Kalyan Wiki
Gold coin
As the name suggests, gold coins are made mostly of gold. Majority of the gold coins are made of pure gold while the rest are alloys of gold and metals like silver. Gold is easy to transport material with a high value-to-weight ratio. We can re-coin it, divide into smaller parts or re-melt into large units. Due to such properties, people started using gold as money.
History of gold coins
Besides other precious metals, gold was a major object used for trade and commerce. Gold, in the form of coins, originated during the 6th century BC. Historians and archaeologists point out that the Turks were the first people to mine gold coins with real monetary value. Later, during the 19th and 20th century, the gold coins served as the main way for making payment. Some historians also believe that at first people used such coins as medals or ritual objects.
In India, history shows us that the Kushan emperor Vima Kadphises is the one who introduced gold coins. Slim discs called Karshapanas were some of the earliest coins available in the Indian subcontinent. However, the first available coins were minted around the 6th century BCE.
Gold coins as an investment
Gold is the most popular form of investment. From the earlier days itself, people considered investing in gold.
Most of the gold coins are minted in the form of 22k or 24k coins. 22k includes 91.6% of gold and it is less cheap than 24k gold. It is also more durable and harder than 24k gold. Mostly, the manufacturers prefer 22-carat gold for making coins due to their properties such as durability and hardness.
Carat is a measure that shows the purity of gold, measured on a scale of 0 to 24. A 24k gold coin will get you more value than 22k because it includes 99.9 % of gold. So, in case of an emergency investment, the buyers prefer 24k gold and for jewellery, they opt for 22k gold.
