Which Gold Investment Coin In 1 Oz Size...

Here is the deal, and why people roll their eyes when people mention " investment ".

APMEX random date gold eagle - $1259.49 + 12.99 shipping. The gold has now cost you $1272.48. The spot price today is $1199.50, so you are now $72.98 in the hole. Over the last 6 months the top price of gold has been $1302.10. That would be only a $29.62 profit.

Had you bought this coin one year ago, it would have cost you $1400 with premium and shipping. Your $1400 investment is now worth $1199.50. If you had taken that $1400 and put it in a 1 year CD instead, you would have $1428 today. That is the only reason people roll their eyes when people ask, "what is the best coin for gold investment."

That being said, we all aspire to gold coins. Some of us as collectors, some of us as investors, (we all hope the TV people are right and gold is on it's way to $5000) If I were you, for your purposes, I would buy an American Gold Eagle. Well respected, easily liquid. I have Libertads, a gold proof and a gold 50 pesos. I love both coins and could not care less what gold does.

Just read your post Denco, thanks for explaing the investment question....I really want the AGE now....

My only advice on this matter is to take your time shopping for what you want and never let yourself get so cash poor that you're forced to sell in a hurry.

The merits of any investment should be critiqued mercilessly. Your money is your stored labor essentially, treat it with the respect it deserves.


That being said, too many people go all portfolio manager on someone when they want to buy a coin.

To me sometimes it is more simple than making the best investment.

The secret to investing is just learning the saving mentality. So many people just can't save.

If a paycheck to paycheck spender decides to spend a few bucks on some silver coins, that is a massive step forward in life. Is it the best possible investment, probably not at the moment. It is a better investment than a Big Gulp 44 ounce pop every day on the way to work.

FYI, cash in whatever local currency you have is also an investment. It is an investment in the management competence of your government and the private entity that issues this currency out of thin air. The US 'dollar' is down 98% since the start of the Federal Reserve in 1913. You can see exactly how far it has fallen since 1964 by looking at the melt value of silver coinage, same with 1933 and gold coins.


To me the only way to short government competence is to hold assets that are difficult to seize and difficult to tax. Gold and silver and art and collectibles make sense in that light. Perhaps guns and bitcoin too.


As for this forum, you will get your investment criticized, and you should love it. Free help. You still get to make up your mind. You will also find the most helpful and knowledgeable posters on the internet. You can get a PHD in coins by just hanging around here.

As for buying coins, here is a spreadsheet in google docs that I use to evaluate coins premium over melt. It basically turns junk silver and pre 1933 gold (junk gold?) into a $/ounce figure for ease of comparison.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...?usp=sharing

Good luck with your one ounce coin. Me, I'd skip the one ouncer and buy 3 certified low end MS Liberty Head $5 Eagles. Each is just a shade under a quarter ounce of gold and you should be able to snag them around $400 a piece. Not bad for an 1800's US gold coin.

Reading through this I really want to start playing the song by Public Enemy "don't believe the hype!"

So many people with so many opinions... and now I will throw my 2 cents into the pot.

1) Gold is NOT an investment... an investment will increase in value over time. Gold is known better as a hedge against inflation. In essence 1 oz of gold today will pretty much buy you what 1 oz of gold would've bought you 200 yrs ago.

2) Gold is seen as an international currency. There is great value in that. I don't pretend to know you, or your lifestyle.. but to some it's great to have gold as you can go from one place to another and it's recognized and seen and will be traded like currency without having to go through any type of currency exchange.

3) Any bullion type of gold you're just paying for a hunk of metal of a certain fineness and mass. It typically won't appreciate any less or greater relative to any other bullion gold. Having said that I would prefer getting one that is backed by a governement and pretty darn hard to counterfeit. Those 2014 GML's are now looking pretty good.

4) If you're looking for a gold coin that will increase in value, you're going to have to find gold coins that are in really good condition and have a pretty high rarity value. Tread lightly in this area of numismatic gold my friend.. there are many pitfalls for those that are unaware.

5) There are tax benefits to owning gold. If you have amassed a bit of a stack of gold or silver prior to retirement, you can draw on these by selling them privately as a source of income that's completely tax free. Other benefits to if you plan or early retirement but if you're rewarded to a full pension if you don't draw on your retirement until a certain date/age.

6) Gold is like a forced savings program... you buy the gold you dont' have that money sitting in your account anymore and you don't end up spending the money on essentials or non essentials.

So now you gotta ask yourself WHY are you buying gold.. is it that you just would like to have ONE or TWO gold coins.. well then I say you go to a trusted local or online dealer and look at the stock that's available and pull the trigger on something that's +- $100 of spot price... with that you can't go wrong... you'll be happy with your coin and over the long haul it should be priced in pretty well according to the rate of inflation.

If you're looking at trying to make money in this endevour... I wish you luck but you're probably looking more at numismatic gold coins... and that's a labrynth of perils for a market ... and one really has to know what end is up at all times.

BuckeyeCoinGuy,

Great post! I especially like your excel document. I'm going to use this every time I'm buying 90% junk for my candles. I think I have found the best prices at my local dealer, but this document will help greatly.

I agree with everything you say, especially about saving! The one area that I think we disagree on is bitcoin. I know you said it's a hedge against the governments, but I am not so sure. It's a very secretive 'currency'. Does really anyone know who 'controls' it? I don't think it has real value because I can't hold it, but that is a whole other topic.

AgCoinAU,
I'm a VERY long way from retirement, but am interested to learn more about selling my stack tax free.

gold eagle is a great idea.. to pay $10 more for packaging... well that's all dependant on your wishes...

For me gold is just soft.. and prone to bag marks and such ... so I just put my coins into a 2x2 and then into a small box thats made to hold slide projectors..