Comments on: Is it smart to buy gold bullion coins as an investment?

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:43:55 +0000

US Mint has information for US coins. The spread (cost to buy vs. cost to sell) is usually very high. Sometimes as high as 30%, so the price will have to go up that much before you break even. I still like gold. Buy something you like for appearance. That way you can enjoy it while waiting to profit. Also an excellent gift for kids. Money is OK but kids like gold. You know the “pirate thing”. Also a gift that last. You can get 1/10 once for less than 100 now.

By: CoinTrain

CoinTrain — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:43:48 +0000

I agree that investing in bullion coins is somewhat risky. I like Luis P’s approach, i.e., buying as the price declines, then selling on the way up. I would add that if these transactions are done with equal weights of metal (numbers of coins…), or with equal amounts of money, as long as the long term (decades) trend in bullion prices is up, you should do well. Generally, investing in bullion or collectible coins is a very long term proposition. Meanwhile, especially with collector coins, there is a great deal of enjoyment in their ownership.

By: Lazy J

Lazy J — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:52:17 +0000

Only if you buy when the price is down and sell when it goes up

By: Luis P

Luis P — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:01:26 +0000

as a general rule dealers buy gold bullion coins from the public at melt {the price of gold} minus 10% and sell the same bullion coin at melt {the price of gold} plus 10%….some major dealers work on a smaller margin…say 71/2%…or as low as 5% for some preferred customers
your profit or loss will come over time by the increase or decrease in the value of gold… Traditionally gold and silver are purchased when they are dropping in price ..when their price is on the rise you hold or sell…when prices are going down you buy…in the long run you are working on an average purchase price….today gold is at 675.00 when it goes below that and while it’s going down you buy when it rises you hold…you keep watching… when it’s rising until it reaches new highs you hold or sell ….and when it starts to drops again and while its going down you buy…. when its going up you hold or sell.when it’s going down you buy

By: BD in NM

BD in NM — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:15:27 +0000

With bullion coins you are assuming that the bullion price will go up overtime allowing you to make a profit. There is no guarantee that this will happen and like any investment you are taking a risk on the direction the market.

I would suggest that you learn about gold collectible coins like a St. Gaudens 20 dollar piece or an Indian Head 5 dollar piece. While there is no guarantee they will go up in value I think they tend to hold there value better than bullion pieces. Bullion usually trades based on melt value and collectible coins have collectors to help them maintain their value.

By: Taiping

Taiping — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:37:30 +0000

Gold bullion coins are sold at a profit by the person that gets them from the mint. Then the dealer who gets the coins from him, pays a little extra. By the time time the public gets them they are already priced above what gold is going for. If you intent to keep them for a minimum of 20 years you should make out okay, if no major disaster befalls the world. Remember you can’t eat gold. Yes you would resell them to a dealer, who gives less than full value, for he needs to make a profit. I am not so sure I would pay extra for .9999 coins verus .999 coins. Some gold coins are a better value than others.