Over the last few hundred years, the United States Mint has produced many coins with striking, unforgettable designs. Collectors the world over treasure these coins and swap stories about the rarest of them, including the 1804 Draped Bust Silver Dollar, the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, and the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel (perhaps the only coin…

Gold has been admired and desired by humankind since the dawn of recorded history — from gilded Egyptian funeral masks and golden scepters of forgotten empires to pieces of eight treasured by pirates and bricks of bullion stacked in Fort Knox. Have you ever held a gold coin or gold jewelry in your hand and…

There’s been a lot of talk about inflation recently, and what investors can do to protect themselves should the United States enter an inflationary period. Throughout history, investing in gold and precious metals has provided a great hedge against inflation, because when inflation pushes the dollar lower, gold typically increases in price. While inflation does…

Carson City is only one of seven cities in the past 200 years to be home to a United States Mint. Compared to metropolises such as Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver, Carson City, located in northern Nevada, seemed both tiny and in the middle of nowhere. But it had something that the other cities didn’t…

The word “bullion” may conjure up images of pirates pillaging treasure chests or the military patrolling the golden bunkers of Fort Knox — but bullion isn’t just for the criminal class and the government. In fact, buying bullion is a great way to diversify your portfolio and (often) realize a great rate of return. How…

If you want to see the treasures of the famed Ship of Gold, you’ll need to book your ticket for Southern California later this month. The 2013 Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Sports Collectibles Expo features a display of more than $10 million worth of gold that was recovered from the ship as well as…

If you’re in the market to purchase the largest round fancy vivid blue diamond in the world, you might want to book a ticket to Hong Kong for October. That’s when Sotheby’s Hong Kong has scheduled its Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Autumn Sale, which features the spectacular Premier Blue diamond. But if you go, be…