What gold to buy - gold coins to buy : Bad Credit Advisor

What gold to buy - gold coins to buy

This is the most common question we hear from our readers. What gold coins should I buy and why is quite an important topic to discuss. Because of all the advertising of certified or graded gold coins, it is rather hard to decide what gold to buy. Add the rumors about likely upcoming gold confiscation by the U.S. government, similar to the one of 1933 when many gold bars and coins were basically taken away, and the decision has just gotten harder. On a lighter note, New York spot price today closed $1,197 today and was $1,202.50 at the highest.
When considering what gold to buy, always look for three things first,
- the coins with the lowest premium
- the coins popularity
- which gold bars to buy

The lowest premium is an obvious choice and the more coins you often buy from a reputed Internet dealer, the lower the premium or surcharge that dealer wants you to pay over the gold spot price, though not by much. Different dealers have different prices on the same gold coins too, so it is imperative to shop around. The difference between two dealer prices can be substantial simply because one has too many American Eagles or Chinese Pandas in stock and needs to move them quickly. Internet gold prices are always better than your neighborhood brick and mortar store.

The coin popularity is important when debating what gold coins to buy. The more popular the coin, the easier it sells when needed. That is why American Eagle and Canadian Maple Leaf are two gold coins you should seek to buy first. For Americans and Canadians these choices are obvious. The proximity of both countries and dollars are the dollars. You can always use them for their face value as well. And of course, both are guaranteed by their respective governments to contain the stated amount of actual gold weight in troy ounces.

I personally think, American Eagle Gold Coin design is stunning. I also like the fact, it contains a bit of silver and copper making it a much more wear-resistant 22 karat coin with .9167 gold content. To be exact, each Gold AE has 91.67% gold, 3% silver, and 5.33% copper. Then again, the reason for popularity of Gold Canadian Maple Leaf is its 24 karat / .9999 gold content combined with low premium. That is precisely why however, they softer and should be handled more carefully.

Other gold coins to buy are South African Krugerrands, Buffalos, Austrian Philharmonics and Australian Kangaroos. The Krugerrand used to have the lowest premium among other gold coins because of the country history, but no longer. It is however the oldest, popular and very liquid gold coin. American Buffalo is often the first answer in response to what gold to buy question, since it was the first 24 karat U.S. Mint coin and is beautifully designed at it. But with Mint suspending the production, premiums are often too high, though you can still find few reasonable dealers. Both, Austrian Philharmonics and Australian Kangaroos are excellent choices, but I would only buy them if others are not available or too expensive.

What about fractional coins? You can buy some fractional coins as well, in 1/20 oz, 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, or 1/2 oz denominations so you have something to pay your plumber or for the lawn care. Those often carry a higher surcharge compare to 1 oz coins, but you can get them on sale often. Still emphasis should be placed on 1 ounce coins.

Which gold bars to buy? Gold bars represent fine investment and protection, and their premium over the spot price is also very low. You should buy either 1 oz gold bars or for the lowest premium, 10 oz will do just perfectly. Of course, you can get 1 kilo bar from Royal Canadian Mint but that for the very rich. Consider Pamp Suisse, Credit Suisse as well as Kitco and Apmex brands. Other fine brands that you can find are Jonson Matthey and Engelhard, but they are rare. It is always better to buy gold bars with Assay Cards in sealed packaging, since gold bars are easier to counterfeit than coins.

Other choices. For those who does not mind paying higher premium over the spot price, Chinese Pandas are the gold coins to buy. Since the Central Mint of China changes design every year issues this coin in limited quantities, gold Pandas are extremely popular and appreciate in value. The same can be said about Australian Lunar Series Collections. You should however exercise considerable judgement if thinking about buying older years of such coins since not only the gold spot price is very high today, but the coins themselves have appreciated very significantly.

What gold not to buy. I would not buy any commemorative coins, certified or graded coins and foreign coins with unclear gold content. Those pushing pre 1933 U.S. Double Eagles, either 1850 to 1907 Liberty or 1907 to 1933 Saint-Gaudens because of their supposed unconfiscability, are conveniently forgetting to tell you that everything is confiscable as long as your government decides so. True, the Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle is one of the most beautiful coins ever minted, but the ones in good conditions are all sold as graded for a huge price hit.

You should not buy Gold Mexican Pesos and Libertads, British Gold Sovereigns, Austrian/Hungarian Coronas, French or Swiss Franks, Austrian Ducats, Spanish Pesetas.

Tue Dec 1, 2009 04:12PM by Tony | More in Gold Investing | Comments (0)

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