Birthdays are a traditional occasion for the gift of gold. New babies in many cultures of this world are greeted with a gift of gold, a symbol of prosperity, beauty, and long life.

A ten-year-old will appreciate his or her first gold coin, as will a newly minted teenager, sixteen-year-old, or twenty-one-year-old.

Gold is the gift that truly is one-size-fits-all, and a yearly gift of gold can help to establish a habit of thrift and a sense of what money is.

Our bullion coins are dated in the current year, so a yearly gift of a gold coin actually marks the year given by the date stamped on the coin itself.

This tradition of an annual birthday gift comes to be looked forward to, and helps to give the recipient a sense of his or her own value within the family.

Start this tradition with a newborn, or with the new Century, but make the gold-giving habit a birthday present that no one will forget.