Things are moving fast. In the recent past the U.S. government has made this asset illegal. I already got some. You should too - while you still can. http://www.cnbc.com/id/26905337?__source=RSS*tag*&par=RSS
It was money way back then. $20 gold pieces were what you had in your pocket and in your safety deposit box. Its not very useful now except as a collectors item because you can't just spend it. My guess is they stopped selling them because they are going to raise the prices again, thats all.
Nothing prohibits the U.S. from outlawing gold again. If the equity market doesn't turn wildly bullish after the bailout, someone in D.C. will consider it.
"U.s. Mint Halts Gold Coin Production" You may want to check your title, because they halted SALES, not production. Pretty big difference.
May 3/07 $2.5 - $3 million gold coin: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/05/03/goldcoin.html Sep 26/08 Royal Canadian Mint not suspending sales of gold bullion coins: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2631882920080926
Whats sad is that Canada felt the need to say they weren't halting sales of theirs. The confidence problem is in the US, not Canada.