Thinking about purchasing my first one ounce gold coin.
Jdurg
Posts: 997 ✭
I'm currently in a bit of a dilemma. I am looking to purchase my first 1-ounce gold bullion coin and have decided to avoid the American Eagle due to the poor purity of the coin and what I feel is a kind of boring overall design. What's unfortuneate for me is that the $530 or so bucks it will take to purchase a one-ounce gold coin is a bit of a tough thing to swallow. (There are much better things for me to spend the money on, but in the past I've said 'I'll wait until later' and the price of gold/platinum has jumped up quicker than I can keep up). So I'm looking for some advice on how to go about this gold coin purchase and which coin to buy.
I currently possess one ounce maple leafs in both silver and palladium and wouldn't mind adding a gold one to my collection. In addition the Gold Maple Leaf is a really simple, yet beautiful, design and is made out of 24 karat gold. It's also a nice touch that they produced one ounce gold maple leafs in 1980 which is the year I was born. So right now, the Canadian Maple Leaf is my front runner in terms of gold coins.
I guess I'd just like to see some pictures of gold coins from various countries around the world. The Chinese Panda is an attractive coin as well (I own a 1/10th once platinum panda and like the design), but the Panda is a bit pricey compared to the metal content.
I REALLY like the British Gold Sovereign, but I don't know a whole lot about the coin so I'm not sure if it's made in a 24-karat purity, nor am I sure if they have one-ounce samples.
I will admit that I haven't done a helluva lot of research on this, but I figure this forum is the best place to get the information and it also gives people a chance to show off their beautiful non-USA gold coins.
My final question is what would be the best method of paying for the coin? Would I be better off just setting money aside every month until I can afford the coin I want and buying it then, or should I take advantage of the zero-very low interest rates on a credit card and use a credit card to purchase it while paying off the debt before interest accrues? (I did this to obtain my palladium maple leaf and it worked out great. I couldn't afford the price tag in one lump sum, but by paying off a hundred a month I was able to pay off the balance before interest accrued. I'd like to do that with a gold coin purchase, but I have to make sure the interest wouldn't accrue yet as 22% on a $500 is a lot of money).
So for a somewhat strapped person like myself who can afford to purchase a gold coin if prepared properly, what would be the best method for me to go about doing this?
Thanks,
Jdurg
I currently possess one ounce maple leafs in both silver and palladium and wouldn't mind adding a gold one to my collection. In addition the Gold Maple Leaf is a really simple, yet beautiful, design and is made out of 24 karat gold. It's also a nice touch that they produced one ounce gold maple leafs in 1980 which is the year I was born. So right now, the Canadian Maple Leaf is my front runner in terms of gold coins.
I guess I'd just like to see some pictures of gold coins from various countries around the world. The Chinese Panda is an attractive coin as well (I own a 1/10th once platinum panda and like the design), but the Panda is a bit pricey compared to the metal content.
I REALLY like the British Gold Sovereign, but I don't know a whole lot about the coin so I'm not sure if it's made in a 24-karat purity, nor am I sure if they have one-ounce samples.
I will admit that I haven't done a helluva lot of research on this, but I figure this forum is the best place to get the information and it also gives people a chance to show off their beautiful non-USA gold coins.
My final question is what would be the best method of paying for the coin? Would I be better off just setting money aside every month until I can afford the coin I want and buying it then, or should I take advantage of the zero-very low interest rates on a credit card and use a credit card to purchase it while paying off the debt before interest accrues? (I did this to obtain my palladium maple leaf and it worked out great. I couldn't afford the price tag in one lump sum, but by paying off a hundred a month I was able to pay off the balance before interest accrued. I'd like to do that with a gold coin purchase, but I have to make sure the interest wouldn't accrue yet as 22% on a $500 is a lot of money).
So for a somewhat strapped person like myself who can afford to purchase a gold coin if prepared properly, what would be the best method for me to go about doing this?
Thanks,
Jdurg
I collect the elements on the periodic table, and some coins. I have a complete Roosevelt set, and am putting together a set of coins from 1880.
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Comments
If it doesn't have to be a 1oz. coin, I would suggest buying one of these per month. Most are just a hair over spot, around $100 each, buy 1 a month. You will have a very hard time deciding which one to buy first
a) Australia - Nugget (Kangaroo) (9999)
b) Austria - Philharmonic (9999)
c) Canada - Maple Leaf (9999)
d) China - Panda (999)
e) Gibraltar - Cherub Angels (9999)
f) Isle of Man - Cat (9999)
g) Singapore - Lion (999)
Only the Maple Leaf goes back to 1980
22 Karat bullion coins:
a) US - Eagle (916)
b) UK - Britannia (916)
c) SA - Krugerrand (916)
d) IOM - Angel (916)
Only the Krugerrand goes back to 1980 and has the lowest premium over gold spot
The China Panda is the only series I keep up to date.
Clickable link to Panda America's index of all the designs.
My favorite classic and modern design are both from the UK: (A proof 1980 UK 5 Pound coin does exist!)
go for the sovereigns/angels/swiss if you're just looking for a bullion coin, go to someplace like APMEX or a trusted dealer
who will get you a nice coin for a small % over bullion rate ...
that being said... I have to show these before they go back to the vault.
these aren't the highest quality (rim dings, etc) and I got them for a % over content.
(the angel is a bit nicer, a cool coin in the 20 franc variety)
If your interest lies in purchasing only .999 gold coins - you will be stuck with those listed by trozau. At least until next year when the US offers the AGE in .999 gold.
Most older world gold coins are typically of .900 gold. There are exceptions however - the Netherlands ducat and the Venetian zecchino (ducat) are of .986 gold. Or if you go back to medieval times, then most gold coins are of nearly pure gold.
Thank you to EVERYONE for the beautiful photos you have posted and your advice. After looking through them all, I have to say that the 1981 Coin that Trozau has really piqued my interest. I think I will have to go and look into getting myself a sizeable sovereign for my collection.
just makes the reverse... that's just gotten on my "want"' list (when gold goes back to $240/oz) - heaven forbid
If I were you I would probably go for the Maple leaf...it really would be cool to have the set in 3 metals (well four if you add silver in). It is also the one on the 'pure' list that is most likely to have the lowest premium over the spot price of gold. In 1980 they were .999 pure vs the current .9999. I don't know what year they switched.
You can hunt on ebay, but frankly the deals are not always the best and things often (but not always) get bid higher over spot than they should. The better prices I see online are at Tulving.com, Golddealer.com, ajpm.com and Southlandcoins.com. I have not bought from Golddealer.com so I can't personally say how they are, but their prices are good and shipping is free over $1000. Tulving.com generally has the lowest prices so I look there to set my baseline for prices, but they have huge minimums to buy. Southlandcoins got a little disrupted by Katrina, but I have bought from them and been very happy, shipping is usually around $12. AJPM is also one I have bought from happily before, with, I think, equivalent shipping.
If you go to a local dealer, some are good and some are poor. I just found a place a few miles from me that sells at about 4% over spot for a cash purchase. Where I live sales tax is charged for buys under $1000, which is something you might need to factor in if you decide to make a local dealer purchase.
I'll let you know the next time I buy anything, the price of gold always falls a bit after I buy. Never fails
Oh, and if you want to look at pictures of LOTS of gold coins, Pandaamerica.com has alot. I rarely like their prices though.
Cathy
PS, many dealers refuse to take credit cards for bullion purchases as this increases their costs and many of them work on very slim margins already. Some might disagree with me on this one, but what you could do is if you credit card company gives you those 'convenience checks' that have those favorable offers then you could write yourself the check, and then write a check to the bullion seller. You would have to make sure you pay it off before you lose the good rate, but if you know you can, and there aren't any fees for the checks (or cash advance charges), then go for it. BUT YOU HAVE TO PAY IT OFF BEFORE YOUR DEAL EXPIRES OR YOU WILL GET SLAMMED WITH FEES.
excellent advice in above post.
<< <i>Another thing to consider is that the one ounce maple leaf is cool to have in hand if you have other maples, because it is so much smaller than the SML, so it gives you an appreciation for the density of the metal. (I mention this since you seem interested in the metal aspect of the coin). >>
Very good point. High density on gold and platinum is what drew me to them compared to silver and palladium.
I do think I will go with the Gold Maple Leaf for the moment simply because I do have the silver and palladium versions. If I can get a Gold Maple Leaf, that will only leave me with the task of obtaining a platinum maple leaf sometime in the distant future.
The density of gold and platinum are something to behold. I have in my possession a 1/4 ounce Pt American Eagle and the weight of that small coin is something to behold. Still, I don't think any coin will be able to impress me as much as my one ounce buttons of Iridium and Rhenium metal. Both of those metals exceed Au and Pt in terms of density, and if they made a coin out of iridium metal the one ounce version would probably be no bigger than a United States Quarter! (A collection of mine that grew out of my initially meager coin collection was that of the elements on the periodic table. I have photos of my elements over at a website I work at in case you're interested). Rhenium, Osmium and Iridium are amazingly dense metals and it's neat seeing them in a massive form. I really can't wait until I get my hands on that gold coin, however, so I can see how surprisingly small it will be.
I think I now have enough information to make a solid decision on my purchase, as well as inspiration to not just stop at one gold coin.
The site Pandaamerica does have an excellent wide variety of world gold coin selection and is highly recommanded to take a look at.
While that's one side of the story, there are plenty of other gold coins that are so rare that it's just not listed there. Another side, Coinvault is also another recommandation for a wide variety of gold coins.
And finally, checking out offical homepages of various countries, such as Australia, Austria, Canada and Russia is also recommanded. Russian gold coins is a horror to collect, probably after the ever illusive 31kilos of Austrian gold coin minted for some bizarre world record.
Central Bank Russia is one page to check the ever ridicious Russian gold coins minted since the Russian Federation era.
<< <i>Plenty of good advice regarding the coins thus far, the only thing I would suggest is not to carry it on a credit card. It's too easy to get tripped up on a 0% deal and have to pay lots and lots of interest. >>
That's a very good point and a reason why I have yet to purchase a one ounce bullion coin. I picked up a palladium coin via my credit card simply because I could pay for half it at the moment of purchase, but would need another month to be able to afford the rest of it. I wound up paying off the credit card prior to any interest charges kicking in so it worked out great. (Especially since palladium went up about ten bucks in the meantime). I would like to be able to do the same with gold, but I'll probably need to wait until the new year in order to put down about $300 of the $550 that it would probably cost to get a one ounce coin. It's a difficult decision, but one I will wind up doing. (I'm still kicking myself for not toughing it out on the financial side for a few months back when I bought my Rhodium sample. At the time, I bought about 1/3rd of an ounce of Rhodium metal at ~$800 an ounce, but didn't get a full ounce because I didn't want to be 'lean' on the finances for a few months. Right now, Rhodium is at ~$3,000 an ounce so my mistake is biting me. I don't want to do the same with gold).
<< <i>You must mean $800 for 1/3 ounce. Rhodium's low is more than $1,150 in the last year. I don't think I can ever afford rhodium as I am too cheap. Last time I bought platinum was when it was below $500 some years back. And I felt robbed when I bought my China Panda last August at over $450 with premium included.
Nope. I purchased my sample in VERY early 2004 when it was only about $800 for a full ounce. I'm still kicking myself for not getting that full ounce.
The only options then were US pre-1933 gold coins so I sent $50 to a Coin World advertiser dealer for a St. Gaudens $20.
$50 was a lot of money to a kid then when raw gold was $35 an ounce.
I still have the coin, a 1927.
It now has company.
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
<< <i>In 1964 I was 16 and wanted to own a gold coin.
The only options then were US pre-1933 gold coins so I sent $50 to a Coin World advertiser dealer for a St. Gaudens $20.
$50 was a lot of money to a kid then when raw gold was $35 an ounce.
I still have the coin, a 1927.
It now has company. >>
Very nice.
Since there are no children in my family we decided to do the Christmas Gift opening this past evening and I received a check for a few hundred dollars. That will be deposited as soon as possible and my purchase of a gold coin will commence. I have decided to go for the Maple Leaf coin this year as I do have the silver and palladium versions of that coin already. However, all these incredible photos have given me ideas for purchases in the future as well. It's going to be nice feeling the heft of that coin in my hand when it arrives. (I just signed up for a new credit card which has 0.00% APR through March of 06. Reading through the fine print, there is nothing hidden here to come up and bite me. I can pay for the coin over at www.apmex.com then immediately pay off about $300 of the cost. That will leave me with around $250, I believe, to pay off before the end of March which can easily be done.
<< <i>Congratulations on your first 1 troy ounce gold coin!
LOL. Yeah, I know.
congrats !!! ah, the warmth of gold
<< <i>Jdurg, congrats on the coin. You got a good deal. So if gold makes a similar move like rhodium did after you bought, we can look forward to $1800 an ounce gold before the next presidential election
Lol. Yeah. If it does, then a lot of people will be retiring shortly.
excerpt from the passed act:
‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT DESIGNS.—After the 1-year period
described to in paragraph (2), the Secretary may—
‘‘(A) after consulting with the Commission of Fine Arts,
and subject to the review of the Citizens Coinage Advisory
Committee, change the design on the obverse or reverse
of gold bullion coins struck under this subsection; and
‘‘(B) change the maximum number of coins issued in
any year.
Clickable link to article.