Sunday, 10 April 2011

Alternatives For Gold Purchasing

By Jack Wogan


In the context of nowadays financial situation on worldwide scale, people seem much more aware of the inherent and constant worth of gold. Especially the recent, but also older price charts and statistics on this popular precious metal show that it has preserved at all times its purchasing power and value.


On the other hand, with the escalating costs per a gold ounce and failing supply, central gold holders all over the world choose to store their asset rather than set it on market since bullion is expected to get even more valuable. However, there are still options for good gold investments and deals. The high demand for precious metals has significantly diversified and brought into light a whole range of investment opportunities. By far, direct ownership of gold bullion is the safest and long-range alternative for getting a hold of and preserving real value.


Physical tenure of gold refers to either ownership of bullion (that is raw gold in form of ingots, bars and coins), or possession of numismatic coins and jewelery. Collectors' coins (i.e. numismatic) and boutique or simple jewelery are largely speculative assets because their worth dependents on a variety of factors, such as their age, craftsmanship, condition, design, etc rather than on the pure gold content. Therefore, they largely address the expert or precious metals passionate category of buyers and sellers.


Gold ingots are little accessible due to their large sizes and, inherently huge costs. Therefore, they are almost exclusively purchased by banks, tycoons, national reserves, etc. Bullion bars and coins are more affordable for the large population. Bars can be purchased in a wide range of weight varying from 100 grams to 1 kilo; whereas, coins are popular at 7,98 grams. Since they are easy to transport, store and trade-back, bullion coins are the most favored shape of raw gold.


When purchasing any form of gold, the fineness is one of the key factors that determine its worth. The purest available bullion is of 24 karat, which is 99,9% content of precious metal. Consequently, 18 and 14 karat gold pieces are not the top option on market, but are also good alternatives.




About the Author:



No comments: