Investing in Gold | Buy and Sell Gold Online

If you know all the possible details and tricks how to make the best possible investment while buying gold coins you will collect a portfolio that you will enjoy for years. This article will present different ways of buying gold coins as well as it will show a range of opinions about doing that.

Gold Bullion Bars and Ingots

Most people think of gold as of large gold bars that are hidden deep down below the surface of the earth. Actually, gold bars can be found in totally different shapes and sizes to satisfy wants of different investors. Gold bullion Bars are sold by the troy ounce and are sold in common sizes of one troy ounce, 10 troy ounces or even larger sized gold bars. Most of gold dealers offer to sell these gold bars for a percentage over the loco price of gold. Of course, the smaller the bar is, the bigger the premium will have to be paid. Those who are the most interested in buying gold bullion bars are people or corporations who want to make a large investment in gold.

Bullion Gold Coins

Gold bullion are produced by countries and private entities. They resemble a round shaped coin. Although they look like coins they do not function as coins because they do not operate as a currency. Others are sometimes considered as coins because they contain some precious metals but are also not purposed for common circulation in a country’s economy. Gold bullion coins differ in size; starting as a small scruples as 1/25 troy ounce and finishing as five troy ounce sizes. There exist some new, enormously gigantic gold coins with a weight of a  one troy ton of gold.

For those investors who are not seeking for coins with a numismatic value, the best solution will be to invest in gold bullion coins  emitted by a pervading country or a respected private individual like: U.S. Gold Eagles, U.S. Gold Buffaloes, South African Krugerrands, Canadian Gold Maple Leafs and Australian Philharmonic gold bullion coins.

Common U.S. Gold Coins

Another way to invest in gold  is to buy United States gold coins-only those which were minted  in 1933 or earlier. Gold coins circulated freely in the US economy up until President Franklin D.Roosevelt backed up all gold coins that had no numismatic value. Many people saved the recalled coins and that is why they are available to the collectors for not much money. A good example is the $20 Liberty gold coin minted in Philadelphia in 1879. It has 0.9675 troy ounces of pure gold. If gold is worth like $1,800 per troy ounce than there is $1,741.50 worth of pure gold . An average circulated example is currently selling for approximately $1,865. This is a premium of $123.50 (or like 6,6%) over the loco price of gold.  You may purchase common U.S. gold coins that have a value of $1, $2,50, $3,00, $5,00, $10,00, $20,00.

Modern U.S. Commemorative Gold Coins

Quite a big event took place in 1982 when the U.S. mint its commemorative coin program. 1984 is a date when the first coin presenting a commemoration of the Games of the  XXIII Olympics in Los Angeles was minted. Contrary to common U.S. coins these don’t function as a currency and are not intended for circulation but they carry a high numismatic premium. As it is known, the USA still produces the commemorative gold coins which can be purchased directly from the United States Mint.

Foreign Gold Coins

If you know how to buy gold coins you shouldn’t be surprised to reveal some unexpected values. The U.S.A. is not the only country on the world where gold coins circulate in over the years. The prices can vary dramatically if taking into consideration the gold content of the coin, collector demand or supply available. Good examples of these coins include: Switzerland 20 Francs, Mexico 2 Pesos, Mexico 50 Pesos, Britain 5 Pound and Austria 100 Corona. If you want to buy some of these coins you should first buy a book on foreign coins in order to check the gold content as well as the current market values.

Rare U.S. Gold Coins

It is not a good idea to purchase these kind of gold coins if you are unsure how to buy them. There are quite a few U.S. gold coins which have very low mintages as well as the high collector demand. That’s why the numismatic premium is soaring over and above the intrinsic value of gold within the coin. For instance, the same $20 Liberty gold coin from 1879 minted in New Orleans  has a market value of over $23,000. In addition, it has the same 0,9675 troy ounces of gold as the Philadelphian one.

Selecting a good dealer

If you’re more aware of the whole thing connected with ‘how to buy gold coins’ than you were for example one or two years ago, it’s high time to find a good coin dealer to buy gold coins from. Looking for an honest dealer is looking for a dealer who has got five key traits: ethics, reputation, size, guaranty and experience. To make sure that the partnership will go well you should also ask your dealer for some information about minimum amounts, accepted forms of payment and the time when you will be able to take ownership of your gold coins.

Types of Dealers to Stay Away from:

There are seven types of coin dealers that you should stay away from, such as:

*online dealers selling at big discounts

* pawnshops

*tv advertisements

*jewelry stores

* craigslist ads

*any online dealer who wants bank or cash wire transfer ONLY, and

* any dealer who has no physical store-only an e-mail address

What are my gold coins worth

If your gold coin  is one of those that are really rare, it automatically increases in value especially if the one you own is from a limited collection it will increase in value quite satisfactorily.  It will happen only if the condition of your coin is the same as at the very beginning when you bought it. Remember not to take them out of their specially prepared storage containers in order not to damage it, or when it comes to silver coins-tarnish it. You mustn’t clean them and keep them out of the sunlight.

Every person who collects gold coins should get a valuation done (at least yearly). The valuation is a good idea for insurance purposes. A collector may ask a coin dealer to do a valuation and give you a document that constitutes an official, writen result of the valuation.

Refined gold coins and gold bars are known/defined as gold bullion. They are available in different types, sizes, shapes and weights. There is such an easy thing to go and purchase gold coins-it is almost as easy as going to the hairdresser in order to cut your hair. In this article the attention will be paid on the cogitation of buying gold bars.

Know why you are buying gold bars

According to what actually you buy gold bars for there are two possibilities that will set the scene properly. Firstly, if you buy gold in forms of coins, nuggets or jewelry (individual buyers do so), you essentially buy it for its beauty and to make the best of it . When it comes to buying gold bars for the sake of a good investment or for the sake of hedging against inflation. The whole thing concerned with buying gold bars bears a risk but as with many other things you may minimize the risk by  understanding the dos and don’ts.

Consider Historical Gold Prices

The price of gold changes. It has been increasing little by little for several years now. When it comes to the end of 2003, gold closed at $414.80 a troy ounce. In the end of the first quarter  of 2008, a loco price of gold was around $930 for a troy ounce-it’s like more than double the price that was in 2003. Currently a 1-kg gold bar  (about 2.2 Ibs) costs something like  $30.000.  While considering the option of buying gold, you should be aware of the prices and realize the transience of them.

Select for purity and weight

The price of gold is stipulated by supply and demand but the most important two factors that should be taken into account are the purity and weight .

Purity: the plurality of gold bars are stamped with the purity value of every particular  bar. The purity of course differs according to which mint has produced it. The average  purity is about 99,8% but with the government-backed gold bars it can be as high as 99,99% pure.

Weight: As it was probably mentioned before and in many other cases, gold bars vary in size, sprawling from about 1gram (.035274 ounces) up to 440 grams, which is just less of  1lb.

On the whole, in respect to your earnings, you should try to purchase the largest gold bar because  the larger the bar is,  the less margin it has and it is the best way to come closer to the actual value of the gold.

Look for Gold Bar Standards

Traditionally, each gold bar has four marks that notably identify it:

1)      Serial number of each bar

2)      The percentage of purity

3)      Gross weight

4)      Refiner’s mark on the goldsmith’s brand name

It is very important to identify these markings on the gold bars first. It may be a little difficult to do so over the internet but if the website and the company you’re going to buy the gold online from is a reputable one, then you can buy the gold bars without a second thought.

Choose a gold bar dealer

It should be very important to everyone who wants to buy a gold bar to make sure that the place and the person you buy the bar from is proven and trusted –that’s why because of the changes that are observable in taking into account the value which differs from one bar to the next. The dealer that you chose should be able to prove that the gold bar has been tested and assayed should show you the certificate of its validity and fastness. If you will check all the details and take it seriously you can be sure that you will not be defrauded. The reputation and longevity are two most important factors that characterize a good dealer.

If you decide to purchase gold bars online, your dealer is obliged to send your purchase to you via so called registered insured e-mail or he should find another

insured delivery process for the full value of the gold.  Wages auxetic of a fixed amount, usually in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, would warrant hiring of an armour-plated car delivery service.

Protect your investment

As for storing and protecting your investment, the smaller your gold bar is, the easier it will take to store it. A single ounce of gold can be easily kept in a bank safe deposit box but you should be aware of the fact that safe deposit boxes are not FDIC insured. If you discuss the bars of gold which sizes can normally be found at Fort Knox, you need to look at bounded  vault facility,  strictly dedicated to protect gold and other valuable merch.

To summarize, gold is a wise investment. Many experts predict that for the next decade the price of it could double or triple from how it is now.

Canada is an example of another place (among Australia, the US or the UK) where buying gold is not really complicated. There is a place in Canada where you can purchase gold-it is called the Canadian Royal Mint. The Canadian Royal Mint produces gold as well as silver and any other valuable, beautiful coins. One of them, one of the most amazing ones is the famous Canadian Gold Maple Leaf.

The thing that should be mentioned is that Canadian Gold Dealers should not be necessarily the only ones that you can buy gold from. There is another solution, probably as good as many other options, namely the opportunity to buy the gold coins from the major US Gold Dealers-you’ll get  (for well-balanced postage costs) your gold coins and you won’t be angled.

Buy Gold Bullion Online in Canada

Goldmoney.com is probably one of the most popularized websites among those who want to buy gold bullions online. Goldmoney.com has been in business since 2001 and has grown rapidly. GoldMoney was founded by James Turk and his son Geoff Turk, who both believe in gold’s role as an essential financial asset and a globally recognised form of money. If you want to buy gold bullions in Canada you should visit this site.

The website is especially popular among many Canadian gold investors. In 2008 the GoldMoney held over $300 million US dollars worth of gold for its clients. The company guarantees safety and convenience as well as the effective method that enables the buyers to buy gold bullions in Canada. There is no trick. Your gold is entirely insured and stored for you in special vaults in Zurich and London.

GoldMoney is dedicated to providing the highest level of customer service. To learn more and to get more detailed information about the whole system and the rules of using this website just visit www.goldmoney.com.

Canadian Gold Mapie Leaf

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official bullion gold coin of Canada, and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. The coin was created by Walter Ott, it is one of the purest gold regular-issue coins in the world with a gold content of .9999 millesimal fineness (24 carats), with some special issues .99999 fine. The gold  coin contains virtually no base metals at all—only gold, from mines in Canada. The coin was introduced in 1979. At the time the only bullion coin was the Krugerrand, which was not widely available because of the economic boycott of apartheid-era South Africa. Coins minted between 1979 and 1982 have a gold content of .999.

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf if famous all around the world because of its incredible beauty, purity and magnificence. It is easy to find the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf  even in India and the Far East where dealers buy and sell it.

Perhaps most magical of all, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins are an investment to own and to admire and touch. When you hold a Gold Maple Leaf coin in your hand, you’re holding 5,000 years of security and value.

One Million Dollar Gold Coin

In 2007 the Royal Canadian Mint produced the world’s first million dollar coin. It is the 100 kg, 99999 pure gold bullion coin with a $1 million face value. The coin was originally conceived as a unique showpiece to promote the Mint’s new line of 99999 pure 1 oz Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins.

To make it even more interesting, the Mint decided to make a very limited quantity available for sale. Hitherto, five of these  five of these majestic gold bullion coins been purchased by investors from Canada and other abroad countries.

The reverse of the coin presents an elegant, hand-polished maple leaf design by Royal Canadian Mint artist and engraver Stan Witten, and the obverse represents the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by famed Canadian artist Susanna Blunt.

Royal Canadian Mint

Royal Canadian Mint is famous for coin production, storage, assay, reference and analysis tools, as well as its world-class refiner. The Mint provides storage services for Royal Canadian Mint branded precious metals in its vaults. This service is not offered directly to individuals, but through business to business accounts with the Royal Canadian Mint.

The Mint’s high-tech plant in Winnipeg produces over 1 billion circulation coins each year. You find them in your pocket and use them for tips, parking meters, vending machines, piggy banks.

The Mint also issues special circulation coins to mark events or occasions, such as the coloured Poppy quarter, the Millennium series of 25-cent coins and the 2010 Vancouver Olympic mascot coins.

Another virtue of the Royal Canadian Mint is the fact that it offers various possibilities while talking about gifts. When you need to find a high-quality gift, look in The Royal Canadian Mint store ; you will find here coin sets, timepieces, commemorative medallions and jewellery.

The high quality of its products (the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf production) is one of many factors that makes the RCM to be famous and well known all over the world.

Canadian Gold Coins

The Royal Canadian Mint offers a wide range of different coins, bars and precious metals. It all can be found at www.mint.ca

The high quality and  pure gold content of the Canadian gold coins make them  popular everywhere in the world. There is nothing easier than buying gold in Canada or in any other country. Probably because of the high quality and purity  that were mentioned before it is a great pleasure and the most exciting thing for many Canadian gold investors to buy Canadian gold.

The USA is the Mecca of economy, trade, culture and so on. It is probably also the best place the whole world over to buy gold easily and supposedly the greatest spate  of the dealers and auctions selling gold coins and  gold bars than anywhere else on Earth.

Here are some examples of types of gold that you can buy in the USA:

-Rare US Gold which requires an experienced collector; a good examples of it are Early gold US Eagles.

-Gold bars and gold bullion. The seizes oscillate between 1 gram and 20 troy ounces and are popular among collectors. Gold, Australian Nuggets, are brilliant example of an excellent buy.

-Gold Coins-coming from all over the world, which can be acquired in the US , please any taste. Examples include:

* Australian Corona

* Australian Philharmonic

*Australian Corona

* S.A. Krugerrand

* Mexican 50 Peso

* Canadian Maple Leaf

* U.S. Eagle

The most important thing is that you must be dead certain while buying worth investing gold coins. All to do is to find a trusted, reputable dealer or a mint. Making a purchase at auctions will not be supported as long as the person is not a respected and experienced collector. Best examples, presented below, present some of US coins that are popular and worth the investment:

• Liberty Half Eagle
• $5 Half Eagles
• $10 Eagles
• $20 Double Eagles
• $2.50 Quarter Eagle
• Liberty Head Quarter Eagle
• Indian Head Quarter Eagle
• Indian Head Half Eagle

The US is the birthplace of the global economy, culture, science, etc. It is also a great place to buy gold. There is nothing simpler than buying gold in the USA. It can be done with a small help from your dealer in the shopping arcade or comfortingly online in the same way as from the overseas mints and dealers.

Point out that one cannot acquest right  from the US mint-the only way to do it is to purchase it from dealers. Buying gold (in the USA) is a fantastic pleasure/hobby especially for zealots. What is more, the enthusiasts of buying gold can combine the pleasant with the useful by having fun and at the same time earning for living as well as  a good way of ensuring themselves the future.

Quite often people want to liquidate their assets and sell their gold coins. If we want to get the best value, it is important to find a good place to sell. Firstly, it is crucial to keep the gold coins in the condition in which we bought them, take care of them carefully, keep all the documents and certificates. Secondly, it is necessary to find coin dealers and auction houses and follow their current prices for the coins we have decided to sell. In this way we can realize the current values and get the best prices. Thirdly, we search the right outlet to sell our assets.

Obviously, there are always advantages and disadvantages of each selling alternative.

The first one is to put your adverts in the local papers and magazines for collectors. However, it is not easy to find a collector who will pay you a top possible price for your coins. To be honest, it is rather a hit and miss method.

Another one is using an auction house. There are some online auction houses and services, for example eBay. Unfortunately, it is not the best method either. We have little chances of getting the high bidding. Also, people interested in our coins may not be watching the end of an auction and then we may get a very little and unsatisfying price.

The next method is selling your gold coins to a reputable dealer. This may be the dealer we purchased  our coins from. This will be a good method as this dealer keeps a record of the coins and will probably be happy to buy the coins back at an agreed upon price.

You will usually be given a fair price. Maybe it is not going to be very high as dealers will resell your coins again and must still have some profits, but still they are glad to repurchase the coins from you.

However, it sometimes happens the dealer does not want to purchase your gold, or you do not want to sell it to him. In this situation you just have to study prices, browse around, read and get to know about dealers and auctions. Finally, you will surely find your prefect method of selling your coins and get the satisfying money for them.

The price of gold bar and the price of gold change every day. People buy large gold bars to store assets for a longer time in case of the economic crisis, while smaller bars are usually bought for a shorter period of time and then sold.

Gold Bar Types

Talking about the types of gold bars we usually distinguish two types – cast and minted.

Cast gold bars are produced by pouring gold and in this way we get a product called gold ingot. Then various markings are pressed into the gold – registration number, gold purity, manufacturing mark etc. This dense material is quite soft so it is easy to mark it and manage. All over the world about twenty seven accredited manufacturers produce cast gold bars. Various weights of gold bars are manufactured . The smallest gold bars are produced in Brazil and they weigh 10 grams. Brazil, Europe and Japan manufacture cast gold bars that are popular in the whole world. If you need the ounce bars, you can buy those made in Australia, Europe, the UK and the USA.
Minted gold bars are produced from gold bars which have already been poured into a mound and now they are drawn out into strips. Next the gold bullion bars and produced. They are given various sizes and shapes. In the minting process the markings are applied.

When gold coins are produced, the manufacturing process is the same. However, the process of stamping is done more carefully.

The standard minted bars are produced by four accredited manufacturers:

Argor-Heraeus. A subsidiary of Union Bank of Switzerland

Metalor. A subsidiary of Swiss Bank Corporation

Valcambi. A subsidiary of Credit Suisse

Pamp SA

These four manufacturers produce about 35% of all the minted gold bars in available worldwide. The bank subsidiaries also make bars with the name of the bank stamped so the customers can easily recognize it.

Gold Bar Purity

The purity of gold bars in expressed in units per 100, 1000 and 10000. Generally, gold bars are 99.99%, but still in some places around the world it may be slightly different. Let’s consider the following examples:
In Dubai the gold purity is 99.9%

In Iran – 99.5%

In Hong Kong – 99%

In Thailand – 96.5%

There is also a new product on the market. It is called ChipGold. It is quite a new form of gold bar. It consists of 1-20 grams which are presented in a sealed, certifies pack, and it all has a size of a credit card. It was introduced to be used as an easy investment in gold. Also, it can be easily bought, transported and sold.

The granddaddy of all the gold bars in the world called “London Good Delivery” weighs about 12,5 kg. These bars are 99.5% pure and are used by banks, governments and institutions to store and transfer value.

Gold Bar Weights

Various geographical regions use different units of weight for gold:

Grammes are used internationally

Ounnces are used in English speaking countries such as The USA, The UK and Australia

Tolas are used in in India, Pakistan, Middle East and Singapore

Taels are used in Chinese speaking countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan and China

Bahts are used in Thailand

Chi are used in Vietnam

Dons are used in Korea

One troy ounce equals 31.1034768grams. An ounce of gold costs 900 dollars so one gram is worth about 28.935673 dollars.

Troy ounces are used to measure gold to distinguish it from the slightly lighter avoirdupois ounces used for food. One avoirdupois ounce weighs 28.349523125 grams.

One tonne weighs 1000 kg, and it equals to 32,150.746 troy ounces

One kg weighs 1000g and it equals 32.15074656 troy ounces

One tael equals 50 grams (that is the rate of taels which is officially used in China; in Taiwan and Hong Kong one tael equals 37.429grams)

Gold Bar Prices

The prices of gold bars depend on the price of gold at the given moment, which means that the higher the value of gold, the higher the value of gold bars. Among others the price includes the manufacturing costs, the costs of gold bar dealers and their profits, the costs of shipping and insurance. In some countries also taxes have the influence on the price of gold bars.

If you want to buy gold bars, it is best to buy the heaviest bars you can afford because in this way you will pay less premium per ounce or kilogram. The premium also goes down as the price of the gold bar goes up. It is also reasonable to purchase some smaller one ounce bars if you plan to sell some of them in the future to cover some sudden costs. It happens that the premium for ounce gold bars is not higher than the premium for large bars.

If you do not really have to, it is better not to sell glad bars for the national fiat currency. The reason is that its value is decreasing rapidly. Even if you get more than you paid for your gold, the value may diminish very fast.

Why Buy Gold Bars

Gold bars seem to be a safe investment for the future. Generally the value of gold does not change together with the value of goods  we get for it. For one ounce of gold we can get as much as we could years ago. However, the amount of fiat currency we can get for one ounce does go down because of inflation, recessions.

To be honest, it is good to buy and have gold bars, but it is not good to sell them.

If you really have to sell some of your gold, bars are best because they are accepted worldwide.

Where to Buy Gold Bars

People buy gold bars from various sources such as gold dealers, mints, foundries, private owners, auctions etc. General rules for purchasing gold are obeyed everywhere in the world.

These are basic principles for you to use when buying gold bars in order to get the best deal.

1. Try to buy the biggest bars you can afford. You will pay less premium and the prize per ounce will be smaller.
2. Buy at licensed gold dealers and mints.
3. If you are buying gold bars with shipment, find out about all costs of shipping and insurance.
4. Find out as much as possible about the gold bar dealer or person or company you are about to buy gold from. It is good to know who they are, if it is easy to contact with them, if they are licensed. Try to find out of any of your friends or associates have already bought from them before.
5. You should have some knowledge of gold and gold bars. Find out how they are produced, in what forms, in what weights and fineness. Try to find out how much premium you are going to pay.

You should also give your gold investment some time to pay off. Then you will obviously get as much money for it as it is possible.

Breaking Two Myths of Investing in Physical Gold

There is a lot of unreal information about the issue of  investing in physical gold bullion. One of them is the statement that keeping physical gold is not easy and generally that investing in physical gold is unwise. Gold World is to give you the reliable and fair advice in the issue of investing in gold, so let’s consider the myths carefully.

Investing in Physical Gold Myth #1:

Storing Physical Gold is a Problem

First of all it is not clear where this myth comes from. Probably it was created by movies, where the people could see large bricks of gold kept, for example, at Fort Knox. Since then they have been thinking that investing in gold they will have to keep their gold assets in a way they saw it in the old movies. Some people are even about to build a small fortress to keep their 50 or 100 of large 12.5 kilogram gold brick.

To tell the truth, a 100 of such large bricks are worth about US$40 million. If a person has $40 million to invest in physical gold, they rather do not have problem spending some more to build a safe place to store it.

In fact a lot of speculators around the world do not invest more than $1 million in gold coins and bars, so safe storing this amount of gold is rather not a problem.

Honestly speaking, gold is heavy, even over 70% heavier than lead. The specific gravity for gold is 19.32 and it means that gold is over 19 times heavier than the same amount of water.

We give you this information because a few people are aware of how small the one ounce of gold is. The picture below shows you a one ounce gold bar minted by Credit Suisse. Having to store even a 1,000 such small one ounce bars is not a problem. What we suggest is to buy a good safe and keep it in a place not seen by other people, for example in the floor of your basement, inside one of the walls of your closet, or even you can bury it in the backyard. We do not advice storing your gold bullion in a bank. You do not have access to it all the time then. Also, as we know from the history, the US government may confiscate the gold assets kept in the bank. It already happened once in 1933.

Storing physical gold is really not that hard Summing up – just buy a good safe and keep it out of sight.

Investing in Physical Gold Myth #2:

Physical gold is illiquid

Some say that gold is a liquid unwise investment. In fact, it is not the most liquid of all investments, but still more liquid that some people The last decades have increased the liquidity of gold.

Gold’s liquidity has increased a lot in  the past few decades. In 1970s, during the gold bull market there were limits on the buying and selling physical gold transactions.

Brokers and private individuals – these are the most popular ways to buy and sell gold through.

Now there are much more gold brokers than in the past. There are online brokers, too. A good example is Kitco or AmeriGold. They have made buying and selling gold transactions easy and attractive because of the instant payments offered and sales prices guaranteed.
In fact a lot of brokers sell gold at a bit higher spot prices and buy it at lower spot prices. If you decide to buy and sell to private individual, be sure that the prices will almost always be over spot prices.

As far as the gold online auctions, such as eBay, are concerned, they usually sell for over spot. For instance, you can see one ounce gold bars on eBay being sold for $900 a piece while the official spot price is $882 an ounce.

Concluding, gold is of course not the most liquid of investments, but gold investors have much more buying and selling options than they had some years ago.

Finally, a little tip to increase the liquidity of your physical gold investments…

Buy Very Small Gold Coin and Bars

Now a very small gold coins (of 1/10 of an ounce) and very small gold bars (1gram) are available. Those small coins and bars offer higher liquidity than larger coins and bars.

A big 12.5 kilogram gold bar is worth a lot of money. This type of bars are purchased by dealers with a high cash flow. Private individuals prefer smaller gold bars and coins. And because there are more private individuals than big dealers, the marketability of small coins and bars increases.

The best to sell are gold coins. Coins such as the Canadian Maple Leaf, American Eagle, and Sovereigns are always willingly bought and sold.

There are various options for owning physical metal, such as, for instance, bullion coins, nuministic coins or bullion bars. Nuministic coins are valuable for collectors but at the same time you have to pay more for them than for the pure gold. If you need a good investment, it is good to consider bullion bars. However, if you want to sell them it may be necessary to assay them and this increases the costs of ownership.

The best method to buy physical gold is to purchase bullion coins. A good example is the American Gold Eagle or the Canadian Maple Leaf. Let’s consider the advantages of owing physical coins:

1 It is easy to transport coins. All you have to do is to put them in your pocket. It is impossible with a 1,000 ounce gold bar. No matter if you are going to buy bread or flee the country, it is always simple to transport your gold coins.

2 It is easy to trade coins. Nothing can be more simple for a coin dealer than assessing the value of  a one ounce Canadian gold Maple Leaf. It is much complicated with a gold bar which must be weighed and assayed before completing the transaction. What is more, a gold coin will be accepted in any coin store worldwide.

3 It is easy to store coins. You can keep them anywhere while for a bar of gold you need a special place.

4 It is good to know that the transaction costs are the lowest with coins. You can always sell one or two coins while with a large bar it is not possible.

Comparing advantages of buying coins and bars we cannot forget about one very important thing. Namely, when buying bars you pay much less per ounce. If you are an inhabitant of Ontario, Canada, you will pay 8% sales tax on the purchase of a coin (but not on bars). Moreover, the premium charged on coins is higher.

Concluding, coins seem to be a proper solution if you want to buy small quantities of precious metal. It is also w good idea to buy coins if you need something to take with you when you flee the country. Everywhere you have the opportunity to sell them. However, if you want to buy more and pay less, bars seem to be less expensive than coins. They can be bought in various sizes and the only thing that may limit you is the cash Bars (or wafers) can be purchased in one ounce, 5 ounce, 10 ounce, 20 ounce and 100 ounce and 1 kilogram sizes, so you are only limited by the cash in your pocket.

Where to buy physical gold?

If you plan to buy gold or silver coins or bars you have the following to choose from:

1. You can easily and conveniently buy gold from a local dealer.
2. If you are in Canada, the largest gold and silver dealer is Scotiabank. They have an e-store and you can order on-line at their e-store. It is also possible to buy at their headquarters in Toronto. All you need are two documents with your photo and a Scotiabank account to pay for the gold.
3. Another online store is Sprott Money . They sell gold and silver and deliver to home and  business address.

There are also other different places to buy gold at, all you need is to choose the option best for you.

Lots of people often ask a question what to do if they want to buy a gold ETF. The answer is simple as if you wish to invest in ETF you can purchase it from a share broker.

Share brokers sell ETF with no regard if it is gold ETF or just EFT. As with buying any shares you will pay the same commission and you will hold it in your regular share trading Demat account. As you can easily notice, any special Demat account is not necessary to buy a gold ETF.

How to buy a gold ETF?

Of course, there must be some difference. First, there is a difference in taxes. Shares and gold ETFs are taxed differently. You have to pay Securities Transaction Tax (STT) when you make share transactions, but no tax needs to be paid on gold ETFs. Another difference is related to capital gains. Shares give a shirt capital gains of 15% while short term capital gains on gold ETFs are all added to  your income and then everything is taxed.  As far as long term capitals are concerned, shares are tax free but their owners pay some other fees. With gold ETFs it is still cheaper.

Concluding, transactions dealing with ETFs are similar to transactions dealing with shares. The only important difference concerns various tax treatment.

We offer you free impartial information about where and how you can buy gold bullion coins and bars. There are various methods to start investing in gold. You can try ETFs or gold stocks, but if you need a simple method, try buying physical gold or bullion. Here we give you some information how to invest in gold bullion best.

Which are better to buy – coins or bars?

Bullion can be purchased in forms of coins and ingots (bars) Gold coins are easier to buy, sell and transport. Moreover, it is more difficult to sell the whole your gold in one bar than sell 20% of your gold assets in, for example, ten gold coins. Coins are more liquid, easier to be sold. However, if you want to buy a bigger amount of gold, bars seem to be more practical.

Investment in gold coins

There are many different gold coins, ranging from the Chinese Panda to the American Eagle. Rare, beautiful and antique coins are more expensive. They are known as numismatic coins and they valuable both as collectibles and as gold coins.

If you are interested in tracking the gold price, do not focus on numismatic coins, but rather on the coins offering the lowest “premium” over the spot price.

The most popular gold coin worldwide is the one-ounce South African Krugerrand from 1967. It is traded at the lowest premium over the spot price. Another good options are the sovereign and the Britannia. If you sell these coins at a profit you do not have to pay any capital gains tax.

It is good to be aware, that regardless of how you purchase your bullion, you never pay VAT or stamp duty.

How to buy gold bullion

Always consider the costs when buying the gold bullion. Gold dealers earn on selling gold for higher prices and buying for lower. This difference called ‘spread’ can be different depending on the quantity and type of gold bullion, on the person you buy it from and on the current gold market condition.

Do not try to buy gold using the gold vending machines or ‘gold bars’ in shopping malls. It is not for investors but for people who want to buy gold fast regardless of how this kind of deal may be bad.

The cheapest place where you can purchase gold coins is Hong Kong. In places such as HSBC bank at Queen’s Road you can buy gold coins for 0.2% above the premium only.

On the other hand a return plane ticket to Hong Kong is not cheap, so the best thing the UK investors can do is to buy from big accredited British or European dealers. You will have it delivered to your door in an insured delivery. The best, reliable providers are e.g. Baird, ATS Bullion, Chards, and GoldCore.

If you wish to sell some of your gold assets, also be careful with the gold dealers’ spreads as you may get even 5% less than the prices offered on the gold market.

How to store my gold?

The truth is that gold is a real insurance and even if one day all other financial assets became worthless, having investments in gold coins would be very useful and still valuable. However, there is one problem – how to store your gold securely? You have some options to choose from, like for example a safe or a bank safe deposit box. If you decide to keep your gold investments at home, it is necessary to cover it by your home insurance, but be sure to inform your insurer about it.

Buy gold online and have it stored for you

A good and convenient way to buy physical bullion and store it is a website that sells gold online. There are several websites dealing with it, a good choice is a British firm BullionVault. It sells gold and stores it in Switzerland, London and New York. Every day you can view your assets online and, if you wish, they deliver you your gold. Similar service is offered by James Turk’s GoldMoney.