Buy Gold Bars
When buying gold, investors have to consider what form of gold they wish to buy — jewelry, coins, bullion or bars. For many investors, gold bars are a good fit because of their straightforward, no frills nature.
Gold bars are, as the name suggests, solid bars of gold. Gold bars have been the predominant method of gold investing throughout history and remain popular today. In many nations such as Austria, Switzerland and Argentina, investors can easily buy and sell gold bars at major banks.
You can buy gold directly or you can buy indirectly through a gold account. When you buy gold bars directly you take delivery of the bars, storing them in a safety deposit box, home safe or other secure storage facility. Buying via a gold account is a lot like trading commodities contracts — you own a certificate saying the gold belongs to you, and another entity is responsible for having sufficient gold to cover the value of your certificate.
Gold bars are on an upswing in popularity because they’re cheaper to buy than other forms of gold. For example, by some estimates, buying gold bars can be up to $50 per ounce cheaper than buying gold coins like American Gold Eagles.
Gold bars come for sale in a variety of sizes, including one ounce bars, 10 ounce bars, kilo bars and 100 gram bars. Gold bars sold on the market are 99 percent pure gold. The most popular size of gold bar is the kilo bar, as they are conveniently sized and easy to store.
Kilo bars each consist of 32.15 troy ounces of gold. Royal Canadian Mint and PAMP (Produits Artistiques de Métaux Précieux) kilo bars are among the most frequently traded gold bars. PAMP bars often come with certificates verifying their authenticity and gold content. Royal Canadian Mint bars are not sold with certificates.
Buying gold bars is no more difficult than purchasing other commodities online. There are a variety of Web sites and brick-and-mortar businesses that sell gold bars. It is recommended that the buyer check the credentials and reputation of any seller before making a purchase, however.
Gold is a traditional safe harbor investment in times of economic turmoil, such as the current global environment. Gold has historically performed well in times of recession and depression, allowing savvy investors to protect and grow their wealth while everyone else is running for cover.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to buy and take physical delivery of gold bars is the security provided by having a currency of last resort on hand. No matter what happens with world currency or stock markets, holders of gold bars have a valuable commodity on hand that will retain its worth no matter what the economic climate is.
As data continues to roll in suggesting that the current economic recovery is shallow and likely to fall into recession again, gold prices continue to rise. By purchasing gold bars, you can invest your money in something that’s tangible, valuable and safe.
