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So you’re looking for a way to diversify your investment portfolio? If so, you might want to consider investing in precious metals, specifically gold.
There are a few reasons why doing so could be a good idea. First of all, the price of gold is rather stable – while some other investment options can experience a sudden drop due to a crisis or an unexpected situation, the price of gold tends to remain more or less constant. Also, gold doesn’t require any maintenance, contrary to, for example, investing in real estate, where you constantly have to make sure that the estate is in good condition so that it doesn’t lose value.
Of course, these are just a few of the benefits you get from investing in gold, but they should be enough to show you that adding gold to your investment portfolio could be fruitful.
However, deciding that you’re going to start investing in gold is just the first step of the way. The second is choosing the best type of gold to buy for you. Generally speaking, there are a few different ways to buy gold, with the most common ones being gold bars and gold coins.
But which one of the two is the better option? Well, that depends on a number of factors, and we’ll take a closer look at them in this article.
Table of Contents
Gold Bars or Gold Coins – What Is the Best Gold to Buy for Investment?
One of the main decisions you will have to make as someone investing in gold is answering the question “What kind of gold should I buy?” with the most common answers being gold bars or gold coins. There are obviously, as we already mentioned, pros and cons to both, so let’s take a look at them.
However, before we start mentioning things specific to either of them, let’s talk a bit about the commonalities they share. First of all, they both come in a variety of sizes, so whether you wish to invest a smaller or larger amount, you have such an opportunity in both cases. Secondly, both of those are reliable investments.
Gold Bars – Pros and Cons
What makes gold bars a potentially great investment? Their definite advantage is that they’re almost always pure gold. Also, since their exact weight and gold content are inscribed onto the metal bar itself, you don’t have to do much research in order to find out how much it is worth, aside from looking up the current price of gold.
Whenever you’re buying precious metals, you will have to pay a premium above the spot price. This is an additional fee that accounts for the costs of things like manufacturing, packaging, delivery, and so on. If an item is a collectible or is rare, it might also have a higher premium than an item that is not. Precisely for that reason, gold bars tend to carry lower premiums than gold coins.
As for the cons of investing in gold bars, one of them is that depending on the size of your investment, they can be hard to store. Since gold bars are quite valuable, you will definitely have to at least invest in a quality safe. However, that might not be enough, and you might have to rent out a space in a depository, meaning additional costs.
Gold Coins – Pros and Cons
Now for the gold coins. Many of the gold coins that are currently in circulation were mined by government mints and carry a legal tender face value, serving as an extra layer of protection. Secondly, there are certain gold coins that are of higher value to collectors, which could be because of their unique design or, for example, historical significance. Due to their collectibility, their resale prices are higher than those of more accessible coins or gold bars.
Gold coins tend to be more easily sellable than gold bars due to their size, especially when you consider the fact that you can’t sell only a portion of a gold bar – when you decide to sell, you need to sell all of it, while with coins it’s a lot easier to just sell one or two if you need to liquidate a smaller amount.
When it comes to the cons, as we already mentioned, gold coins tend to carry higher premiums than gold bars, mainly because there’s more work involved in the manufacturing process but also due to their legal tender status.
So, What’s the Best Gold to Buy?
While we can provide you with objective information about the positives and negatives of both, the final decision about which one will be the better investment option lies in your hands.
If you want a more flexible investment product that will allow you to liquidate your gold whenever a need arises, then gold coins might be a better option simply due to the fact that it’s easier to sell them. Gold bars, on the other hand, are a better choice if you’re looking to store your wealth as they have a higher pure gold content and are generally cheaper to purchase due to the lower premiums.
Best Gold Coins to Purchase
If, at some point, you decide that gold coins are, in fact, a better alternative for you, here are some that you might want to consider purchasing:
- Gold American Eagle
- American Gold Buffalo
- South African Gold Krugerrand
- Gold Austrian Philharmonic
- Gold Australian Kangaroo
- Gold Somalian Elephant
- Gold Mexican Libertad
- Chinese Gold Panda
- Gold British Britannia
- Canadian Gold Maple Leaf
The Bottom Line
With that being said, we have reached the end of our short guide on what is the best gold to invest in. While we can give you general guidelines, the final decision is always in your hands, as you’re the only one who knows what exactly you’re looking to achieve by investing in gold.
Both gold bars and gold coins have their pros and cons, so the main thing that should be helping you determine which is the better option is your purpose – Why do you want to start investing in gold? Do you want to have something to easily fall on in case of unexpected expenses? Or do you simply want to grow your wealth in a secure way? Understanding it will help you decide what will be the best approach for you.
Which Gold Is the Best – Frequently Asked Questions
How much does gold cost?
There’s no fixed gold price, as it changes multiple times a day. Every business day, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) releases a set price for gold – once at 10:30 AM and once at 3:00 PM BST. This is also known as “The London Gold Fixing” or “Gold Fix.”
How much is a gold coin worth?
The actual worth of a gold coin is calculated based on its pure gold content, which is then multiplied by the current price of gold.
Example: Let’s say you have a gold coin whose pure gold content is 95%. The coin weighs 10 grams, which means that pure gold makes up 9.5 grams. You need to take it and multiply it by the current price per gram – for the sake of this example, we’ll assume the price is 62 dollars. That means that the actual worth of the gold coin you have, at that precise moment, is 589 dollars.
Of course, we cannot forget about the fact that the price of gold is constantly changing, which means that so does the actual worth of the coin.
Article Sources
At Gold IRA Blueprint, we dive deep into the world of gold IRAs, using trusted sources to back up our insights. Our sources range from official documents to expert interviews, ensuring our content is both accurate and reliable. We also draw on research from reputable publishers to give you the most comprehensive understanding possible. Check out our editorial policy to see how we maintain our high standards for accuracy and fairness. Also make sure to check out our Financial Review Process to have a better understanding of our process.
- https://www.fool.com.au/investing-education/the-beginners-guide-to-investing-in-gold/
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/11/best-bets-buying-gold.asp
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/how-to-buy-gold/
