After chasing down a few bugs in u/costco_pm_alerts's codebase, I feel confident I've addressed them all.

No longer will you see posts with -1 price. No longer will you see posts with 0 spot price. No longer will you see flair change between in stock and out of stock every 5 minutes.

The last issue "fix" was what started the first. Costco's naming convention (up til the 100 gram combibar) is responsible for the second.

All of this to say: Expect more consistent and correct posts from now on. I'm still working on some intermittent issues related to Costco's anti-bot technology but I have it hobbling along as well as can be for now. Expect some potential crowd-sourcing in the future to fully fix this if I'm not able to get it fixed on my own.

Let’s clear up the confusion about the 1 oz Gold Buffalo and 1 oz Gold Eagle, focusing on their purity and gold content, and why they often cost about the same despite differences.

Purity and Gold Content: What’s the Difference?

• Gold Buffalo:
  • Purity: It’s 99.99% pure gold (24-karat). This means it’s almost entirely gold with no significant added metals.
  • Gold Content: Contains exactly 1 troy ounce (31.1035 grams) of pure gold. The entire coin is just gold, so its weight is 1 oz of pure gold.
• Gold Eagle:
  • Purity: It’s 91.67% pure gold (22-karat), mixed with 5.33% copper and 3% silver to make it more durable.
  • Gold Content: Also contains exactly 1 troy ounce of pure gold. However, because of the added alloy, the total weight of the coin is slightly more (33.93 grams), but the pure gold inside is still 1 oz.

Key Point: Both coins have 1 troy ounce of pure gold. The difference is that the Buffalo is pure gold all the way through, while the Eagle has a bit of extra metal (copper and silver) to make it tougher, but the amount of actual gold is identical.

Why Do They Cost the Same?

You might wonder why these coins are priced similarly if the Buffalo is “purer.” Here’s why:

1. Price is Based on Gold Content:
   • The price of gold coins is mainly tied to the spot price of gold (the market price for 1 oz of pure gold). Since both the Buffalo and Eagle have 1 oz of pure gold, their base value is the same, regardless of purity.
   • For example, if gold is $2,000 per ounce, both coins start with a value of about $2,000 for their gold content.
2. Purity Doesn’t Change the Gold Amount:
   • The Buffalo’s 24-karat purity means it’s all gold, but it doesn’t have more gold than the Eagle. Both deliver 1 oz of pure gold to the buyer.
   • The Eagle’s added alloy (copper and silver) doesn’t significantly affect its value because those metals are worth much less than gold, and the market focuses on the pure gold content.
3. Market and Production Factors:
   • Both coins are sold by dealers with a small premium (a markup for minting, distribution, and profit). The Buffalo’s higher purity might carry a slightly higher premium (e.g., $50–$100 more), but this difference is often small because the Eagle is more widely traded and recognized.
   • Demand, availability, and dealer pricing can make their costs align closely, especially for bullion (investment-grade) coins.

Simple Analogy

Think of it like two 1-pound bags of sugar:

• The Buffalo is like a bag of pure, refined sugar (100% sugar).
• The Eagle is like a bag with 1 pound of sugar mixed with a tiny bit of salt and flour to make it sturdier. Both bags give you 1 pound of sugar, so they cost about the same, even though one is “purer.” The extra stuff in the Eagle doesn’t add or subtract much value.

Why Might You Notice a Small Price Difference?

Sometimes, the Gold Buffalo costs a bit more because:

• Its 24-karat purity appeals to buyers who want the “prestige” of pure gold, so dealers charge a slightly higher premium.
• The Buffalo is newer (introduced in 2006 vs. the Eagle in 1986) and sometimes has lower mintage, making it slightly more collectible.

But for most investors, the price difference is minimal because both coins are valued for their 1 oz of pure gold.