U.S. Mint Unveils $50 Coin Worth $800

The U.S. Mint has unveiled the country’s first solid gold $50 coin for investors whose retail price will be $800, along with a less pricey bullion version.

The American Buffalo coin is modeled on the old buffalo nickel, with a buffalo on one side and a U.S. Indian on the other, The Washington Post reported.

The bullion version will sell for the market value of an ounce of gold, plus a 7.5-percent markup for manufacturing and marketing costs.

Mint Deputy Director David Lebryk estimated that the world market in gold coins is divided between sales of 24-karat coins such as the Canadian Maple Leaf, which account for 60 percent of the market, and more durable 22-karat coins, a category dominated by the $50 American Eagle, of which the mint sold 420,000 last year. They contain 1 ounce of gold plus some alloy for durability, the report said.