Dec

Have You Thought About Buying Gold Bullion Coins?

By emily

In the current financial climate of weak currencies, inflation and general insecurity, many investors and ordinary families are turning to a reliable and time-tested form of wealth preservation – gold bullion coins. They feel better if some of their savings are in the form of gold, rather than cash, bonds or other paper promises. They also want to actually have their wealth in their hand – really in their possession.

So, what are gold bullion coins? How much do they cost? And, where can you get them from?

Once upon a time, gold coins were actually in circulation as currency, and most countries issued them. As an example, the USA used to use quarter eagles, half eagles, eagles and double eagles. These are now sought after by collectors, having last been issued in the 1930s. After a gap of thirty or forty years, countries began to issue gold coins again, but not for circulation, since gold had simply become too valuable.

These days when people refer to gold bullion coins, they are talking about the modern format of them, which are issued by governments in one ounce, or fractions of one ounce weights, and which are meant only for collection or investment. They represent an accessible and relatively inexpensive way (when compared to the larger and heavier gold bullion bars) for ‘normal’ people to buy and own gold.

In the USA, gold bullion coins are called American Gold Eagles. In Canada, they are called Canadian Gold Maple Leafs. In South Africa, the coins are called Krugerrands. In China, they issue Gold Pandas. The names are derived from the designs they carry.

All these different gold bullion coins are issued in the same actual gold weights – one ounce, half an ounce, a quarter of an ounce, a tenth of an ounce. Sometimes the bullion coins are pure gold, sometimes they have a small percentage of silver or copper to make them harder wearing, but they always have an ‘actual gold weight’ of one ounce or a fraction of an ounce as stated on the coin.

The coins usually have the year of issue and the ‘value’ on them; for example, the one-ounce American Gold Eagle has a face value of . Of course, the gold in the coins is worth far more than the face value. The actual value of a particular coin is dependent on the current value of gold on the general market, plus a ‘premium’, which is determined by the dealer or store that you buy it from.

So, where do you get these gold bullion coins? While you can still go to a dealer or a local coin store, the Internet has made a huge difference to the general availability of these coins, since you can view a huge selection of them anytime on online auction sites. In addition, many online-only coin stores exist which offer bullion coins of all types and weights at very fair prices.

To find out more about bullion gold coins, read about the types of coins available, and to check current prices, go to bullion-gold-coins.com and get the information you need to know before you buy.

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