Beautifying Your Financial Picture

5 Beginner Tips For Buying Gold Bullion Coins

by Darryl Nguyen

Investing in gold Bullion coins is an attractive idea for many people, but when you're just starting out, it's easy to make expensive mistakes. If you are thinking about or just started buying gold coins for investment purposes, check out these five beginner tips so you make the best investment decisions possible and don't end up spending too much.

Know What Is Worth Buying

Not all gold Bullion coins are the same. Some are more popular than others or simply more valuable than others, making them a better investment. Some of the top coins to buy include The American Eagle, Turkish Republic Gold Coin, South African Krugerrand Gold Coin, Canadian Maple Leaf Gold Coin, Chinese Panda Gold Coin, Australian Kangaroo Gold Coin, and the Austrian Philharmonic Gold Coin. All these coins have a gold purity of at least 22K, are in wide circulation, have an established brand, have a lot of demand and are attractive.

Avoid Rare Coins for Now

When purchasing gold coins, it can become easy to get drawn to rare coins. The thinking is that rare means valuable, but that isn't always the case, and some rare coins are not worth much. When buying rare coins, unless you have a lot of education and experience in appraising them, it's best to hire a professional, which can be expensive. Even if you think you know a lot about rare coins, it's easy to get fooled, so for now, avoid rare coins and stick with the most valuable gold coins.

Compare Prices

Just like anything, different dealers sell the same gold coin for different prices. Since this is an investment, you want to find the cheapest price possible, which means you need to shop around and compare prices. It's best to stick with dealers who are part of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) because they are required to have experience and follow the Coin Collectors' Bill of Rights, which prohibits many unscrupulous acts, such as using high pressure sales tactics and misrepresenting the investment potential. You'll still want to shop around because even prices with PNG members will vary, but no PNG member will rip you off.  

Don't Overpay the Premium

When you purchase a gold Bullion coin, you actually pay a little over the current spot price. This is the premium, and pays for production costs. Coins themselves tend to have a slightly higher premium than some other types of gold, such as Bullion bars, because they usually take more work to create. On average, you can expect to pay a premium of 5 to 10 percent for a gold Bullion coin. If someone is charging you more than that, look elsewhere. Different coins also have different premiums. An extremely popular coin may have a premium of 10 percent, but one that is worth the same but not as well-known could have a premium of only 5 percent.

Have a Place to Store Them

Of course, before you get your first coin, you need to have a safe place to store them. You can't deposit them into your bank account like normal money, and you don't want to leave them lying around your house to be stolen. If possible, consider buying a safe, so you can keep them close but secure. You can also consider purchasing a safety deposit box if you can't afford a safe or don't want to keep them in your home.

Buying gold Bullion coins is an excellent way to invest your money, but when you're just starting out, you want to take it slow and ensure you aren't wasting money. If you are ready to start looking at gold coins, try this website or find a reputable PNG member ready to sell.  

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