We’ve bought a lot of gold coins; I think if you search on “gold” in GQ you might find some past threads where I and other talk about places to buy from.
Gold bullion coins which don’t happen to be collectible seem sell at not very much over the market value of the gold itself. Not only coin dealers, but local jewelry stores will sometimes sell them.
I will add that this is one of the worst times in history perhaps to buy gold coins, as they are very, very expensive now. I wish I had bought more than just a few pounds back when gold was $400 an ounce, but if I could predict the bullion markets like that I wouldn’t be dying 8-5 every day.
When I left Federal employment some twenty-five years ago, I had a lump sum payment of about $4500, and, just for the hell of it, I decided to buy some gold. Somehow, I found out that one of the larger banks in my area offered this service, so I went to talk to them. It was quite easy - I gave them a check, and a few days later, they had some gold coins - I think it would have been something like seven Canadian Maple Leaves and six Krugerrands. They were quite pretty.
I put them away, and didn’t think about them much over the next two years. I got married, and eventually my wife and I decided to buy a house. I brought out the gold, went back to the bank, and turned them back into cash - about $7500 worth, which made for a nice down payment.
I just bought the stuff on a lark, but it paid off pretty well.
HOWEVER, I would strongly recommend consulting with financial experts before buying gold as an investment. When last I looked, the price of gold was much higher than it has been for a while, and is probably due for a drop if and when the economy improves.
If we are in for major round of inflation, gold will probably go up. This seems to be the claim of G. Gordon Liddy and the other TV gold pitchmen, but I view their claims with a very skeptical eye.
BTW, if the OP doesn’t like the look of the Maple Leaf or US coins (the US coins are some of the least attractive bullion coins I’ve seen), the Australian Chinese lunar coins can be very nice with a variety of animals on them.
I would always only pay with credit card for buying gold online, so if I’m ripped off I won’t pay anything. However, it seems many of the places will only deal with you by check or money order, which I strongly do not recommend using for any online purchase.
Are these the Liberty Coins and others that we see advertised on TV for $20 each? I’ve thought about buying a few as gifts to my overseas friends when I visit. But I’m afraid they’d likely just run to the bank the moment I left and get ripped off at the currency exchange by not knowing what they really have.
This is something I fast realized. I don’t buy anything unless I pay credit, well anything over say $20.00.
I know it’s not the best time to buy gold, but it’s something I always wanted. Actually I wanted a gold chain but I lose everything too easily, so I have no doubt if I bought a gold bracelet in a month I’d lose it.
Ah, then amend my post to say “gold colored”. In that case maybe that’s perfect for a memento from the states: flashy and expensive looking, but in reality worth very little.
Look in your yellow pages under “bullion” or “bullion dealers”. If your town is of any size, there will be one. They will be happy to sell you a Maple Leaf, Gold Eagle or any other bullion coin they may have in stock, probably at spot plus a few percent for profit.
You can click on this link from the US mint to locate a American Eagle seller near you. Most places that sell them will also have Canadian Maple Leaf and South African Krugerrand. Or call a local jewler, the same stores that sell them raw gold will sell the coins too. There is a heavily secured store in Portland where you can just walk in and buy any of these 3. All the sales people are walking around with guns on their hips.
Depending on how much you are going to handle the coins you should check on the gold content. The Maple Leaf contains 1 oz of 99.99% pure gold and so is softer and more prone to denting & scratching. The Krugerrand and Eagles also contain 1 oz of gold but alloyed with a small amount of something else to make them harder.
My Maple Leafs are as shiny as the Krugerrands; YMMV.
I wish I had a photo handy, but another option is to get a smaller coin mounted in gold. I have a UK gold sovereign in a pendent, which is actually a 14k gold shell around an unmodified gold sovereign (roughly 0.25 troy ounces).
FOR STRAIGHT BULLION like Eagles, Nuggets, Pandas and Maple stay to the spot price of gold, plus the minting fee (the amount the mint charges the public for turning it into a coin), plus a fair percentage for the dealer AT THE MOMENT OF PURCHASE. The second one (the minting fee) can just be added with the last as a rule of thumb.
Where I work, we charge spot at that moment of sale plus 4-10% (depending on how much you are buying, which issues/nations of origin, and if you have bought from us before). The lower percentage often hinges on you buying from our existing inventory and you being a name or face we know but NEVER would we charge over 10% above spot to any walk-in buyer.
As for which coin to buy -------- whatever one appeals to you when you see it. I usually buy czarist Russian gold, my dad always liked Olympic commemorative gold coins but those can command a premium over the value of the gold. They have numismatic (or collectors value) in addition to their intrinsic value. For straight bullion, I like the Chinese and Canadian issues best or older (worn) British sovereigns and Swiss Francs.
If you have questions, feel free to send me a private message.
I see that. Quite a shitstorm brewing up around those Liberty Dollar folks. And now that I see the coins up close, they have their toll free number and web site engraved on the face! It’s like a little commercial on a coin.
