If you want to invest in gold, there are several options. There are basically three main types of physical precious metal: bars, coins and medals.
Gold coins
Gold coins are the best known form of precious metal products. Coins made of gold and silver were already produced in ancient times. Until the early 20th century, such gold coins were still issued by governments as circulating money. Even today, state mints produce such silver and gold coins. However, these coins are not used as money, but are minted specifically for gold investors or gold collectors.
Typically, such gold collector and bullion coins bear a motif that refers to a national symbol of the issuing country. Examples include the South African gold Krugerrand (the front of the Krugerrand gold coin features the world-famous portrait of Paul Kruger, after whom the series of Krugerrand coins was named. It was through Paul Kruger, then President of South Africa (1883 to 1902), that the mint from which the South African Mint sprang was founded. On the edge of the coin the country of issue was stamped in English and Afrikaans.) and the Cuba Pesos (on the obverse: Cuban coat of arms, above the country’s name as a curved legend, below the denomination, on the side 2 five-pointed stars, on the top half a rope pattern near the edge, below a native pattern).
You can read more about the differences between the normal bullion coins and the higher-priced collector coins here: https://rarecoinv4.wpengine.com/en/blog/differences-between-collector-coins-and-bullet-coins/
About numismatists and coin collectors: https://rarecoinv4.wpengine.com/en/blog/what-is-a-numismatist/
Gold bars
Bars of precious metal are also called ingots. They are the most space-saving way to store precious metals. Unlike coins, they are not legal tender. Instead, they usually come from private mints.
Thanks to their general appearance, bars are also usually the cheapest way to buy gold, silver, platinum or palladium. For exactly the two reasons mentioned above, bars are the preferred method for many gold investors to store very large quantities of precious metal at the best price.
Maybe also interesting for you: https://rarecoinv4.wpengine.com/blog/important-rules-for-the-purchase-of-gold-coins-and-gold-bars/
Gold medals
Gold medals represent an interesting middle ground between gold coins and gold bars. They are shaped like coins, but do not have the status of being legal tender.
Some gold medals date from the 1970s, but most were made more recently.
An example of a gold medal from our shop: 1957 Constitution Centennial Centenario 1.2 oz Gold – https://rarecoinv4.wpengine.com/edelmetall-muenzen-kaufen/1957-gold-50-pesos-constitution-centennial-centenario-mexiko/
What is the difference between medals and coins more precisely, you may be asking yourself right now? More about this here: https://rarecoinv4.wpengine.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-medals-and-coins/
“Paper” forms of precious metals
In addition to physical metals, there are also ways to invest in precious metals “in paper form.” In other words, you can own an investment product that is tied to the metals but not in physical form. “Paper gold” comes in various forms: Gold ETFs, gold mining stocks, gold futures, gold investment funds.
Gold ETFs
ETFs (in English “Exchange Traded Funds“) stands for exchange-traded funds. These are financial products backed by gold, silver or platinum. The funds issue shares that are traded similarly to stocks. In most cases, ETFs are passively managed index funds. The shares cannot be redeemed for physical metal. Instead, they are settled in cash at the time of sale. ETFs also charge annual fees for holding their shares. If you trade gold through a financial advisor, they may choose gold ETFs for that reason, among others.
Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a good investment option if you find buying physical gold impractical, for whatever reason, or want to diversify your portfolio. Gold is considered a safe investment and this means that its prices are usually not very volatile.
Gold Mining Stocks
Often referred to simply as “gold stocks” and “silver stocks,” these are shares in companies that mine precious metals. Owning shares in gold mining companies is an indirect way to invest in gold. The value of their shares generally increases when metal prices rise.
Most mining companies are traded on the stock exchange as common shares. Although they can be a good investment, stock prices tend to be more volatile than gold prices. This can be influenced by various factors, such as economic growth.
Owning physical gold is expensive and complicated for some investors. Therefore, buying gold stocks is a good way for private investors to add to their portfolio.
Gold Futures
Futures contracts are a commitment to purchase a large quantity of an asset or commodity at a future date. These contracts are traded on financial exchanges, similar to the stock market. In our case here, gold futures of interest are mainly used by large institutions such as banks, jewelers and gold traders, etc. to hedge their positions.
In other words, buying or selling futures protects these institutions from prices falling too quickly if they are sellers, or prices rising if they are buyers.
Some of the activity in the futures markets is also due to speculators trying to predict which direction prices will move in the near future.
When you trade gold on the spot markets, the price you see indicates the current market value of the asset. Unlike futures contracts, spot gold markets are decentralized and traded around the clock. Futures trading, on the other hand, is bound to certain opening hours.
Gold Investment Fund
A so-called gold fund is an investment fund that invests in one of these forms of gold: mines, futures, ETFs. Some investors prefer mutual funds as a straightforward way to get their investment portfolio involved in the gold market.
The various paper forms of precious metals described above contrast with the purchase of physical gold bars or gold coins.
Maybe also interesting for you: Gold coins: Valuable rarities and collectibles – https://rarecoinv4.wpengine.com/goldmuenzen/ or
Buy gold – that’s why precious metals are the right investment in the crisis – https://rarecoinv4.wpengine.com/gold-kaufen/
Physical gold is considered a crisis currency, a safe investment in economically and politically uncertain times. Gold has always been a kind of emergency currency and it has never completely lost its value until now. Gold coins or gold bars have another unbeatable advantage: the investment is relatively easy to understand. Unlike financial products such as shares, certificates, etc., physical gold is – in the truest sense of the word – tangible! Especially if you are otherwise not very familiar and concerned with investment options, you may do better or even best with gold coins.
Do you have any questions? We are happy to assist you by phone and look forward to hearing from you.
A small selection of coins that you can find in our online store:
