With the price of gold bullion rising in early November to settle just under $400 per ounce, the highest price since the mid-1990s, demand has been feverish for all U.S. gold coins, rare and common. As regular readers are aware, the market for rare gold coins has been experiencing the highest demand ever, with price records being set routinely.

Now, common-date gold coins are the targets of buyers, finally, after years of dormant demand and softening prices. If you've been around dealers at coin shows and elsewhere and hear the term "generic" gold, this is what they're talking about.

These are the most common dates of a series that are really traded by grade, regardless of dates. Examples are the 1908 Saint-Gaudens, No Motto $20 double eagle, and other Saint-Gaudens double eagle dates like 1924, 1925, 1927 and 1928, in which literally tens of thousands of coins have been graded for each date, just by one leading grading service.

These "generic" coins, and others from varying series, like common dates from the Indian Head and Coronet gold issues, are often traded as groups, say a group of Mint State 64s or About Uncirculated examples, regardless of date. Many generic gold coins are also traded in groups as "raw" coins, another slang hobby term referring to uncertified coins that are not "slabbed," or holdered, by a grading or certification service. Often at coin shows dealers will display small boxes of loose generic gold coins.

One reason generic gold coins are being sought at this time is that the premiums over their "melt" value (gold content) are very low. These premiums change as market conditions evolve, and as demand increases, they're expected to grow. So, common-date gold coins are greatly influenced by the fluctuating price of gold bullion, whereas the price of gold bullion has no effect on the gold rarities, other than enthusiasm in a hot market or lack of it in a down market.

Numerous professional analysts of the gold bullion market are predicting higher prices for gold during the next few years. Some are even looking for $8,000-per-ounce gold, 10 times the old high reached in early 1980! Of course other professional gold bullion analysts are expecting lackluster performance during the same period, so you need to do your own thinking about your expectations and why.

Major changes in the price of gold bullion have long been a bellwether of the overall coin market. If gold goes up, enthusiasm spills over into the whole market, and of course the opposite is true when it goes the other way. New money chasing gold coins also gets dispersed throughout the entire coin market.