Ideas for gold

[chief]

Looking to diversify my stack a little by buying some more gold. I've accumulated quite a stack of silver and I only have a half ounce american eagle for my lone piece of gold. Give me some ideas for others. I know there are Maples and Krugs. I'm actually thinking about pre '33 gold. What's the best bang for your buck. I know the early 1900's Indian head $5 goes for about $300 but that's only a bit over 1/10 of an ounce in actually gold weight. Any help is appreciated.

CHIEF

[sandro]

Looking to diversify my stack a little by buying some more gold. I've accumulated quite a stack of silver and I only have a half ounce american eagle for my lone piece of gold. Give me some ideas for others. I know there are Maples and Krugs. I'm actually thinking about pre '33 gold. What's the best bang for your buck. I know the early 1900's Indian head $5 goes for about $300 but that's only a bit over 1/10 of an ounce in actually gold weight. Any help is appreciated.

CHIEF

Hmmm, $5 or half eagle is .2419 oz AGW or a tad less than 1/4 oz and it's a steal at $300. I guess you meant $2.50 or quarter eagle which is .1209 oz AGW, or a tad over a 1/10th oz. As far as fractionals go, the lowest premium over spot or the chance of getting it on Ebay under spot is best for modern common commemorative issues, either US or Canadian.

Hope it helps,

[pezking7p]

European fractionals (20 francs, sovereigns, etc) seem to have low premiums. I'm new though so I'm assuming these things change all the time.

[Snow]

Looking to diversify my stack a little by buying some more gold. I've accumulated quite a stack of silver and I only have a half ounce american eagle for my lone piece of gold. Give me some ideas for others. I know there are Maples and Krugs. I'm actually thinking about pre '33 gold. What's the best bang for your buck. I know the early 1900's Indian head $5 goes for about $300 but that's only a bit over 1/10 of an ounce in actually gold weight. Any help is appreciated.

CHIEF

Fractionals carry a higher premium, so a little less bang for your buck. However, if you gonna go the fractional route I'd go:

Gold French 20 Franc Rooster AGW .1867 oz , just about 1/5 of an ounce.

Switzerland 20 Franc Gold Coins AGW .1867 oz , just about 1/5 of an ounce too.

Gold British Sovereign AGW .2354 oz, almost a quarter ounce.

For larger low cost I'd go:

Gold Austria/Hungary 100 Corona .9802 oz, almost a full ounce, tends to have the lowest premium amongst buillion coins, along with the Mexican Pesos.

Gold Mexican 50 Peso 1.2057 oz, big bang for your buck. also recognized by major dealers.

Among the major Govt mint coins the kruggerand and Austrian Philharmonic tend to be cheaper, than maples and eagle.

Have fun!

Gold bars by credit swiss, perth mint, heraus, pamp swiss, and other reputable mints are cheaper than coins. Personally LOVE that Swiss Bitch!

[Snow]

Fractionals carry a higher premium, so a little less bang for your buck. However, if you gonna go the fractional route I'd go:

Gold French 20 Franc Rooster AGW .1867 oz , just about 1/5 of an ounce.

Switzerland 20 Franc Gold Coins AGW .1867 oz , just about 1/5 of an ounce too.

Gold British Sovereign AGW .2354 oz, almost a quarter ounce.

For larger low cost I'd go:

Gold Austria/Hungary 100 Corona .9802 oz, almost a full ounce, tends to have the lowest premium amongst buillion coins, along with the Mexican Pesos.

Gold Mexican 50 Peso 1.2057 oz, big bang for your buck. also recognized by major dealers.

Among the major Govt mint coins the kruggerand and Austrian Philharmonic tend to be cheaper, than maples and eagle.

Have fun!

Gold bars by credit swiss, perth mint, heraus, pamp swiss, and other reputable mints are cheaper than coins. Personally LOVE that Swiss Bitch!

forgot to say I WOULD stay AWAY from all Pre 33. But that's me. Numismatics is for fun in my opinion, and buillion is for business ( I hesitate to say investment, as Gold is Money to me, not an investment)

[Gcubed]

Check into the smaller Mexican Peso's.

[Rusty Shackelford]

Buffoon #3 has really sold me on the British Sovs. The mexican stuff really seems to have some of the best prices per fractional oz out there.

[Irons]

Best advice in 6 replies I have ever seen, you guys are good..

Personally British Sovereigns are my favorite for coolness and cheap over melt prices.
If my funds are more limited I happily go for various european 20 franc coins and mex pesos in about that order.

Also, One can never have too many gold bars.

[chief]

Thanks for all the great replies! I'm gonna start my research on what to get next.

[REO 54]

[QUOTE=Irons;212985]Best advice in 6 replies I have ever seen, you guys are good..

"Personally British Sovereigns are my favorite for coolness and cheap over melt prices.
If my funds are more limited I happily go for various european 20 franc coins and mex pesos in about that order.

Also, One can never have too many gold bars."---Irons

WOW Irons!That pile looks good even at the bottom of the lake.

[TemplarX]

I like the British Sovereigns, Austrian Ducats, and Canadian quarter oz. Maples. I have even purchased the Russian 5 Rouble gold coin (a bit over priced now, mostly due to scarcity, presumably).

Happy hunting!

[argentos]

TemplarX's Austrian 4 ducat 1915 coins have the best fondle-factor of any gold bullion I've handled because they are so wide & thin and they chink sublimely when poured from hand to hand.

Link to Chard's whose pic this is

I agree with Snow that numismatics are for fun and bullion is for business.

[Snow]

TemplarX's Austrian 4 ducat 1915 coins have the best fondle-factor of any gold bullion I've handled because they are so wide & thin and they chink sublimely when poured from hand to hand.

Link to Chard's whose pic this is

I agree with Snow that numismatics are for fun and bullion is for business.

I Always wanted a Austrian Ducat. Are they well known and liquid? I'm assuming you're abroad?

[CiscoKid]

The one ounce Eagles are nice, but I love my Pamp Suisse bars in the assay cards. The photo in my avatar was taken the day before that fateful fishing expedition when the boat capsized and I lost everything.

[Irons]

I Always wanted a Austrian Ducat. Are they well known and liquid? I'm assuming you're abroad?

I don't see them very often in my neck of the woods but doo-cats are pretty common elseware. Being close to canuckistan and having a large finnish

population I see mainly swiss and english coins along with a few french and mex.

[Unca Walt]

forgot to say I WOULD stay AWAY from all Pre 33. But that's me. Numismatics is for fun in my opinion, and buillion is for business ( I hesitate to say investment, as Gold is Money to me, not an investment)

That is spot on.

Numismatics REQUIRES social/political/financial stability.

That... we ain't gonna have in a short while.

You buy numi (and that certainly IS fun), but in "the crunch", you will be selling/trading/bartering ounces.

[argentos]

I Always wanted a Austrian Ducat. Are they well known and liquid? I'm assuming you're abroad?

I think the 1 ducat is too small for fun. Neither they nor the 4 Ducat are particularly liquid.

I'm in England as might be inferred from the location and the English Flag on my posts
but I see on Ebay US that at least one seller hopes to find mugs to pay well over the odds for the 4 ducat (because of the "1915" date?).

1915 AUSTRIAN DUCAT 4 GOLD COIN UNC Buy It Now $1,059.99
http://cgi.ebay.com/1915-AUSTRIAN-DU...item19bb3b6d67

Coininvest want $690.96 in Germany.

[TemplarX]

I think the 1 ducat is too small for fun. Neither they nor the 4 Ducat are particularly liquid.

I'm in England as might be inferred from the location and the English Flag on my posts
but I see on Ebay US that at least one seller hopes to find mugs to pay well over the odds for the 4 ducat (because of the "1915" date?).


Coininvest want $690.96 in Germany.

I should have added that I mostly buy bullion, such as American Gold Eagles, yet I have never had trouble getting at least the gold content value for fractionals and European gold.

I also buy a few European and historical gold coins from around the world for their beauty, metal value, and my interest in their history.

Russian Empire (Czar Nicholas II) 5 Roubles 1898

[Ronnie Mexico]

forgot to say I WOULD stay AWAY from all Pre 33. But that's me. Numismatics is for fun in my opinion, and buillion is for business ( I hesitate to say investment, as Gold is Money to me, not an investment)

Little extra info: gold is gold. All gold I own are pre-33 $20 pieces (many were part of an inheritance) and I sort of stick to the same theme by expanding the collection and turning into a viable bullion investment. I think the St Gaudens is one of the most beautiful coins ever designed. Liberty Heads have this whole Old West feel to it, the history behind these pieces is amazing. But I digress.

I buy close to spot at jewellers or bullion dealers who send their incoming gold straight to the melting pot. Seriously, if you can buy an 1855-s double eagle (lightly cleaned XF) only $30 above spot, go for it. On a different note, if it ever comes down to "it", I highly doubt we're swapping gold pieces for food or whatever. More likely 3 packs of smokes or a bottle of koolaid for a can of ham or something.

Being in Europe, we don't have the whole Double Eagle = $20/GAE = $50 confusion. 90% purity vs 99.999% is only important to jewellers and traders. But you must keep in mind the following: not many ordinary people have actually seen a GAE or Double Eagle in their lives - not to mention gold 20 franc pieces, Mexican gold... The most recent European gold coins minted for circulation - they didn't even circulate! - was the Swiss gold 20 franc coin minted in 1949. That's a staggering 62 years ago! You can be sure the only people who actually paid with gold coins are in their 80s or 90s, since the 1930s was the last decade such coins were used in daily transactions. Oh yeah, you'd have to be rich as well, since 20 franc represented a week's wages.

And even then, in many countries the date for gold as money is even further away: for the UK its the mid 1920s, Germany abandoned gold in 1914 (good luck finding anyone besides collectors, coindealers or jewellers who are into it) and many other countries didn't even use gold coins as money, but rather minted them as collateral for banknotes.

In short: if you are going to trade with a total nitwit, chances are he'll just say "I never seen such a coin in my whole life, you say its pure gold, why should I trust you?" Think about it. Or he'll pull a knife or a gun and wants everything you have and then some.

[TemplarX]

Little extra info: gold is gold. All gold I own are pre-33 $20 pieces (many were part of an inheritance) and I sort of stick to the same theme by expanding the collection and turning into a viable bullion investment. I think the St Gaudens is one of the most beautiful coins ever designed. Liberty Heads have this whole Old West feel to it, the history behind these pieces is amazing. But I digress.

I buy close to spot at jewellers or bullion dealers who send their incoming gold straight to the melting pot. Seriously, if you can buy an 1855-s double eagle (lightly cleaned XF) only $30 above spot, go for it. On a different note, if it ever comes down to "it", I highly doubt we're swapping gold pieces for food or whatever. More likely 3 packs of smokes or a bottle of koolaid for a can of ham or something.

Being in Europe, we don't have the whole Double Eagle = $20/GAE = $50 confusion. 90% purity vs 99.999% is only important to jewellers and traders. But you must keep in mind the following: not many ordinary people have actually seen a GAE or Double Eagle in their lives - not to mention gold 20 franc pieces, Mexican gold... The most recent European gold coins minted for circulation - they didn't even circulate! - was the Swiss gold 20 franc coin minted in 1949. That's a staggering 62 years ago! You can be sure the only people who actually paid with gold coins are in their 80s or 90s, since the 1930s was the last decade such coins were used in daily transactions. Oh yeah, you'd have to be rich as well, since 20 franc represented a week's wages.

And even then, in many countries the date for gold as money is even further away: for the UK its the mid 1920s, Germany abandoned gold in 1914 (good luck finding anyone besides collectors, coindealers or jewellers who are into it) and many other countries didn't even use gold coins as money, but rather minted them as collateral for banknotes.

In short: if you are going to trade with a total nitwit, chances are he'll just say "I never seen such a coin in my whole life, you say its pure gold, why should I trust you?" Think about it. Or he'll pull a knife or a gun and wants everything you have and then some.

Ronnie Mexico, I largely agree with you, but always keep in mind, in a SHTF scenario, everyone will be armed, in order to keep the nitwits in line!

[Ronnie Mexico]

^^^^^^
Too bad guns are only in the hands of criminals and police officers around here, I wouldn't mind owning a small handgun for protection. Though I have to say, it's fairly easy to purchase a gun elsewhere. But that's an illegal activity and, unless I have no other choice, it's not something I'll easily pursue.

[TemplarX]

^^^^^^
Too bad guns are only in the hands of criminals and police officers around here, I wouldn't mind owning a small handgun for protection. Though I have to say, it's fairly easy to purchase a gun elsewhere. But that's an illegal activity and, unless I have no other choice, it's not something I'll easily pursue.

Which state or nation (Mexico) are you in?

[wischeese]

Alot of good info here. I'm going to hit the coin shop this week and make my first gold purchase.

[Irons]

Alot of good info here. I'm going to hit the coin shop this week and make my first gold purchase.

You will never regret it, there is plenty of room in the Gold pool if ya got the balz to jump in!

[TemplarX]

You will never regret it, there is plenty of room in the Gold pool if ya got the balz to jump in!

I'll second that!

[pezking7p]

You will never regret it, there is plenty of room in the Gold pool if ya got the balz to jump in!

Oh how I long to have a pool filled with gold. I would like, at some point, to fill a small treasure chest with gold. I'll probably commission a blacksmith to make me a sweet chest for it.

Edit: I can't take credit for this idea, someone (I think in the WTF thread) mentioned it first and I thought it was a great idea.

[rampage]

Maybe i'm not looking in the right places on the bay, but I have not seen any bars. Is there a category for them or something?

[HistoryStudent]

When I went the Europe I took 20 gold sovereigns with me. Not 1/4 AGEs, Mexican, Canadian, Gold Nuggets, Krugs, but just like the American and British service men
I chose SOVEREIGNS. (in case the dollar went POOP earlier then I had figured)

A coin for almost 200 years = SOVEREIGN.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soverei...ritish_coin%29

Call me SOVEREIGN CRUSADER RABBIT

[Irons]

Maybe i'm not looking in the right places on the bay, but I have not seen any bars. Is there a category for them or something?

Hopefully this search will work in the link. Notice the words I told the seach to ignore, that alone weeded out almost 5 hundred BS listings. Good Luck!

I forgot to add hit the time ending soonest button!

EDIT: I see there is still a ton of complete crap in that search! I haven't used ebay in around a year, but still there used to be a lot of good bars listed and no where near that amount of crap!


http://coins.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_n..._dmd=1&_ipg=50

[Argentium]

In the last year, I've been going for mainly Euro gold; ducats and Roosters. They have a lower premium than Sovs.

[TemplarX]

People need to develop, "The Attitude." I picked this up from a prospector on another site.

The beauty of the precious metals market is that you can learn the business in a few hours, you can find a dealer in the phone book, and you can start a portfolio for the cost of a coin. The not-beauty of the business is that you have to develop a unique hard-nosed attitude. Stock suckers have a prominent slap-dash attitude, changing their minds frequently, selling and buying on whims. That is a lot of fun, and even profitable in rising markets. The PM buyer is quite a contrast: grumpy, grizzled, careful, no fun.

So here comes the stock sucker, looking to buy some of this stuff he's heard about, not being sure what it is but confident in his guessing techniques. He knows about due diligence, but precious metals don't file quarterly reports or pay interest or dividends, so he doesn't know what to study. So he uses his old familiar guessing technique and, lo and behold, he buys at the wrong time. There isn't any fun way to get out of that trap. You either learn The Attitude or you lose some money and go back to whatever you used to deal in.

The PM bug is not a fool; he buys stocks when stocks are in a bull market. He does not consider metals to be an investment, he buys them to preserve his wealth. When prices drop he says they went on sale, whereas the stock sucker says they took a dump. When prices rise he says the money is losing value, whereas the stock sucker says it's a bubble. The PM bug looks at long term trends, comparing the market of 1980-2001 to the market of 2001-2011. The stock sucker doesn't even care about the market of last week, although he does consider weather, holidays, and phases of the moon.

So what is The Attitude? Well, it's awfully hard to explain. It's like "The stove is hot". Nobody can explain it, but once you touch the stove you don't need it explained. Buy some precious metal; watch the price drop; watch the price rise; study a bit of history. Eventually you will realize that your precious metal will always be worth what it has always been worth, and the money you paid for it will never be worth that much again. And then you will be a Precious Metal Bug like the rest of us.

[AgAuGal]

If looking for less premium I would look at Sovs (Fr or Sw). I shy away from Mexican coins (if you can pick out a fake from real go for it, too much hassle and maybe why low premium amongst other reasons). If your in the 'States' I think people will learn what American/Canadian gold and silver coins are, eventually, but the premium now is outrageous. If you travel outside the 'States' a lot then might want to own some foreign fracs. IMO

bottom line - pay as little premium as possible for your metals after that buy what attracts your attention be it coin or bar, because if you have to sell it/trade it someone else might also find it attractive.