Investing in Gold (info about different products)

markj113

instead of maples (lowest premium) consider spending a little extra and go for either Panda's or the Perth Mint Lunar series.

They have considerably out performed base bullion prices over time.

PenguinJim

That may introduce problems when it comes to sell, as not all banks will accept all different coins, but it's worth investigating.

markj113

PenguinJim wrote: »

That may introduce problems when it comes to sell, as not all banks will accept all different coins, but it's worth investigating.

Any bullion dealer will buy back panda's or lunar series coin + they sell well on ebay and pm forums

PenguinJim

I wouldn't sell gold on eBay. Seller protection is near-worthless nowadays!

And of course I mean when selling in twenty-thirty years, rather than today. Mainstream coins are relatively easy to buy and sell at any time, but special coins... let's say that there's a higher potential for complications. I'm interested myself, but not for the first couple of coins.

Edit: or are you talking about trading in coins, rather than buying some to sit idly in a portfolio? In that case, yes, increased risk is part of the game. But for the long, safe play, choose the safe coins.

theshortstack

PenguinJim wrote: »

I've seen a few places recommend 10% of your portfolio should be gold, but I'll be keeping mine between 1-3%.

Yeah, I've seen the same which is another reason why I've started looking into it.

As for my point about it holding its value, that was very much based on looking at the price of Gold over the last 20/30 years. It certainly wasn't supposed to be a cast iron guarantee of future performance or anything though.

Mistermeaner

I buy / sell gold as part of my job (to the tune of £millions) - there is no way I would ever put any of my personal cash into it.

Unknownuser

Hi, this thread caught my eye, I don't actually invest in gold, it is becoming more common as a small portion of peoples portfolio's. From what I read and support(against), gold companies are having lots off issues trying to mine in Greece/Romania which is affecting prices. Worth a read if nothing more.

gkerr4

theshortstack wrote: »

Afternoon all,

I've just got a quick question for those of you who invest in physical gold bullion.

Is there a large amount of difference between products from Umicore, Metalor and Baird & Co? I'm just aware that there seem to be slight cost differences between the three products and I'm not entirely why.

Thanks very much for your help in advance.

with reference to you original question though, no, there isn't a large difference between the products.

assuming gold purity is stamped up to the same level, all you are interested in is the weight of the gold - this determines its worth.

to some extent, the same is true for coins - if you are looking at sovereigns for example, their year is irrelevant (save for some specific collectable year, but thats a different investment strategy) but again, only the weight of gold in your hands.

bear in mind, if you have a few quid, that capital gains tax does not apply to legal UK tender - e.g. sovereigns - but does apply to all other physical gold forms (as i understand it)

I think they are interesting - nice to have maybe a few grand in them - they make great gifts - to kids in particular - how much would you have loved an uncle to have given you a half or even quarter sovereign each birthday til you were 18 - would have had a few quid in them. But otherwise, i'm not sure i'd hold a great deal of them.

IronWolf

You could avoid all these buying/selling problems by buying a gold ETF.

If there is ever a point at which physical gold is required i.e. Armageddon, I think you'll find your gold coins worth less than a tin of tuna.

Mistermeaner

IronWolf wrote: »

You could avoid all these buying/selling problems by buying a gold ETF.

If there is ever a point at which physical gold is required i.e. Armageddon, I think you'll find your gold coins worth less than a tin of tuna.

I'm investing in tuna for this very reason