I'm Scared I'm Going To Do It Again

Ok..one's a canadian coin with some gold in it (about 58%) and has a certificate of authenticity and the other also has gold in it (.900) from the central bank of Bahama with a certificate as well.

Thanks!

Hi Helen, I guess what everyone is trying to say is "what kind of coin are you looking at and what is the country of issue?" Many of us have coin guides going back for over 400 years so we have some idea what the coin is worth and whether or not they even made proofs in any particular coin. We would love to help you out as $100 bucks can be spent on many worthwhile items and by the same token it could also be spent on something that is worth far less!!!

The Canadian 1988 Bowhead Whale $100 gold coin celebrates a Canadian national treasure. It is composed of 0.583 gold and .4167 silver. Weights 13.338 grams with a diameter of 27mm and a thickness of 2.15mm. The gold piece was issued at a cost of $255.00 Canadian and was valued in the 2004 Charlton Catalog of Canadian Coins at $160 in PR-65. Now that has all changed as the price of gold has risen so it is safe to say the coin is WORTH more than $100 in Canadian Funds. This coin, along with all other commemoratives, carry a denomination value as required by their respective governments and that value is basically meaningless as no one would spend a Silver Eagle, which carries the denomination of one dollar, as the silver content is worth about 8 times that amount today? Gold commemoratives carry many different denominations but with gold at $530 an ounce, at this time, those values mean pretty much nothing. The U.S. 1/10 ounce gold coin (smaller than a dime) carries a value on its reverse stating $5 dollars but its current market value is well above $50 each! These coins are made stictly for collectors and investors and not as spendable money as the precious metals involved usually by far exceeds the monetary value on the coin. Hope this helps you out as the Canadian commemorative is worth much more than a $100 to a collector or investor! Actual mintage for the gold Bowhead Whale was 52,239 coins!

May I offer a suggestion? It really sounds as if you need to do a little more studying rather than buying coins. Of course you are not alone in this. Many love to see the pretty coins in hand, but find out later that they could have bought better with just a little info.
You have found a good site with plenty of people willing to help, so use them.
I would suggest that you pick a country or series to collect, and pick up a book. It isn't as much fun as buying coins, but can save you quite a few headaches and even a few dollars along the way.

You are totally right of course and rest assured that I'll be buying the books before I buy anymore coins lol Looking around these past few days has been an eye-opener for sure, quite overwhelming! I'd love to collect some coins besides the American State coin series and this site has helped me narrow down the area I'd like to approach. I'll be doing a lot of studying, I promise! lol

Thanks for putting up with my dopey questions :)