As of this Tuesday, June 12, 2012, US Gold Coins and gold in general registered the third consecutive price hike in straight sessions owing to the broadening of the safe-haven demand. According to the assessments put forth by Bill O’Neill from LOGIC Advisors, primarily, the countries of Greece, Spain and Italy are to be considered responsible for gold becoming more and more attractive since there is a lot of anticipatory fear about what may happen in the future.

The prices of gold for August delivery closed at $1,613.80 per ounce as per the Comex in NY. This is a gain of $17.00 or about 1.1%. The metal traded within the range of $1586.40 to $1618.90 during this phase. Stimulus expectations are also being considered responsible for these gains in the prices. According to Phil Streible, engaged as a commodity broker of senior rank at Chicago-based R. J. O’Brien & Associates, the market indeed is expectant of more stimuli.

As far as the US gold coins are concerned, sales registered an increase on Tuesday for the most popular US mintages. Whereas the American Silver Eagle appreciated by 25,000, the American Gold Eagle added up almost 2,000 to the lot. Two of the most popular of the US gold mintages have been discussed below.

The 2011 Bullion Gold Eagle

The 2011 edition of the Bullion Gold Eagle commemorates the 26th yearly strike for the US Mint Program that debuted way back in 1986. These one ounce bullions were release by the Mint for sale across its network of authorized buyers from January 3, 2011. This series was duly authorized by the Gold Bullion Coin Act issued in 1985 and are considered to be the official bullions of the US Government. The bullions are made using 22 karat gold and consist of 91.67% gold, 3% silver along with 5.33% copper. Copper is added to the alloy for enhancing the durability of the bullions. This composition is also termed as “Crown Gold” as it happens to be the standard percentage formulation for minting coins in England, since the 1500s.

American Gold Eagles have emerged as possible investment options for investors looking to add gold to their investment portfolio, in limited amounts. The United States Government issues guarantee with respect to their weight, content and purity. The coins are typically available in a range of four sizes. The most common one is the one ounce Eagle with a face value of $50. Other available sizes include the 1/10th ounce, 1/4th ounce and ½ ounce with face values of $5, $10 and $25 respectively. However, the true value attributed to each coin is the intrinsic value that is linked to the prevailing market price of the metal contained in every strike.

The American Buffalo
The American Buffalo enters the seventh year of mintage this year and emerges as the purest form of bullion to be minted in America. It is molded from 24 karat gold with 99.9% purity and weighs one ounce. The opening price for the golden Buffalo 2012 edition was designated at $1,960. However, the comparatively higher prices of the Buffalo have been instrumental in bringing down sales volumes. The sales volumes for 2011 were significantly lower as the price remained around $2000 for most part of the year. There was almost a 50% drop in sales in comparison to 2010!

Primarily, the difference lies in the purity of gold. Eagles are 22 karat whereas Buffaloes are 24. In addition, the American Mint offers Eagle Bullion in as many as four sizes and complete sets. However, since 2009 they have discontinued such variations of Buffalo US gold coins.