Gold Coin Melt Values
Every common gold coin has a fixed fine-gold weight. Multiply that weight by the live spot price and you have its melt value - the floor under any dealer offer.
The formula
Melt value = fine gold weight in troy ounces x spot price per troy ounce.
Fixed weights
A coin's gold content never changes; only the spot price does.
Premiums
Bullion coins trade above melt; collector coins can trade far above it.
How to calculate a gold coin melt value
Identify the coin exactly - issue, denomination and year, since specifications changed over time. Look up its fine gold weight in troy ounces from the tables below. Enter that weight in troy ounces into the calculator with purity set to 24K, because the figure is already pure gold. Multiply by the number of coins you hold, then compare against the dealer's buy price to see the premium or discount.
Why coins are calculated differently from jewelry
With jewelry you start from gross weight and scale it down by karat purity. With coins you skip that step entirely, because the fine gold content of every issue is a published specification you can look up. A 1 oz American Gold Eagle weighs 33.931 grams gross and is 22 karat, but it contains exactly 1.0000 troy ounces of pure gold - the extra weight is the copper and silver added for durability. Applying a 22K multiplier to its gross weight would be double-counting and would understate its value by about 8%. So for coins: set the calculator to troy ounces and 24K, enter the fine gold weight from the tables below, and the result is melt value. Purity is already baked into the specification.
Modern bullion coins: fine gold content
These are the one-ounce flagship issues, and most of them contain exactly one troy ounce of gold regardless of gross weight and karat. American Gold Eagle, 1 oz (1986 to date): 1.0000 troy oz fine gold, 33.931 g gross, 22K. Fractional sizes contain 0.5000, 0.2500 and 0.1000 troy oz. American Buffalo, 1 oz (2006 to date): 1.0000 troy oz, 31.108 g gross, .9999 fine - the first 24K coin issued by the US Mint. Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, 1 oz (1979 to date): 1.0000 troy oz, 31.150 g gross, .9999 fine. Fractionals at 1/2, 1/4, 1/10 and 1/20 oz. South African Krugerrand, 1 oz (1967 to date): 1.0000 troy oz, 33.930 g gross, 22K. The oldest modern bullion coin and still one of the most widely traded. British Britannia, 1 oz (1987 to date): 1.0000 troy oz. Issues from 1987 to 2012 are 22K with a higher gross weight; 2013 onward are .9999 fine. Austrian Vienna Philharmonic, 1 oz (1989 to date): 1.0000 troy oz, .9999 fine. Australian Kangaroo / Nugget, 1 oz (1986 to date): 1.0000 troy oz, .9999 fine. Chinese Gold Panda: 1.0000 troy oz for issues up to 2015; from 2016 the flagship is 30 grams, which is 0.9637 troy oz of fine gold at .999 - a small but real difference when pricing.
Pre-1933 United States gold coins
These were circulating money struck in .900 fine gold, so their fine content is below their gross weight. Many carry a numismatic premium well above melt, particularly in higher grades or scarcer dates, so check the coin before treating melt as its value. $20 Double Eagle - Liberty Head 1850 to 1907, Saint-Gaudens 1907 to 1933: 0.96750 troy oz fine gold, 33.436 g gross, .900 fine. $10 Eagle - Liberty Head and Indian Head, 1838 to 1933: 0.48375 troy oz, 16.718 g gross. $5 Half Eagle - 1839 to 1929: 0.24187 troy oz, 8.359 g gross. $2.50 Quarter Eagle - 1840 to 1929: 0.12094 troy oz, 4.180 g gross. $1 Gold - 1849 to 1889: 0.04837 troy oz, 1.672 g gross. A quick way to remember the series: the fine gold content is proportional to face value, at roughly 0.04837 troy oz per dollar of face.
World gold coins and historic issues
British Gold Sovereign, 1817 to date: 0.23542 troy oz fine gold, 7.98805 g gross, 22K. The half sovereign is exactly half at 0.11771 troy oz. Sovereigns are among the most widely traded small gold coins in the world. French 20 Francs - Napoleon, Angel, Rooster: 0.18670 troy oz, 6.4516 g gross, .900 fine. The Swiss 20 Franc Vreneli shares the same Latin Monetary Union specification. Mexican 50 Pesos / Centenario, 1921 to 1947 plus restrikes: 1.20565 troy oz, 41.667 g gross, .900 fine - one of the largest circulating gold coins ever issued. The 20 Pesos is 0.48226 troy oz. Austrian 100 Corona, 1908 to 1914 plus restrikes: 0.98026 troy oz, 33.875 g gross, .900 fine. The 4 Ducat is 0.44290 troy oz at .986 fine. German 20 Mark, various states 1871 to 1915: 0.23048 troy oz, 7.965 g gross, .900 fine. Dutch 10 Guilder, Netherlands: 0.19458 troy oz. Russian 5 Roubles, pre-1917: 0.12447 troy oz. Indian and Middle Eastern coinage varies widely by issuer and era, so weigh and test rather than assuming a specification.
Premium, spread and when melt is the wrong number
Bullion coins do not trade at melt. There is a premium over spot when you buy, covering minting, distribution and dealer margin, and a smaller premium or near-parity when you sell. A dealer offering 97 to 100% of melt on a common Maple Leaf or Krugerrand is making a normal market, not a low offer - which is a completely different standard from scrap jewelry. Premiums vary by coin and by market conditions. Krugerrands and Maple Leafs typically carry among the lowest premiums because supply is deep. Fractional coins carry proportionally higher premiums, because the minting cost per ounce is higher on a 1/10 oz coin than on a 1 oz one. Numismatic coins are a separate market entirely. Pre-1933 US gold, sovereigns in high grade, low-mintage issues, proofs and anything certified by a grading service can be worth several multiples of melt. Melting one destroys that value permanently and irreversibly. The rule: for common modern bullion, melt value plus a small premium is the right frame. For anything dated before 1933, anything in a graded holder, and anything you cannot immediately identify, get it looked at by a coin dealer before you price it as metal.
Spotting counterfeit gold coins
Counterfeit bullion coins exist and the good ones are convincing. Because every genuine issue has a published specification, the fastest check is dimensional: weigh the coin to 0.01 g and measure its diameter and thickness with calipers, then compare against the mint's published figures. Fakes are very often correct on one dimension and wrong on another, because no substitute metal matches gold's density. Density is the underlying reason this works. Gold is 19.3 g/cm3, and almost nothing that can be cast into a coin comes close - brass is 8.5, silver 10.5, lead 11.3. Tungsten at 19.25 is the exception, which is why tungsten-cored fakes exist and why weight-plus-dimensions beats weight alone. Other checks: the ping test, where genuine gold and silver ring at a characteristic pitch; a strong neodymium magnet, which genuine gold ignores entirely; and design inspection under magnification against a known-good example, looking at lettering sharpness and edge reeding. For anything valuable, XRF at a dealer settles it in seconds without damage.
How do I calculate the melt value of a gold coin?
Multiply the coin's fine gold weight in troy ounces by the current spot price per troy ounce. A 1 oz Krugerrand at a $4,060 spot price has a melt value of $4,060; a British Sovereign at 0.23542 troy oz has a melt value of about $956.
Should I use the coin's karat in the calculator?
No. The fine gold weights published for coins are already pure gold content, so set purity to 24K and enter the fine weight in troy ounces. Applying a 22K multiplier to a Krugerrand would understate it by about 8%.
Does a 1 oz gold coin contain exactly one ounce of gold?
For the major bullion issues, yes - the American Eagle, Krugerrand, Maple Leaf, Buffalo, Britannia, Philharmonic and Kangaroo all contain exactly 1.0000 troy ounces of fine gold, even where gross weight and karat differ. The 2016-onward 30 g Chinese Panda is the notable exception at 0.9637 troy oz.
Why is a dealer offering more than melt value for my coin?
Bullion coins carry a premium over their metal content because they are recognisable, divisible and easy to resell. Collector coins carry a numismatic premium on top of that based on rarity, date and grade.
Should I sell gold coins as scrap?
Almost never. Recognisable bullion coins trade at or above melt, and pre-1933 or graded coins can be worth several times melt. Scrapping a coin destroys any premium permanently. Take coins to a coin dealer, not a scrap buyer.
How much gold is in a pre-1933 $20 Double Eagle?
0.96750 troy ounces of fine gold. The coin weighs 33.436 grams gross at .900 fineness. The $10 Eagle contains 0.48375 troy oz, the $5 Half Eagle 0.24187, and the $2.50 Quarter Eagle 0.12094.