Types of Gold Bullion
Bars
Gold bars are great as an investment tool. Depending on how much money you are looking to invest really determines how much gold you will buy. Beginning investors are seldom seen investing in gold mainly because gold is a more expensive gold than silver in small quantities. Newer investors are generally advised to invest in silver. Gold offers such a great investment opportunity because gold’s value is always increasing.
The value of gold is so high because it is a very rare commodity. Gold has been traded and valued as currency for thousands of years which means that people will have faith in it more than paper money which is nothing but paper at day’s end. Gold bars are the most commonly traded type of gold, coins are collected much more commonly than they are traded. Gold bars are made by private independent companies whereas coins are produced directly by government entities. Because governments produce coins they are able to control things like quantity produced and the amount of coins that are in circulation directly influence the coin’s value. But gold bars, whether made in the US, China, or Brazil, are all the same.
Gold bars are simply just melted gold put into the shape of the bar. Even though gold bars are the same (as long as their the same weight) as far as value is concerned small things can greatly affect the value. If a bar is not taken care of and has chips or is disfigured in any type of way it can greatly reduce the price. As an investor it is important that you take good care of your assets. And whenever purchasing gold bars, be it online or in an establishment, it is important to make sure the product you are buying is in good condition.
Coins
While investors generally tend to stick to just purchasing gold bars, collectors most commonly buy coins. Coins are great for collections because the possibilities are seemingly endless, with favorites such as the Gold Canadian Maple Leaf being incredibly popular and valuable. Gold coins come from every corner of the earth, almost every single country produces gold coins. And because gold coins are available virtually everywhere, there are no limitations in the amount of coins that can be found. Unlike gold bars, gold coins do not always come in a standard weight. Some coins will weigh an ounce whereas some other coins can be as small as 1/10th of an ounce.
Another difference between gold bars and gold coins is that gold bars are .999% pure gold. Even though most gold coins are the same level of purity, some countries put other metals in their coins most often to prevent them from easily wearing down. The value of coins varies greatly, because not only are the coins valued on the weight of the gold in them but other things like how many coins are still around, condition of the coin, and in most instances how old the coin is. Coin collectors used to have to travel great distances sometimes to find the rarer coins, but with coin buying becoming more and more prominent on the internet, finding the rarest and most foreign coins is becoming less and less of a hassle.
Buying coins on the internet has also increased the benefits and possibilities for collectors. It used to be very difficult to obtain rare coins from different parts of the world mainly because local dealers did not always have the most diverse collections all the time. Nowadays any type of coin is able to be purchased through the internet. Of course with the internet comes a whole mess of new issues to deal with. Things like making sure you are dealing with a reputable site and not just giving payment information away to just anyone. Although these are areas to focus on, most often people do not have to go crazy worrying about them. The safest method of payment to use is credit or debit card because it is a great intermediary.
Rounds
Gold rounds are almost like a mix between coins and bars. Rounds are exactly like coins in the fact that they are shaped similarly and often times have depictions and dates on the coin face. They are exactly like bars in that they are not a legal form of currency and rounds are simply just melted down gold shaped into a round coin-like object. Rounds can be used for investing just as easily as they can be for collecting.
A lot of rounds are exactly identical to coins except for the fact that they are not legal tender. Rounds that are like this are usually a commemorative type of item which is what really draws collectors in. The one downside to using rounds as an investment tool is that the value of rounds is not as standard as gold bars. Some rounds are rarer than other thus driving the price up. This is not always the case though and a lot of rounds are just as good for investing as gold bars are. Gold rounds are often times advertised on TV for collectors but what most people do not seem to catch is that even though a lot of these pieces may be gold, they are merely gold plated rather than solid gold. Do not get tricked by a round that is not pure gold.
