Restrike That

         As precious metals become more and more expensive, I'm starting to wonder if I should switch to buying 1/20-ounce pieces. Fortunately, there are always deals from exchanges that work with my budget. Even then, I might still have luck trying out the secondary market.

         This gold coin is an official restrike of the 1915 1 Austrian Ducat. It's approximately 0.1107 troy ounces. The face on the coin is Franz Joseph I. Coins like this were trade coins. In other words, they were used to settle trades between countries and not by the general public as legal tender.

         For about $280, I thought this was a pretty good purchase given most 1/10 oz gold denominations are slightly more expensive than it.

         An actual trade coin would cost much more than the coin's spot price in troy ounces. For example, a one-ducat piece would be around $1000. I saw a one-troy-ounce piece (10 ducats) priced at over $120K!

         While the one I bought may have no collector value, I'm all about being economical with how many ounces I can get. Besides, the design on it is pretty cool. I hope to come across pieces like this in the future.