| Most collectors know that the United States Mint stopped production of gold coins in 1933 in connection with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive orders which forbid private ownership of gold coins and bullion. Many collectors believe that the United States Mint did not again produce gold coins until 1984 in connection with the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. However, shortly after World War II, the United States Mint in Philadelphia struck special
gold coins for ARAMCO (Arabian American Oil Company) to be used for
payments to Saudi Arabia for oil used by the United States during World
War II. The large gold disks had a gold fineness and weight equivalent
to four British sovereign gold pieces (0.942 oz. AGW) and are listed as
Saudi Arabian coins in many World coin guides. This (1945-46) Saudi
Arabia 4 Pounds United States Mint Gold Disk has been graded AU58 by
PCGS and is encapsulated in one of the newer-style edge-view holders.
The coin has a nice even bright gold color and quite a bit of original
mint luster. Just a touch of handling and a few light scratches in the
open flat fields are of note. The piece has the fineness and weight
recorded on one side with the United States Mint in Philadelphia seal on
the other side. These coins are fairly scarce today as only 91,000 were minted during 1945-1946 and many of them were melted down over the years. Because of the history of these coins and the United States Mint logo impressed upon them, they are highly sought after by collectors today. A wonderful gold coin with an interesting history and connection to World War II.
Because of the difficulty in capturing the overall look of the coin in a single image, I have also included a short high-definition video of the coin towards the bottom of this listing in an attempt to give you a better idea of what this coin will look like in hand. Please note that you may need to adjust the video quality to 1080p and may need to increase the size of the video to full screen in order to see the coin in maximum detail. |
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