“Those are uncirculated coins that are meant for collectors. They don’t want to mint them with a face value that might somehow be worth more than what they are selling them for as collector’s items because they would then get people turning them back in for cash. Therefore the face value will always be lower than the value of the gold, and obviously lower than the price they charge for them.
It’s not fraud because they make no secret of the fact that you are paying far more for the coin than it’s face value.”
Then why put a face value on them at all? Krugerands don’t. I suspect teh idea is that, in the event of government theft, the face value in worthless paper would be the reimbursement value? That is what they did in the 1930’s.
I expect it have more to do with them having a higher perceived value to collectors if they are actually considered US currency even though they are uncirculated. They probably just stick a value on them because they can sell them for more that way.
Actually, Krugerrands are minted by the South African government.