The best type of gold coins to buy are not definitive and exact. Some questions in gold bullion can be answered with one correct answer, this, however, is not one of them. The best type of gold coin to buy will depend on a number of different factors. Are you an investor or collector? Do you live in the United States, Canada, or another continent altogether? What type of budget do you have? These are just a few of the most pertinent questions that need to be asked before anyone can aptly determine which types of gold coins are the best to buy.

Investing and Collecting

There are many different types of gold coins available on the market, but the primary differentiation is between coins that are found mainly with collectors and coins that are geared more towards the investor. An investor is going to typically order standard brilliant uncirculated coins. These are the coins that offer the most gold content value and bang for their dollar, so it should not come as much of a surprise that they are also the most popular with investors.

For collectors, proof, graded, error and other more rare coins are the most common choice. Collectors are not so much worried about the monetary value of their coins as they are with their uniqueness. As a result, they are going to be looking for a lot of qualities in gold coins that the majority of investors will tend to disregard. The coins that collectors buy also tend to carry higher mark ups and price tags than those purchased by investors. With collecting gold coins, eventually the value of the gold itself becomes less and less relevant.

Where You Live

With the ability to buy gold coins on the internet, where you live has become less of a priority when considering which gold coins are the best to buy. With that said, coins that are native to your country are still going to be the most accessible. Likewise, they will be the most in demand should you choose to trade or sell them down the line. For example, the Gold Eagle is easily the most sought after gold coin in the United States. In China, the Gold Panda trumps all other coins. If you are looking to buy your coins in a nearby shop, the best play is to go after the ones minted nearest to you.

Not only will coins from your country be more abundant, but they will also tend to carry lower price tags too. The further away you get from a coin’s origin, the more scarce and therefore expensive that it is going to become.

Budget

Budget comes into play when not necessarily deciding which type of coin to buy but instead which size. If you have several hundred dollars as opposed to several thousand dollars, you are going to be more in the market for 1/10th oz. varieties of gold coins as opposed to full ounce versions. You should never over extend your budget, especially when it comes to investing in precious metals (or anything else), but luckily gold coins make it possible for many people to get involved.

If you have a moderate budget but would like to diversify in the type of coins that you own, again going for fractional ounce editions will be the most practical. You can get ten different 1/10th oz. gold coins for only a small amount more than you would pay for one single ounce coin. As always, your personal goals should play the biggest role in deciding which gold coins are the best for you to buy.