed, plastic holder (which I then put in a 2x2) that is marked 8kt:  Then I also have this one which is taped to a card that explains that it is 24kt electroplated (as highlighted):  So, how much would a little sliver of 8kt gold be worth these days? I couldn't have spent more than $5-10 on it back then. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1892 Posts |
8K gold is .333 pure(8/24), knowing that, the weight, & the spot price you could figure a value.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
3294 Posts |
Of course, I would think that there would be a slight penalty for gold only 33% pure compared to the spot price of the same total amount of gold at 90%.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
3821 Posts |
Quote:
Thank you Steve199!
I just encountered said lady and am hoping to get a refund...if not, she messed with the wrong person...will give her heck!
Thanks again! Did you purchase it recently? Were you under the impression that it was a real 1908 $20 gold piece? If so, OUCH! I would be pursuing a refund ASAP!  Did you buy it on eBay?
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1892 Posts |
Quote:
Of course, I would think that there would be a slight penalty for gold only 33% pure compared to the spot price of the same total amount of gold at 90%. There's not really a "penalty", but depending on where you are selling there can be refining & assay fees. The place I send my garage sale finds to refines the whole batch & pays a set percentage of the pure gold melt value, without any additional fees. I get the same % of melt value whether it's 10K, 14k, or 24K.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
7047 Posts |
10, 14, 18, and 24K gold are all pretty much standard alloys which can be reused without additional refining. 8K is not standard and either has to be further refined or more gold has to be added to it to bring it to a standard fineness.
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Valued Member
United States
133 Posts |
I have one of these. Its still in the box from the Columbia Mint. Mines says 24kt on the back. I got it from my local coin shop for $15. he said it was .29 grams of Pure gold. I think he lied to me. it was an impulse buy. I've acually never bought gold before and this way I could have some for very cheap. I feel now after research that I got mega ripped off. Unless the 24kt gold ones are not HGE. Then in that case ill be happy paying $15 for $5 worth in real gold. could someone let me kno.   |
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Valued Member
United States
60 Posts |
Yes, I've seen those for sale as well. 100% novelty, but pretty neat nevertheless. I'm pretty surprised at detail of some of the miniatures that have been offered lately.
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Moderator
United States
14434 Posts |
Quote:
I have one of these. Its still in the box from the Columbia Mint. Mines says 24kt on the back. I got it from my local coin shop for $15 Here is a ad from a Popular mechanics magazine from 1980 for the Columbia Mint mini's http://books.google.com/books?id=D9...e&q=&f=false
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New Member
United States
4 Posts |
Hi I am new to coin collecting but I have one of these *miniatures* also, it says its solid gold nothing about HGE or plating, it says 1907 high relief, 24Kt gold, .9999 AU, 10mm. It is TINY, it was purchased 8 yrs ago. I dont have a magnifier but it appears to have decent detail but I dont see how it really has any value as tiny as it is!
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Posted 03/04/2009 2:52 pm
