clawhammer

As part of my investment strategy, I'd like to purchase some physical gold in the form of either coins or bullion.

Has anybody done this before? How much is the premium that one ususally has to pay for the coin or bullion over the exchange traded price of gold? Do you buy at a retail store or order online somewhere. Anybody have any advice on this?

trainwreck

i usually get mine from the infomercials. jk.

no idea.

magician

Why coins or bullion instead of, say, a gold ETF?

Consider that you will have storage costs, and possibly insurance; it's rather risky. Remember A Simple Twist of Fate.

sahtt

gold ETFs don't track gold very accurately over the medium/short term.

Gadunk

Kitco.com, apmex and depending on how much you want to buy Tulving are real good source to try to score some PM's. Another way is local dealers and coin conventions. As for premiums it all depends on where you get it (local/online) and for the locals what kind of rapport you have with them.

Penforhire

I've owned Canadian Maple Leafs before. You want to stick to something like those (or Kruggerands or Gold Eagles), known-weight known-quality, to make them as liquid as possible. I don't recall my transaction fees when I liquidated but I do recall they weren't huge, just some paperwork hassle to make sure you weren't money laundering, tax evading, or dealing in stolen goods.

The legal "protection" is a joke though so definitely treat them like cash. Keep them in a good safe or safe deposit box.

cthree

You should consider futures rather than commodities. They are more liquid and less expensive. They also offer a good deal of leverage.

Ks320

But you might get wiped out given how volatile this market is.

You really gotta watch your margin calls carefully. You might have the right view, but excessive leverage and/or careless cash management could screw you over pretty easily ...

cthree

That may be a good thing considering gold is headed to $500/oz

Harpoon