How To Buy Gold

Gold has established itself to be worthwhile for those who wish to diversify their portfolio. This is mainly because this precious metal has an intrinsic value and it is a solid asset that you can physically own and grasp in your own hand.

The Simple Steps To Buying Gold

Step 1:

There are different kinds of gold that can be used as portfolio diversifier and if you wish to know more about it then you can talk to a ITM Trading Account Executive by calling 1-888-OWN-GOLD. We would also gladly provide you with an Gold Information Kit, absolutely free.

Step 2:

Evaluate the Purchase Policies and Risk Disclosure booklet provided by ITM Trading to help you decide on your first purchase.

Choose whether you prefer self storage or storage provided by a separate depository. (A few restrictions may be imposed when choosing the storage option.) Verify your preferred option as well as the mode of payment with our Client Services Representative.

Step 3: You are done! It's that easy.

If you wish to know more about buying gold coins and the different options, you can view the ITM Trading silver and gold catalogue within the free gold information kit.

The Required Forms

To get started, the first thing that you should do is fill out the form for the Account and Storage Agreement. Remember to read and understand the risk disclosure information as well as the state refund policies. Once that is completed you can call our Account Executive and start buying precious metals.

If you want to know more information about buying gold and other precious metals you can submit a Request for Information.

Payment Options

ITM Trading accepts different payment options such as:

- Cashier’s Check
- Bank Wire
- Personal Check

Where should I Buy Gold Coins?

One must be very careful when choosing to buy gold coins, whether you are a coin collector or a serious investor. Sufficient knowledge about the gold coins is necessary before a purchase should be made. In America, there are 2 basic types of gold coins that one can purchase – the rare gold and the bullion gold.

Gold Bullion Coins

The value of gold bullion coins lies in the content or amount of gold they possess. These gold coins exist in the millions with no outstanding appeal from serious coin collectors. It is easy to possess these as a means of owning in gold.

Many governments have minted their own gold bullion coins such as US mint on the American Eagle Gold coin and the Buffalo Gold coin, the Royal Canadian mint on the Gold Maple Leaf, the South African mint on the Krugerrand, Austrian mint on the Austrian Vienna Philharmonic and the Perth mint on the Australian Gold Nugget.

There are many sizes of these national gold bullion coins.

Rare Gold Coins

Rare gold coins are those minted between 1795 to 1933 in the U.S. which are few in number and thus are considered collectibles that are highly demanded.

The value of rare gold coins is not confined to the gold content within but according to the demand which can range from $1,000 and into the millions.

The U.S. Double Eagle twenty dollars gold pieces are the most popular rare gold coins that were minted between 1850 and 1933.

Buying Options

Although there are many places where you can purchase gold coins, it is best to purchase them at reputable coin dealers, like ITM Trading, especially for the rare gold coins. Local coin shops may also carry some gold coins for your convenience but not a good variety of choices would be available. A coin show is another place of purchase of gold coins which caters mainly for dealers. The public will not likely get the best price from a coin show as they are not knowledgeable enough about gold to negotiate a good deal. The last possible place to purchase gold coins is banks. But these may not always offer good bullion prices or service as gold coins trading is not their forte.

An individual who is an amateur in gold investment should get education on gold before getting involved in investing gold.

Is Now a Good Time to Buy Gold

If you have listened to the radio or the news lately, you may be asking yourself if gold is a good buy for you. There are plenty of reason why now is a good time to buy gold. The final decision is yours though learning the keys to gold prices is the best way to make an informed decision.

Important to understand the difference between gold stocks called gold ETF's and physical gold. Admissions from companies that trade on the Comex that many of the transactions for gold ETF's are not backed by adequate amounts of physical gold are causes for concern. It is important for financial security for buying gold to be physical gold that you hold in your possession.

There are increasing skepticism over the United States actuall gold reserves. The reported position for the United States is 8,133 tons which is estimated to be worth just over $300 billion. There is no outside audit for the total the US holds which makes the amounts that individuals own more important.

Gold is in the midst of a steady bull market. It has increased in value each year for the last 9 years. If the present value of gold holds true for 2010 it will be 10 years in a row. This has all happen as many in the mainstream media has had negative comments towards gold.

An amazing aspect of gold's value is the fact that most of the mined gold in the world is accounted for. Gold has a great weight to value ratio making it easy to store in private possessions. The ability of gold to hold up against normal abuse makes its a great way to preserve wealth for the long term.

with an unclear economic future ahead for the next few years in America, the fundamentals for gold have many factors that have the ability to produce positive results. For better understanding if now is the best time for you to own gold contact a reputable gold brokerage firm for more information.

How to Buy Rare Gold Coins

Buying gold coins requires preparation and learning. Before you buy your first coin, you should commit yourself to learning as much as you can about coins, so that you can make an informed buying decision.

This won't guarantee that you will make a profit from your investment in rare gold coins, but it will increase your chances greatly.

There are many resources available in print and online to help you educate yourself about rare gold coins.

You should start with The Guidebook of United States Coins, popularly referred to in the industry as the "Redbook." This book lists every coin ever minted by the U.S. mint which will enable you to know what's out there. It also gives brief histories and descriptions of the coins and lists their original mintages.

A couple of notes of caution are in order, however.

First of all, original mintages are not always indicative of current rarity. The key to current rarity is the number of surviving specimens believed to be around today. In some cases, issues with small original mintages have high survival rates, making them relatively less scarce today. Conversely, some issues with very high original mintages have experienced huge attrition rates, primarily due to meltings, and thus are very rare today.

Second, the Redbook lists prices which are not at all reflective of current market value. This is because the Redbook is published annually and the coin market trades actively throughout an entire year. There is simply no way for an annual guidebook to accurately indicate the current price of a rare gold coin.

We will let you in on an important fact now, before you embark on your education process (you will discover this on your own later anyway): you should only buy rare gold coins which have been graded and certified by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). PCGS and NGC are the two leading independent coin grading firms whose standards have been accepted industry-wide for many years. Buying rare gold coins which have been graded by lesser services creates too much risk and should be avoided.

Just as is the case with any major purchase, you need to know what you are acquiring. Make sure that you are getting advice based upon your goals and objectives. There are many ways to acquire gold across that asset class. Therefore you need to make sure you are applying the right tool to the right job. Lower graded, higher population type coins will tend to perform more like asset protection, whereas higher graded rarer issues will tend to grow more over time.

In addition to buying the right coins for you, you should also compare coin dealers. You will want to buy coins from a dealer who is reliable and can provide you with the level of service and education that you desire. Not all dealers provide ongoing client education in the form of newsletters, special reports and periodic, complimentary portfolio updates. Before you decide to buy a rare gold coin from a coin dealer, you may wish to know what your relationship with that dealer is going to be like.

One final note in comparing dealers: you should check to see what each dealer's rating with the Better Business Bureau is before making your final buying decision.

ITM Trading offer expert advice on how to buy gold coins including rare gold coins.

The Significance of Gold Price Forecasting

The recent global turmoil has reaffirmed the significance of gold as a safe and viable investment alternative. Other precious metals like platinum have not been able to take the position of gold, due to its high value and price volatility. In addition to retail investors, central banks, institutions, pension funds, etc. also take large positions in gold and drive its prices.

Why gold?
The one most apparent factor is that the lifetime returns on gold have been positive. Gold value is subject to short and medium-term fluctuations. However, it is not susceptible to the ups and downs of the economic and business cycles. This renders it a more stable investment in the long-term.

There is a negative correlation between the dollar rates and the gold prices. In the case of volatile market conditions or a weakening currency, people start replacing their dollar investments with gold. On one hand, this ensures that the investors do not lose their purchasing power by the day. On the other hand, the increased demand for gold pushes its prices up, augmenting the values of gold holdings. A weakening dollar is indicative of strengthening gold and vice-versa (this is mostly true, but not always).

Gold prices are not dependent upon the political or economic conditions. Events, like natural calamities, political disturbance, wartime etc. either do not affect gold value, or put an upward pressure on it. Therefore, in distress conditions gold acts as an effective hedging strategy to prevent the erosion in investor wealth.

Is gold always a ‘buy’?
Like stocks, investors often make a mistake of buying gold at a peak on the expectations of further price rise. Speculative gold trading has a large market and often the speculators accelerate the uptrend through futures and forwards. Such artificial price rally is liable to correction, sometimes leading to sudden plunge in value. Always remember the thumb rule to buy low and sell high.

Is jewelry worth the same as coin, bullion, or bars?
Jewelry yields lesser returns that the other forms due to the mixture of alloys, wear & tear, handling marks, and designing. In addition, gold jewelry is a costly acquisition because of its processing charges.

How to ensure right decisions?
Acquiring gold calls for more than intuition and tracking the mass sentiments. Guidance from expert precious metals consultants, newspapers, trade journals, investment websites, authentic investing forums, etc. are some of the reference points for making informed decisions.

Commodity Trading: Gold and Silver

Since ancient times, precious metals have been the articles of ornamentation and monetary worth, alike. In the modern world, these metals find wide scale uses in jewelry-making, industrial use, investments, and speculation. Gold and silver are the most popular precious metals with universal acceptance. Their affordable prices, structural stability, ease of handling, liquidity, high returns on investments, and global acceptability, make them attractive trading propositions. The investment options in gold and silver include the stocks of mining companies, physical metal holdings, ETFs, and certificates. The current fiscal 2010 is expected to be a fruitful year from the point of view of gold and silver investing.

The US subprime crisis-led global recession destabilized the national economies and paper currencies worldwide. Some of the direct consequences of economic disequilibrium are the fluctuating forex rates accompanied by inflationary/deflationary conditions. This leads to volatile currencies and erosion in monetary holdings. Gold and silver are relatively insulated from such factors as their international prices are fixed daily based on demand and supply. When the currency value goes unpredictable, the investors start looking for alternatives and take exposure in gold investments.

Globally, sovereign gold holdings are important appeal drivers for gold. Traditionally, various nations maintained US Dollar reserves. Due to the consistent devaluation of Dollar over the last few years however, the central banks worldwide switched their sizable holdings to gold investments, pushing the already high demand even higher. As the demand rises, the prices follow, enhancing the worth of gold holdings further. Last December, the gold prices crossed $1,200 per ounce.

In the current scenario, the rationale for gold holdings is that the upside potential on the demand side remains high. Not only the retail investors, but also the fastest growing economies in the world, the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are planning to hedge their positions more aggressively than before. As far as the prices are concerned, the markets have already factored in a correction of almost 10% since December 2009. On the supply side, the position is weakening. The supply has slackened over the years. It is expected to level-off or even plunge in the coming years. Although, some newer reserves have come into light in certain underdeveloped nations, the cost of exploration remains a deterrent. The recycled gold supplies and new search ventures may not be able to keep up with the ever-growing demand in a couple of years. Therefore, the medium to long-term potential of gold is high.

The growing industrial demand will keep driving the prices of silver in future. Silver finds great use in electrical and electronics industry. In the retail segment, silver is used in manufacturing ornaments, decorative articles, foils, coins, bars, and bullion, to name some. The supply of silver is also limited and the demand is rising. With the economic recovery and increased manufacturing activity, the demand for silver is forecasted to rise.

Who Buys Gold Coins?

The Investor

There was a time when the only people who bought gold coins were the so-called “gold bugs.” These people were considered eccentric for buying gold coins back in the 1970s after gold ownership was legalized in the United States of America.

But by the time the 1970s were over, the gold bugs were proven to be pretty darn savvy for having the foresight to protect their wealth with gold coins. In fact, by the time 1980 debuted, the South African Krugerrand gold coin was one of the most popular investments in the world. It wasn’t just gold bugs buying anymore. Investors of all philosophies realized the value of including gold in their diversified portfolios.

Whether someone was looking for aggressive growth or preservation of capital, gold had a role to play because it could both produce profits and protect wealth from high inflation and crisis. So, basically, all sorts of people were buying gold in the period from 1975-1981.

In 1980, gold peaked at $850 per ounce and demand for gold coins also peaked. While many continued to buy gold in the 1980s, especially in 1987 in the wake of a huge stock market crash in America, overall demand for gold waned over the course of the decade and into the 1990s. This was because the price of gold stayed range-bound for extended periods of time.

Once again, gold coins became less popular among investors. In fact, at one point in the 1990s, according to a Wall Street study, American investors, on average, were negatively invested in gold, reflecting the fact that more money was placed on the short side of futures contracts than was on the long side.

In a sense, the few who were buying gold coins during this period were new gold bugs, once again thought of by the rest of the financial world as eccentric.

All of that changed in the 21st century. The first decade of the 21st century proved to be the polar opposite of the 1990s. Periodic crises of both the geopolitical and economic variety rocked paper assets and brought gold back to the forefront of peoples’ minds. The price of gold soared, smashing the $1,000 mark for the first time.

The combination of failing banks, collapsing real estate values, volatility in the financial markets as well as terrorism and war prompted investors of all types to turn to gold coins once again. And their gold has served them admirably.

Today, once again, savvy investors of all philosophies are realizing the wisdom of including gold in their diversified financial planning. Some who were day trading through online discount brokers in the stock market bubble years of the 1990s are now holding gold. But so are families and retirees who just want safety and security. In short, just about every type of investor is buying gold today.

The Collector

In parallel to investors buying gold coins, collectors have been buying gold coins all along since the legalization of gold ownership in 1974.

Unlike investors, collectors buy coins strictly for their beauty and historical significance, without any initial profit motive. To these collectors, gold coins are works of art and historic artifacts from history. The number of coin collectors in America has been growing steadily for decades. Of course, only the most affluent collectors can afford to buy gold coins strictly for pleasure.

This raises an important point.

While collectors may not acquire their coins for profit, the fact of the matter remains that collections of gold coins have historically brought handsome profits for their owners and their heirs. In fact, statistically speaking, the most successful recorded performances tend to be made by collectors, rather than investors. This is because collectors know which coins to buy and buy them according to a plan.

This suggests that investors should seek the assistance of expert collectors in choosing coins.

Where Can I Buy Gold Coins?

When it comes to buying gold coins, today’s investors and collectors have more choices than ever in terms of where they can obtain coins.

An Historical Perspective on Buying Gold Coins

Today, there are two broad varieties of gold coins from which to choose: rare gold coins, such as the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (minted from 1907 to 1933) and gold bullion coins, such as the American Eagle gold bullion coin.

But from 1933 to 1975, there were no gold bullion coins, such as the Gold American Eagle, because, believe it or not, it was illegal for United States citizens or foreign residents in the U.S.A. to own gold. During that period, the only gold coins that were permitted for private ownership, and thus eligible for sale, were “gold coins of special interest and value to collectors”—in other words, rare gold coins.

Even so, during most of the period 1933 through the end of Second World War in 1945, few Americans could afford to buy and own rare gold coins. Rare gold coins were a luxury that just could not be justified during the decade of the Great Depression and the four years of World War II from 1941 to 1945.

The few Americans who could afford to buy rare gold coins during the period from 1933 to 1945 were usually the very wealthy and they obtained their gold coins from a few elite, specialized coin dealers (called “numismatists”). These dealers were often unknown to the general public and traveled in strictly upper class socioeconomic circles. It is no wonder that coin collecting got the label “the hobby of kings.”

After the Second World War, America was transformed. It’s economy was transformed by the rapid industrialization and modernization which had occurred to support the arsenal of democracy and America’s society and culture was transformed by the millions of returning servicemen who had made the world safe for democracy, had been to places that no one in America had even heard of before the war and who wanted to start families and live the good life back at home.

This transformation also had an impact on the coin business. In the post-World War II period, more prosperity meant that more people could afford rare gold coins. To be sure, rare gold coins were still not items that the average American could afford to collect, but, nevertheless, more Americans could afford them than ever.

Inevitably, more buyers of rare gold coins meant more dealers of rare gold coins and these new dealers were not always the elite, wealthy individuals that had sole control of the trade back in the 1930s and 1940s.

The post-World War II years saw the establishment of coin shops across America. Not all coin shops could afford to maintain inventories of rare gold coins, but some could and such retail outlets became a viable option for finding at least some lower-end rare gold coins.

Coin shops really boomed in the 1960s and it was not uncommon to find some rare gold coins in just about every shop.

The Legalization of Gold and the Introduction of the Krugerrand

The coin market became even more transformed after 1975, when the law that made it illegal for private collectors and investors in the United States to own gold was suspended.

This was followed by a whole new phenomenon: South Africa’s Krugerrand.

In the late 1970s, the world’s largest gold producing nation, the Republic of South Africa, introduced a new gold coin: the Krugerrand (named for one of the country’s early leaders).

Unlike rare gold coins such as the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, the Krugerrand was mass produced on modern, high-speed machinery and was never meant to be rare. Therefore, its value was strictly tied to the one ounce of gold it contained.

A brand new investment category was thus born: gold bullion coins.

Buying Rare Gold Coins and Gold Bullion Coins Today

Today, investors and collectors have several choices when it comes to buying gold coins:

• Coin Dealers
• Coin shows
• Local Coin Shops
• Banks (Usually banks only sell bullion coins.)
• Brokerage houses (Like banks, brokerage houses customarily only sell bullion coins.)