Have You Thought About Buying Gold Bullion Coins?
Have You Thought About Buying Gold Bullion Coins?
In the current financial climate of weak currencies, inflation and general insecurity, many investors and ordinary families are turning to a reliable and time-tested form of wealth preservation - gold bullion coins. They feel better if some of their savings are in the form of gold, rather than cash, bonds or other paper promises. They also want to actually have their wealth in their hand - really in their possession.
So, what exactly are gold bullion coins, where do you get them, and how much do they cost?
Once upon a time, gold coins were actually in circulation as currency, and most countries issued them. In the USA, these were the famous and very beautiful quarter eagles, half eagles, eagles and double eagles, which were last issued in the 1930s, and are now sought after by collectors. After gold coins ceased to be circulated in the 30s, there was then a gap of a few decades before they were again re-issued. However, as gold had by that time become so valuable, the coins that made up the re-issuing were not entered into circulation as a standard form of currency.
When people talk about gold bullion coins, they mean the modern gold coins issued by governments in one ounce, or fractions of one ounce weights, which are not for general circulation, but for collecting or investment. They are intended to be an easy and relatively inexpensive way for citizens to own gold (inexpensive compared with larger and heavier gold bullion bars).
The modern form of gold bullion coins is largely the same, regardless of the country that they are bought from; however, they are given different names depending on the country. For example, in the USA they are called ‘American Gold Eagles’, in Canada they are called ‘Canadian Gold Maple Leafs’, and in China they are called ‘Gold Pandas’.
All the governments that issue these gold bullion coins use the same gold weighting scale, with them being available in the following values: one ounce, half an ounce, a quarter of an ounce, and a tenth of an ounce. The bullion coins can be either pure gold, or they may have a small percentage of silver or copper added to them to make more durable. Those which do have some other metal added to the gold are just as valuable as the pure gold ones though, as as they always have an ‘actual gold weight’ of one ounce of gold, or of one of the previously stated fractions.
The coins usually have the year of issue and the ‘value’ on them; for example, the one-ounce American Gold Eagle has a face value of . However, the value stated on them is not what they are actually worth, they are in fact worth much more than that. The price of a coin would be the current spot price of gold, plus a ‘premium’ determined by the market or by the dealer. So, a one-ounce American Gold Eagle is worth more than 00 today.
So, where do you get these gold bullion coins? While you can still go to a dealer or a local coin store, the Internet has made a huge difference to the general availability of these coins, since you can view a huge selection of them anytime on online auction sites. In addition, many online-only coin stores exist which offer bullion coins of all types and weights at very fair prices.
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