As economic worries persist and the price of gold keeps moving upward, there’s little wonder why investors are choosing to park their wealth in gold.
When economic times are rough, gold tends to do well. During the Great Depression, gold’s value increased more than tenfold. During the current economic crisis, gold has more than tripled in value in four years and appears to be continuing its upward price trend.
Many investors are choosing to purchase gold bars. Investing in physical gold is very popular among investors with little faith in the future solvency of financial institutions. Because gold has such a high per-ounce value (it recently closed at more than $1,400 per ounce) it’s easy to secure large amounts of wealth in just a few small and easily transportable bars of gold. Gold bars are easy to store, and can easily be converted to trade in the case of a currency collapse.
Gold bullion bars generally come in 22 to 24 carat gold. In most cases, you’ll want 24 carat bars because they have a higher purity, thus making it less difficult to calculate the value.
Gold bars come in various sizes including small one ounce bars up to 1,000 ounce bars and larger. Five ounce bars are fairly popular among smaller investors because of their size and easy transportability.
To purchase five ounce bars you should first check the spot price of gold. Once you have an idea of the current price of gold, you’ll want to shop around at various dealers. They’ll all charge a higher price than the spot price, as they derive their profits from the premium over the spot price. You want to pay the least amount of premium, so that’s why it pays to get price quotes from various sources.
Mints and government banks are probably your best bet for purchasing gold bars, but online auctions can yield the occasional fire sale where you can pick up gold for bargain prices from sellers seeking to quickly liquidate assets.
When buying 5 ounce gold bars, be sure to check out your seller’s reputation. While the majority of dealers are on the up-and-up, there are some shady dealers out there. Check out Internet discussion forums and trade publications to try to get the inside scoop on prospective dealers. If you’re buying from an online auction site like eBay, check the user ratings to see what others have had to say about your dealer.
Five ounce gold bars are an excellent way to cash in on the gold rush as fears about inflation and persistent economic weakness continue to drive the price upward. As with all investments, you should do your homework and consult with your financial advisor before investing.
