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November 10, 2009

Buying Gold Bullion Coins

In the current financial climate of weak currencies, inflation and general insecurity, many investors and ordinary families are turning to a reliable and time-tested form of wealth preservation – gold bullion coins. People are attracted by both being able to diversify how their savings are held, and also by being able to actually hold their wealth in their hands.

So, what are gold bullion coins? How much do they cost? And, where can you get them from?

A century ago, gold coins were used as standard currency in many countries, and were in general circulation. As an example, the USA used to use quarter eagles, half eagles, eagles and double eagles. These are now sought after by collectors, having last been issued in the’30s. After a gap of thirty or forty years, countries began to issue gold coins again, but not for circulation, since gold had simply become too valuable.

When people talk about gold bullion coins, they mean the modern gold coins issued by governments in one ounce, or fractions of one ounce weights, which are not for general circulation, but for collecting or investment. They are intended to be an easy and relatively inexpensive way for citizens to own gold (inexpensive compared with larger and heavier gold bullion bars).

The modern form of gold bullion coins is largely the same, regardless of the country that they are bought from; however, they are given different names depending on the country. For example, in the USA they are called ‘American Gold Eagles’, in Canada they are called ‘Canadian Gold Maple Leafs’, and in China they are called ‘Gold Pandas’.

All the governments that issue these gold bullion coins use the same gold weighting scale, with them being available in the following values: one ounce, half an ounce, a quarter of an ounce, and a tenth of an ounce. The bullion coins can be either pure gold, or they may have a small percentage of silver or copper added to them to make more durable. Those which do have some other metal added to the gold are just as valuable as the pure gold ones though, as as they always have an ‘actual gold weight’ of one ounce of gold, or of one of the previously stated fractions.

The coins will normally have on them the year in which they were issued and a face value. However, the value stated on them is not what they are actually worth, they are in fact worth much more than that. The actual value of a particular coin is dependent on the current value of gold on the general market, plus a ‘premium’, which is determined by the dealer or store that you buy it from.

Gold bullion coins have traditionally been bought from a dealer or a local coin store, but in recent years the Internet has opened up two new ways of purchasing them. One of the new ways is through online auction sites, and the other is through specialist online coin stores. These specialist online coin stores are the best way for most people to buy because you can view all types and weights of coins in one place, and can purchase them at prices which are generally lower than elsewhere.

To find out more about bullion gold coins, read about the types of coins available, and to check current prices, go to bullion-gold-coins.com and get the information you need to know before you buy.

Filed under Personal Finance by Robert G. Smith

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October 23, 2009

Money, Currency and Dollars

Money in the United States, a model of what gold and silver can do for a country. The goal of the US Federal Reserve is to have more money in their vaults than they have out. Thats the core-essential difference in other countries and the U.S.

The money game in the U.S. has many players with each one making their contribution to the very best economic machine in the world. Since the Americans installed their form of currency into the world, things have never been the same.

Sure the dollar can go up in value and it can go down, but make no mistake about it, the dollar is a great method of financial recourse and the world knows this. The US dollar is a bit down right now, sure it is. The stability of dollars was created first by backing every dollar by a fixed amount of gold. The dollars were a replacement of gold, and it was easier to carry and store than gold.

Then as the economy became larger, more people needed more money to exchange hands at a faster rate. The government then had to allow the dollar to be backed by silver as well so that they could print more and keep up with the economic growth. Not doing so would cause some people to hoard money, and it would slow down the velocity of money. When this happens there is deflation, and danger of things being worth less, and money being hard to find as people hoard it.

Soon the economy would go global, and this is why the government is having troubles printing enough money to keep up with the demand for dollars as the internet now allows money to exchange hands in seconds. In order for the system to keep working, money will have to change hands even faster.

There is one danger, and that is that inflation will become a problem. If there are more and more dollars being printed, while the velocity of money will still flow at a very fast pace, dollars could potentially lose their value. Even worse, as the government mismanages money, the danger is that the rest of the world no longer has the faith in the dollar. This will mean that they might no longer accept dollars, and that would result in a lot of money with no place to go. This can result in hyper-inflation like with what happened with Germany before World War 2. However, at the moment, the rest of the world has also printed lots of their currency, so the dollar remains the best bet. If you are nervous about hyper inflation, your best bet is to buy gold, silver, and non perishable food.

Adela writes about many topics related to businesses and financing. He teaches about various things including business, finance, and money market accounts.. You can also learn more from him about how to make money online

Filed under Currency Trading by Adela Thomas

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