Document and Entity Information	0 Months Ended
	Jul. 30, 2012
Risk/Return:
Document Type	Other
Document Period End Date	Jul. 30, 2012
Registrant Name	VAN ECK FUNDS
Central Index Key	0000768847
Amendment Flag	false
Document Creation Date	Jul. 30, 2012
Document Effective Date	Jul. 30, 2012
Prospectus Date	May 01, 2012