Richard Shemesian is bullish on gold—a position shared by top investors like James Grant and Peter Schiff

Richard Shemesian is bullish on gold—a position shared by top investors like James Grant and Peter Schiff. Shemesian believes gold will continue to rise in the coming weeks, months, and maybe even years.

Investing In Gold Coins And Bullion

Investors and long term savers traditionally turn their attention to gold bullion and gold stocks when the economy looks bleak. Gold, which is essentially a universal currency, becomes the investment and saving vehicle of choice under these conditions. While there are many ways to invest in gold including exchange traded funds and specific gold related stocks, buying gold coins and bullion has proven a popular option with some investors although it isn’t without its own obstacles.

Gold Prices Past And Present

Gold prices have steadily risen over the past 5 years with current prices at around $1,200 (June 2010) per ounce and although there has been a slight dip in these prices they look almost certain to pass the highest price of $1,212,50 with analysts currently predicting that prices will even rise above $1,500.

Investing In Physical Gold

Gold bullion bars, krugerrands, and gold sovereign coins are a popular alternative to buying stocks and exchange traded funds and the price of bullion and coins has enjoyed an equally strong position in recent years.

Gold Sovereigns

Sovereigns are widely considered to be the gold coin of choice and, as such, are worth paying a little extra for especially considering their capital gains tax exemption status in the UK. Their historical and aesthetic value combined with more practical features like their diminished size means that they are easy to store and worth paying a slight premium over other coins such as the krugerrand. The sovereign has pictures of the Queen’s head and a horse and dragon, and cost anywhere from around £130 upwards.

Gold Krugerrands

Krugerrands, although plainer and with less historical appeal than sovereigns, are also a very popular form of gold coin. They are better known, available in greater quantity, and typically cost less than any other one ounce gold bullion coin. They are of a very high quality and feature a picture of former South African leader Paul Kruger on one coin face and a Springbok on the other. An original one ounce coin (from 1967 to 1979) will cost £500 and upwards.

Gold Bullion Bars

Gold bars are, in essence although not usually in reality, the cheapest way to buy gold bullion. However, they have no particular aesthetic appeal and only a limited selection of specialist buyers will be interested in purchasing them which makes reselling gold bars especially difficult. The buyer also needs to pay for secure and often long term storage as well as potentially needing to pay to have the gold shipped to the storage facility that you use. Gold bars do, however, come in a variety of different sizes with smaller bars weighing one ounce and large bullion bars, usually only traded by governments and bullion banks, weighing in at around 400 ounces.

What To Look For When Investing In Gold

Factors to look for when investing in gold coins and bullion do depend on the actual type of physical gold that you buy into. Coins like the sovereign and to a lesser extent the krugerrand may cost slightly more than the true value of gold because of their historical and aesthetic value. Bullion bars, being difficult to store and resell, may actually be available for slightly less depending on market conditions.

Using A Gold Investment

Investing in gold is a great way to add or increase diversity to an investment portfolio. It offers security and has given some exceptional returns on investment for almost everybody that has taken a chance in the last few years. With current economic conditions not expected to improve any over the coming months or years gold investment remains popular.

Additional Resources

RIchard Shemesian :: Article on CorporationReview

RIchard Shemesian :: Article on DTProfile.com

RIchard Shemesian :: Article on Uploads.biz