7 Things To Consider When Buying Precious Metals

Money Metals Exchange - Diversifying your wealth into precious metals is one of the most important financial decisions you can make. It's also important to carefully consider what types precious metals to own amidst the array of options. What follows are seven key criteria for deciding what to buy.

1. Tangibility

From futures contracts to exchange-traded funds, you can find a multitude of derivative instruments tied to gold and silver prices. But there's a huge difference between being exposed to precious metals prices and owning physical precious metals that you can actually hold. Only when you have actual metal in your possession do you have a hard asset that is free of counter-party risk.

2. Frugality

When buying precious metals for investment, paying huge premiums over melt value rarely pays off. Plain and ordinary bullion beats fancy and "rare" coins. Graded numismatics, "proof" finishes, and other heavily marked-up alternatives to common bullion products leave you with less actual metal to show for your investment. During a financial crisis, the melt value of your coins may be all that matters. Then the value of your investment will be measured by how many ounces you were able to acquire.

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