I just got a call from my friend Van Simmons. He said, "Steve, have you heard about this deal? I've been buying all I can."

Van Simmons knows more about making money in collectibles than anyone I know. He's also one of my recommended coin dealers. I really trust his opinion. Generally, before I buy a collectible, I run the story by him to make sure I'm not missing something. His many decades of experience in a variety of areas of collecting are priceless to me.

"No I hadn't heard about that deal," I told him.

"I started buying as soon as I heard," he said. "And my friends are doing the same. We were limited to buying 10 of 'em a day. But once we continued to buy every day, we were then limited to 10 per physical address."

Here's the deal... just over a month ago, the U.S. Mint started selling the first pure gold coin issued by the U.S. Government. It is one ounce of 24-karat, .9999 pure gold. These coins are truly exceptional. The coin's design is based on the original 1913 Buffalo Nickel. These exceptional coins should grade out around MS-69 at a coin grading service like PCGS.

Quoting the Mint: "Priced at $800, with a mintage limit of up to 300,000 coins, the American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin will be encapsulated in plastic to protect its pristine, proof finish. It is packaged in a blue United States Mint gift box and accompanied by a custom-designed Certificate of Authenticity."

Strangely, the Mint priced the coins at a fixed amount of $800. On June 22, when these coins first went up for sale, the price of gold was $583. Van and his friends thought these coins were such a good deal, they started buying right away.

Since June 22, the price of gold has risen by about $50, to about $630. Since the coins are at a fixed price of $800, what Van thought was a great deal when gold was at $583 is now a fantastic deal with gold at $630.

Your downside in these coins is extremely limited. There are literally millions of coin collectors in the U.S. Yet this is a very limited issue of proof coins... They're the first pure gold coins, and they're beautiful.

It is my strong opinion that these coins will always sell above their meltdown value. Proof coins look extraordinary. And a limited issue of the first pure gold coins, in proof form, will no doubt maintain its value, at worst.

You can only buy 10 of these to one physical address. So that's $8,000 if you buy all 10.

The nicest thing about Van's phone call was: "Steve, I don't make anything from this deal... you have to buy the coins directly from the Mint. I just thought you'd like to know about it."

Thanks for the tip Van. I hope you don't mind... I've passed it along to a few thousand of my friends...

To order these coins from the U.S. Mint, either call 800-USA-MINT, or order online at www.usmint.gov (click "Buy Online" and then type "BA6" into the search box on the left). International orders are accepted as well.

One final suggestion, you may want to ship them off to be graded by a grading service like PCGS (www.pcgs.com). They should grade out in the MS-68 to MS-69 range, and they would be sealed in airtight, tamper-proof containers. I'd bet in a few years' time, they'll be worth much more of a premium over the price of gold than what you paid.

Look, it's pretty simple. You're able to buy an extraordinary, limited-run, proof, pure gold coin, at a better price (relative to the price of gold) than some of the best collectors and coin dealers in the world have paid.

I think it's a safe, smart way to own some gold, and have some upside potential beyond what you paid.

But act fast... the U.S. Mint is limiting the sale to 300,000 coins, and once they're gone, they're gone...

Good investing,