What's the best way to sell this gold coin?

take it to a reputable coin shop. the shop here in Phoenix that I use farily often is currently buying these coins at 1355 each. you should be able to get about that.

The year does not matter. It is just the mint date. The coin sells at the spot price {$1381 today, as you noted} [plus maybe a small premium depending on the coin's desirability] (minus the dealer's 6% or so handling fee).

Go to a couple brick and mortar coin / Gold and Silver shops in your area. {the .999 authenticates itself.}

Gold was at $1260 on January 27th, the same day the last one of these, a 1982, sold on eBay for $1335. That put the premium a collector or buyer of bullion actually paid at $75, or 6%. That's below what most dealers charge. But the seller also had to pay fees of somewhere in the area of 10%. So the seller wound up with $1,200. Pretty good deal for the buyer, not so good for the seller. Today, those same %s work out to (spot price today closed at $1,382) to a sale of $1,465 and a seller net of $1,319. I think you can beat that selling it to an honest coin shop. Or at least do as well, while saving yourself the work and risks of eBay.

So visit at least three coin dealers in your area. Shop for the best price. Check out the pawn shops and 'We buy gold' places as a last resort. They pay the least.

I would Google "coin dealers" in your area and go to a reputable one. Almost all of them trade gold coins, so get a price from 2-3 of them and sell to the best offer.

you could scrap it for it to be melted