What Gold to Buy

     

What gold to buy is a question often asked. There is such a wide choice of gold available in today's market place it can be difficult to decide which to buy.

Gold bullion in the form of gold coins and gold bars, ingots, Exchange Traded Funds, gold nuggets (those found in river beads and directly on the ground), gold jewelry and others.

What gold to buy will depend very much on your reasons for buying gold as well as your budget.

If you are buying gold purely for decorative purposes or because you like specific gold jewelry or gold coins then of course that would be the way to go. Investment is not an issue in this case so only your budget will dictate how much gold to get in the form of jewelry or coins. One is buying for beauty and aesthetic reasons in this case.

There are many beautiful gold coins to collect and it can be rather fun to collect a specific set of gold coins over a period of time. Proof coins are often the best coins to collect and by slowly building up a collection one can have something impressive to show off to friends.

If you are buying gold more for investment purposes then the price you are paying for the gold becomes important. Small coins are bars are generally not worthwhile as the mark up of premium you pay will be as much as, if not more than, the value of the gold. A minimum of one ounce up to one kilo of gold is better as the amount you pay over the spot value of gold will be much less and you will recoup your investment much quicker as a result.

This is why Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are so popular. You generally only pay a small amount over the spot price (the brokers fee basically) and you then hold a certificate representing the amount of gold held for you in a bank vault. One of the issues with ETFs is the tax payable on the gains made. ETFs are considered more of an investment than coins or jewelry and so taxable.

For those who are keen to actually hold the gold in their hands then gold bullion in the form of bars is probably more appropriate.

What gold to buy is important and whatever form of gold you prefer and for whatever reason, you are likely to be happy to increase your assets and put your value in something more substantial than paper money.

Unusual Gold Coins

Unusual Gold Coins

There are some unusual gold coins out there in the market place. These include the Augustus Humbert $50 gold slugs. These were octagonal (eight sided) in shape and a recent example sold for nearly $290,000 US dollars. Well over the few ounces of gold contained therein.

Also known as ‘slugs' these types of coins are also known as facsimiles and are one of the most expensive and elusive coins for collectors. They represented very large gold coins struck in California.

They were meant to be used by miners and the pioneers of the day during the gold rush. A very rough and ready coin as it were. They were originally termed 'ingots' due to their large weight and face value of 50 US dollars but because of their size become known as slugs.

The government withdrew the 50 dollar slugs from circulation around 1954 and they are now quite rare with only around 40 known to exist.

They can cost anywhere from 10,000 dollars up to over 250,000 each depending on which mint, condition and age.

For example the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition 50 dollar commemorative
Gold coin was minted in two versions, the octagonal as mentioned above and the traditional round.

They are among the most unusual coins available albeit for their remarkable history and rarity.

There are many other unusual gold coins available and half the fun is discovering them and the unique history that usually surrounds them.

If you are fortunate enough to ever come across one of these unusual gold coins and can afford the price, they would make a phenomenal addition to your collection not to mention the prestige and you would surely be a very happy individual.

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SPANISH GOLD COINS

     

Of all the Spanish gold coins the Doubloon always seems to bring echoes of the romance and adventures of pirates and buccaneers.

As with Spanish silver, Spanish gold coinage was popular around the world. The basic gold coin was the eight escudo piece, often called a Doubloon. In 1537 eight escudos was set at 27.4680 grams of .92 fine gold (22-carat gold). In 1728 the weight was reduced to 27.06429 grams, and then in 1772 the fineness was reduced to .90103. The Spanish escudo eventually became the standard by which other gold coins were measured.

Different to the silver escudos, the gold escudos were only used by the wealthy so tend not to be worn down as much. Therefore, the earlier escudos tend to command a high price, sometimes in the thousands, depending on the actual condition of the coin.

For example an 8 Escudos gold coin struck from the Popayan Mint with a weight of 27.0 grams can fetch up to 1400 dollars US or more. A 4 Escudos coin minted in Madrid and weighting 13.5 grams will fetch up to $795.00.

There are hundreds of different Spanish gold coins and many collectors specialize in collecting Spanish gold coins only, building up an impressive collection with a very high value.

When buying such coins one should seek a reputable dealer and insist upon a certificate of authenticity. This should apply to the newer coins as well as the ancient and especially for ‘shipwrecked’ coins. That is coins found in shipwrecks as salvage.

There are two types of certificates here. For shipwrecked coins there is the original certificate supplied by the original company who handle the salvage and distribution of such coins. The other is for normal coins, which is to say non shipwrecked coins.

What ever type of Spanish gold coins one collects one can be assured of an absorbing hobby that could even turn out to be quite profitable as well!

 

 

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