Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos
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Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos coins were only struck for a single year in 1930. They were authorized and produced as a commemoration of the hundred year anniversary of the Uruguayan Constitution. With a strong .2501 of an ounce in gold content and only a single year of extremely low mintage, these coins have been collectors' choices for many years already, yet they still trade with very limited premiums over the price of gold.
Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos Background and History
Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos coins were struck at the French Paris Mint for Uruguay. They featured a portrait of national hero Jose Gervasio Artigas who lived from 1764 to 1850. He is often referred to as the father of Uruguayan Independence. The coin has inscribed on it the words which translate to Oriental Republic of Uruguay. This term “oriental” here refers to the location of the country, which lies upon the eastern banks of the Uruguay River. The river delineates the border with Argentina in the west. With a national European descended population of over 3.25 million mostly from Spain and Italy, the Uruguayans often refer to themselves curiously by that same designation of “Orientals.” Their constitution which was written and approved in 1830 was inspired by the American Constitution.
The one year issue coins are impressive for investors and collectors alike because of their ridiculously low mintage of only 100,000, an unheard of figure for a true bullion coin. The pieces themselves prove to be a little bigger than the standard gold coins of the day the British Sovereigns and have the advantage of being far rarer. In fact the coins are actually much scarcer than even the low 100,00 mintage figure implies. The Standard Catalogue of World Gold Coins states that they are the only coin for this design type with a one year 1930 mintage only. It also reveals that “only 14,415 were released. Remainder withheld.” This refers to the fact that approximately 80,000 coins were rumored to have been released by the Argentinian Central Bank back in 1998. Most of those pieces never saw public availability, as they were immediately placed with both private collectors and investors. The very real scarcity of these coins means that in times of peak demand, the premiums over spot gold can be significantly higher potentially.
Their rarity also exempts them from broker reporting requirements to the IRS and U.S. Treasury. This is what makes them far better for large bulk gold purchasers than the vast majority of bullion pieces out there today. They offer both scarcity and privacy in a single bullion coin.
Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos Physical Characteristics
Coin Design
The obverse is the actual name employed to describe the front sides of coins. Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos coins' obverse contains the portrait of national hero Jose Gervasio Artigas. Surrounding his likeness is the phrase in Spanish which translates to the “Oriental Republic of Uruguay.” At the bottom is the name Artigas for their national hero, the father of Uruguayan independence.
The backside of all coins is referred to by coin enthusiasts as the reverse. Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos have a reverse with a striking sunburst image. In a semicircle arc at the top is inscribed in Spanish what translates to “Centenary of 1830.” In the middle of the coin is written 5 Pesos. Below the rays of the sun you find the mintage date of 1930 inscribed.
Specifications
Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos coins were only issued in the full quarter ounce gold, five pesos size and denomination. Their exact specifications are as follows:
- Mass: 8.4850 grams
- Diameter: 22.3 mm
- Thickness: 1.6 mm
- Gold Content: 0.25 troy oz
- Purity: 91.67% gold fineness
Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos Pricing
Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos coins are legal tender within the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. With a five pesos face value, you can not buy much of anything with these coins literally, though you could spend them for such goods or services if you wished. No one would knowingly do this on purpose as the value of the gold contained within these coins exceeds $250. The global spot prices of gold decide the overwhelming majority of the coins' value. They only include a little premium for their rarity, historical nature, and collectability features.
These tangible reminder of South American history derive the majority of their actual market value from the nature of the intrinsically contained gold content. This is the value of great importance to people who keep portfolios of coins for investment or retirement purposes. Market values comes almost entirely from the daily gyrating prices of gold as traded mostly in London, New York, Chicago, and Hong Kong (referred to there as “local London” in a throwback to the glory days of the British Empire). Such prices go up and down daily from Sunday through Friday. You can easily determine the current live spot prices of gold by navigating to our homepage.
Can IRA Accounts Contain Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos?
Uruguay Gold 5 Pesos are rare enough that you might be nervous wondering whether the IRS will actually approve them for inclusion in your precious metals IRA account. They are the only ones who have a say in the matter. The Internal Revenue Service utilizes a two standard evaluation process of high gold purity and low collectability to determine what makes the grade and what does not.
You will have to start your account with a minimum of $5,000 in IRS sanctioned gold or silver bullion coins. At a later time, you can always choose to add amounts in only $1,000 increments. Should you already have your own standard form of IRA account, you can simply roll it over into a precious metals IRA vehicle relatively easily. Regarding the IRS' final decision on these Gold 5 Pesos coins, the coins only contain a gold purity amounting to 91.67% purity. This is underneath the floor the IRS has set at 99.5% gold purity. Even though the coin is not actually having a high collectability premium, it can not be included in precious metals IRAs because of its too low gold fineness. This means that you can still include them in your other types of retirement and investment accounts if you so desire, but you will not be allowed to purchase them with IRA account funds. Buying them is a matter of having a world gold coin dealer track down one of the few in existence for you.
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