No Official Colorized Coins

Have you ever flipped through the advertisements in the back of a magazine and seen regular old coins done up in their Sunday best? I’m talking about coins like quarters in full color (colorized, if you will). I have and I’ve wondered if those things were legitimate productions of the US Mint - they are not. The coins themselves are real but the introduction of color is strictly a third party creation. The Mint has never produced or sold colorized coins, according to their website, and businesses don’t need permission to paint up coins (unless the Mint has a copyright). Don’t confuse colorized coins with “bimetallic” coins. The US Mint does create “bimetallic” coins, that is a coin made of two different types of metals (like the 2000 Library of Congress Commemorative Bimetallic Ten Dollar Coin made of platinum and gold), it just doesn’t put color to coins.

Should you buy these coins as an investment? Who knows… but the fact that they’re being advertised in the back of a magazine probably tells you something. I know I wouldn’t.