Ali Gold

الجمعة، 19 أكتوبر 2012

Where To Buy Gold Coins

Where to buy gold coins is a very important question.

There are literally thousands of dealers, auctions, private sellers, coin clubs and others all keen to sell you their gold coins. Most of them are genuine and bona fide.

Most people buy from dealers, mints or from auctions, eBay being easily the most popular.

When buying gold coins it is wise to keep the following in mind.

Ensure you buy from a reputable dealer. Ask questions such as 'How long has the dealer been in business?', 'What is their fixed address?', 'Do they take credit card?', 'Will they accept a return if the coin is not as described?' and 'What are their terms and conditions?'. Questions like that.

If buying from an auction you need to ensure the auction seller is bona fide. On eBay you can establish this by checking the feedback of the seller. Is the seller a power seller or at least someone who has a history of selling? If so, they are likely to be keen on repeat business and so will offer good service. Check their feedback rating including the percentage of positive to negative and read what other buyers had to say about their service. Anyone with a feedback percentage of 90% or less one should be wary of.

Other auctions may have similar systems to ensure that the seller is bona fide, such as seller registration requiring sellers to show some credentials to demonstrate who they are. If you are a serious buyer of rare gold coins then auction houses such as Sotherbys is a good start. One can get the nearest from the yellow pages and ring to see if there are any auctions pending with gold coins being offered.

Sometimes you might buy from a private individual. Here it is a matter of faith and trust. Do you know the person? Often friends and relations can be good because, at least, you know who they are. Perhaps you might like to work through an escrow company? Here the escrow company accepts the funds from you the buyer and the goods from the seller or some variation of that and ensures that all parties are satisfied before completing the exchange. They usually charge a fee for this service. Don't pick an escrow company the seller suggests. It might be their own!

Mostly, when you are buying gold coins it is a matter of due diligence and common sense to ensure that you know your buyer and even, for the buyer, to know the seller.

Where to buy gold coins then becomes a matter of being able to select the best price for the coins you want.

Buying Gold Coins for Beginners

For beginners as well as experienced collectors, buying gold coins can be an exciting hobby as well as a worthwhile investment.

There are many gold coins to chose from and, for the new person starting out, it might look a bit confusing.

If you stick to a few basic principles when buying gold coins however, then you will not go wrong.

Firstly, you need to decide what sort of gold coins you would like to collect. This would depend upon your taste perhaps as well as your economic ability. What do you like and how much can you afford in other words.

The internet is a good place to browse and see what is available in gold coins. Simply placing the term 'gold coins' in google.com will give you a wealth of information on gold coins around the world from the ever popular American Gold Eagles to the Austrian Orchestra sets and from the Australian Kookaburra to the Euro coins produced by the Dutch Mint. In short there are over 45 mints around the world currently producing gold coins and this is on top of the previously minted coins that abound.

You should also check out the dealers online to see what is available and what sort of prices are being charged. As the value of gold and silver rises so the cost of the coins will rise. It is good to get in fairly quickly and also to purchase sets as these end up being worth more per coin than single coins.

It is better, especially when you first start, to collect only proof sets with certificates of authenticity as these are sure to retain their value and will be genuine coins. Later as you become more experienced, you can start to collect the rarer coins. One has to be careful of counterfeit coins, especially when buying from auctions as there is often no certificate or guarantees of genuineness.

Check out the dealer's terms and conditions so that if you are unhappy with your purchase, the dealer will accept the coins back.

By sticking to the established and reputable dealers and mints you can be assured that buying gold coins for beginners will be a pleasurable and lasting hobby.

Buy Gold and Silver Coins

Many a coin collector buy either gold or silver coins, but some smart collectors buy gold and silver coins.

When it comes to investment, these collectors are taking advantage of a number of points about collecting coins.

They are diversifying their collection. By not specializing, they are able to take advantage of any sudden surge in value of a particular metal, coin or range of coins.

Gold and silver coins are easy to buy, store, transport and sell. The silver coins have a lesser value per coin than the gold, generally speaking. Of course certain antique or rare coins may be the exception but, by the same token, these are coins you would not ordinarily buy and sell frequently and they tend to have a more specialized collector.

At the time of writing, a one ounce silver coin is worth around ten US dollars whereas a one ounce gold coin would be around 550 US dollars. Carrying around some 5000 dollars worth of gold coins would be easier than 5000 of silver coins but also would be harder to sell on a one coin basis and one may not want to cash in so much at one time. Having both gives one the choice so that you can cash in a minimal amount using the silver coins or a larger amount using the gold depending on choice and circumstances

In both types of coins the best coins to buy, retaining their value best and being easier to sell, would be the American gold and silver Eagles, the Canadian gold and silver Maple Leaf, the gold Krugerrand and the Australian gold and silver Kookaburra. The British also have the gold and silver Sovereign and of course the Chinese gold and silver Panda coins.

All these are fairly common, recognisable and easy to purchase. They are all available in the one ounce with 99.9 percent fine gold or silver. All retain their value, if not increase it, and all are aesthetically appealing coins to have and admire.

Always ensure you buy proof or brilliant uncirculated coins and always buy from a reputable dealer.

It is a smart move to have a diversity of coins in your portfolio and buying both gold and silver coins will help to ensure you are not caught with your pants down!

Buy Gold and Silver

To have a balanced portfolio it is a good idea to include gold and silver bullion. This can be in the form of gold and silver coins and bars. A balance can be struck between the two depending on a number of factors.

Firstly, how much liquidity is required in your portfolio? This depends on your investment strategy of course and how liquid you want your asset to be.

Silver is currently around 12-13 dollars per ounce while gold is running at around 650 dollars US per ounce. So a one ounce silver coin is much easier to buy and sell than a one ounce gold coin for most people. If you are happy to buy silver and gold for the long term with no thought of cashing in any of your investment then it would weight more heavily in gold bullion than silver. On the other hand, if you want to be able to cash in your investment fast (perhaps travelling around a ot) then your investment would more likely to be heavily weighed in favour of silver bullion.

Unlike paper currency, both gold and silver are sellable in virtually any country in the world. Whereas the US Dollar or other paper currency may be refused, such as in Australia for example, it is unlikely that Krugerrands or silver eagles would be refused by any bank or dealer around the globe.

Probably for most people 20 percent silver bullion to 80 percent gold bullion would be an acceptable ratio. It is a fact that gold and silver coins are easier to sell than small bars. In some countries gold and silver bars when purchased will attract tax but coins generally do not as they are considered legal tender.

To buy gold and silver is an attractive way of saving and can provide a life saver when it comes to providing for one’s future while at the same time offering quick access to some cash when needed.

How to Buy Gold

If you do not buy gold or gold jewelery very often it is important that you know how to buy gold to ensure you get exactly what you want and at a good price as well.

So it is important that you understand the key factors when it comes to buying gold and gold jewelry.

When buying gold jewelry these key factors are:

Karatage, or how much gold is there in a gold piece?
Gram weight. Simply how much does the piece weigh?
Design. Is it the right design for you?
Craftsmanship. Is it well constructed and tastefully made?
Price and purchase. How much is it and is it good value for the price?

Karatage, sometimes called karats is the amount of gold contained within a gold piece. This is how it is measured. Gold is very often mixed with other metals, such as silver, nickel, zinc etc, to help it last longer and be more durable. Gold is a very soft metal and pure gold can be distorted and wear away quickly especially if it is used a lot.

10k gold is only 41.7 percent gold. 18k is 75 percent gold and 24k gold is considered pure gold although it is measured as 99.99 percent gold since it is considered impossible to obtain pure gold.

All gold pieces should have the Karatage stamped on it somewhere.

Gram weight is the next important key item. How much does the gold item weigh? The higher the gram weight the more gold it contains, keeping in mind the Karatage, and the more expensive it will be. The more value it will have as well. This can be easily noticed with gold bracelets.

You might see two gold bracelets with the same Karatage. Say 18k. but one is chunky and the other is wafer thin. The gram weight of the chunky is going to be much more than the wafer thin bracelet although the proportion of gold to other metal remains the same, there will simply be more of it.

The design is next in line when considering buying gold in jewelry form. An antique design piece of gold jewelery is likely to be worth more than a new piece as it has an additional value of age, uniqueness and possibly rarity. Decorative gold tends to cost more as there has been more work put into it.

The Craftsmanship and quality of the gold is very important. Most of today’s gold jewelery is manufactured on machines but hand made pieces are still available and will cost proportionally more as a result. The quality of manufacture will show in how the gold is fabricated, including any fastenings and setting for gems etc. A quality gold piece will last for years with good and careful handling.

Price plays an important part and understanding the above will help you to be able to work out a good price for a gold jewelery piece. Many discounts are offered by dealers and jewelers so it pays to be wary and really find out what is being offered. Remember that the dealer is still making a profit on discounted items so how much are they really worth?

It is probably a good idea to have in mind what you want before you start looking. Get a good clear picture in your mind of the karat, weight, design and craftsmanship and design you want within your budget and then go seeking that.

The golden rule of course is to do your due diligence and know what you want and you will then really know 'how to buy gold'!

الجمعة، 12 أكتوبر 2012

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.

Buy Gold Coins Online

One of the best ways to buy gold coins these days is online. What should you know about buying gold coins online?

Reputable dealers all have comprehensive web sites that are designed to assist the buyer make the right purchase. Dealers make money, not on the one-off sale, but on the repeat business coin collectors will bring. Therefore they are keen to do as much as possible to retain your custom including providing lots of information and an easy interface to work with.

You should also look for a dealer who would be happy to buy back from you at some future date.

Here are some criteria to keep in mind when you pick an online dealer to buy and sell from.

Select an established dealer who has been around for five or even better, ten years or more. New companies spring up at the drop of a hat and when the gold market rises a flurry of new 'businesses' will emerge only to sink again when or if the market drops. You want a company that will be there regardless of the fluctuations of the market place and will continue to serve you in the years to come. An established dealer that has thousands of clients is not about to disappear for the sake of a few dollars when they have a multimillion dollar turnover.

Pick an established established gold dealer that has a fixed address displayed on their website.

What sort of associations is the dealer registered with? Better Business Bureau, Coin Associations, etc. In short, what credentials can the dealer offer to substantiate their worthiness?

Is it easy to contact the dealer? Do you have to spend hours on the phone only to talk to a machine? If so it is better to find a dealer with whom you can actually have a conversation and, importantly, make you feel you are important to their business and not a brush off. Find a dealer who listens in other words.

Pick a dealer that knows what they are talking about. Can the dealer tell you which are the best coins to buy? Can they make any suggestions? Do they just try to sell you anything or would they be selective with a view to assisting you build up a portfolio of gold coins that suit you?

Do price comparisons between the dealers. You would be surprised at the variations when comparing apples with apples.

If you can, find out some of the dealer's customers and ask them their thoughts. Ask around at gold forums for other people's thoughts on the best dealers to buy from. Referral is invaluable when it comes to first hand experience.

You are looking for a dealer that you work with and build an association with long term so it is important that you make the right selection. There are plenty of online companies or dealers out there.

With some serious research on the dealers and companies out there you will certainly find the best one for you when you are ready to buy gold coins online.

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