Holiday Gift Guide 2: The Ecstasy of Gold

There is something primal about coins running through your fingers.

I'm not talking about avarice. I mean the simple tactile pleasure of them slipping from your hands. The tinkling sound as they fall through the air and land in a pile. Nothing else is quite like that.

Sure, you can get a few rolls of pennies from the bank and do it, but why not invest in your own treasure trove? The Great American Coin Company specializes in collectible coins, but one of their sidelines is replica coins. Spanish doubloons, to be exact, and lots of them.

For the price of a good dinner for two at a restaurant they'll sell you 200 reproduction coins based on the Two Escudo and Two Reale coins of the Conquest era. That's enough to establish a respectable stash, but the price per coin becomes even more reasonable when you start talking about ordering thousands of the things. You know who else needs thousands of doubloons?  The producers of "The Goonies" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", who sourced their props from Great American.

The doubloons are available in a variety of gold and silver finishes.  Outside of the reasonable prices for the coins themselves the company uses flat rate shipping, so you'll pay the same amount if you order 50 or 5000.  If you want to add some real sparkle to your treasure chest they even have loose semi-precious stones in bulk lots. I have a feeling you could find assortments of faceted gemstones for a better price through a rock and mineral shop, but they sure do look pretty, don't they?