[uforia98]

while deciding where to invest a bit of money i figured gold and commodities is something which might go up soon and should be fairly low risk longterm as well. so i have invested a bit in a gold fond and and a bit in a commodity fond. i have also been on some gold forums and quite like the idea of owning some 'real' gold.

I understand that you pay quite a premium to buy gold coins, especially the small ones, but I have seen some Australian Nuggets 1/10th ounze being sold for 37.75 EUR which seems quite appealing. I consider having a few coins as a very long term investment, just in case, you never know....

does anyone own coins ? any experience where and what to buy ? do you think this is crazy / old fashioned ?

Thanks!

[GCS15]

Hi

I've got a few coins. Mostly 1/10th and a few sovereigns. I'd stick with buying them from coin dealers until you are comfortable with telling the fakes from the real deal. I look at the "spot" price for an ounce coin and try to buy as close as I can to that price.

Don't be to put off with their lack of size. That is their strength.

My advice is to get a couple and see how you feel about having them. Personally I like the fact that I have them "just in case". I am very much in agreement with the Bullish sites as I feel that they make a decent case. There is only so much gold around and thanks to the hoarders (like me) the supply is dwindling.

I also have an Iraqi Dinar(?) with a picture of Saddam on it and a German note from when their currency experienced hyper inflation. Reminds me that if they had been converted to gold they'd still be worth something. Now they decorate my computer box.

[mhifoe]

I am quite tempted to buy a few gold coins from taxfreegold.

The thing that concerns me is how I would go about converting it into cash at some point in the future. Who can I sell the coins to for a good price?

Would I be better off investing in a gold fund?

[MarkG]

As far as I'm concerned, gold coins are a safety net, not an investment: you pay over the odds when you buy them and lose over the gold price when you sell them... but if things get really bad, a few gold coins in the safe could come in real handy.

On the other hand, the more people who buy gold coins and bury them in their back garden, the higher the gold price will go .

[bottletop]

I've been buying gold and silver in a 1:10 ratio.

Silver works out quite pricey in terms of £/oz even taking in to account the weak dollar - something like £5+ per oz. Ebay is your best bet, though don't buy 1oz bars individually cos of the postage. Go for 5oz,10oz or kilo bars.

Gold I've been buying from:

http://www.goldline....HomeFrame.ghtml

either 1oz ingots or krugers, though I do have a stash of sovereigns as well.

[Ah-so]

There is actually a gold unit trust run by a bank (HSBC?). All money invested is used to by gold bullion, so the price of your units is an accurate reflection of the price of gold. I imagine commissions will be cheaper than a dealer's.

Remember that gold is always priced in USD, so the rise in gold also a reflection of the weaker dollar. I am not sure that that the increase has been so good in sterling terms.

[Kitten]

Merrill Lynch Gold and General Fund - holds shares in mining companies not physical gold - has a bid/offer spread of more than 5%.

I was unpleasantly surprised.

[Flick]

mhifoe, on Mar 22 2005, 08:24 AM, said:

I am quite tempted to buy a few gold coins from taxfreegold.

The thing that concerns me is how I would go about converting it into cash at some point in the future.  Who can I sell the coins to for a good price?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Theres a very active market on ebay.

[Frank Mason]

Flick, on May 7 2005, 10:41 AM, said:

I've got a few coins. Mostly 1/10th and a few sovereigns. I'd stick with buying them from coin dealers until you are comfortable with telling the fakes from the real deal. I look at the "spot" price for an ounce coin and try to buy as close as I can to that price.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How can you tell the fakes from the real deal? I am interested in buying gold sovereigns
and/or Kruggerands, so any top tips would be great. Any recommendations for safe's to
keep them in?

Best regards

Frank

[Silverity]

Frank Mason, on May 7 2005, 04:15 PM, said:

How can you tell the fakes from the real deal? I am interested in buying gold sovereigns
and/or Kruggerands, so any top tips would be great. Any recommendations for safe's to
keep them in?

Best regards

Frank

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I used to own a Fisch fake coin detector. Works well and I sold it after I had bought the bulk of my coins. Google for Fisch to find their website.

You can also buy from www.goldline.co.uk and I think the spread is 7% on Krugerands (buy at 5% over spot, sell back at 2% under).

As for silver, don't buy bars from ebay! The premium stinks at up to 40%. That means at £4 an ounce, your silver would have to go to £5.60 to break even and more likely to £6.20 if the dealers buy at 10% under spot. Mind you, ebay is a good place to sell silver.

I refuse to buy silver at such prices, it is cheaper to buy them from US dealers!

[Fingers]

although I like the idea of buying gold, you have to be fairly certain of its direction if you have to take an imediate 7% loss to buy in. Does that include the secure courier fee you probably need to pay too?

What's the most efficient way of buying around 2k of gold?

[Timmy Manson]

Fingers, on Jun 9 2005, 03:19 PM, said:

although I like the idea of buying gold, you have to be fairly certain of its direction if you have to take an imediate 7% loss to buy in.  Does that include the secure courier fee you probably need to pay too?

What's the most efficient way of buying around 2k of gold?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd agree with Mark G on this, if your going to buy physical gold it will cost you, about 5% is normal with 1oz Krugers, it's a safety net, not an investment ( in normal circumstances )

Point is this, you buy them in cash from a coin dealer, no recepit, no cards, nothing. The money you used has disappeared off the system, no one will no that you have that stash of gold coins.

I have a small number of Gold coins, they are an insurance policy and if ever I need them circumstances will be such that there value to me will be immeasurable. Gold has historically held it's value well, and in times of crisis it tends to rise disproportionately.

Not to get too mad max but in the event of a pandemic, a war, a major terrorist strike or just a temporary collapse of the banking system who knows what, then a little bit of off line insurance is nice to have.

Also IMO the feel of a handful of pure 22c gold coins in your hands is lurvely

For the record I have 1 oz KRs and I hide them.... not even Mrs M knows about them, so if I get run over it'll give an archeologist a nice suprise one day.

[Silverity]

Fingers, on Jun 9 2005, 03:19 PM, said:

although I like the idea of buying gold, you have to be fairly certain of its direction if you have to take an imediate 7% loss to buy in.  Does that include the secure courier fee you probably need to pay too?

What's the most efficient way of buying around 2k of gold?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You would pay about £5 for insured delivery.

Just to say that you buy gold to hold. It is not something you trade unless it is shares, futures or options. The next 50 years are not going to be so good as the previous 50 and I don't just mean a downturn in the UK housing sector! Gold is wealth preserver in uncertain times.

All investments carry a charge or spread, even popular shares. The 3%-5% markup on gold coins is not a big deal.

The same goes for silver in my opinion.