How to Safely Buy and Invest in Gold

First you'll need to decide what form of gold you are going to purchase or invest in. There are gold coins, bullion, jewelry, stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. If you're going to buy actual gold, you'll need a safe place to store it like a safe or a safety deposit box. You can also have your gold stored at the company that you purchase it from. Personally, if I were going to buy gold, I would want to store it in a place that would be easily accessible to me. Once you have decided how you're going to invest in gold. You need to find a safe way to make your purchase.

If you are interested in cold coins, you can purchase gold coins directly through the US Mint on line at their website. The mint has newer coins available and if you want to purchase gold bullion coins you will need to find a gold dealer to purchase from. American Gold Eagle bullion coins are the most popular in the world. If you are interested in finding a gold dealer in your state, the mint has a section on their webpage that allows you to search for dealers by state. When you do a search you will be given a list of national dealers and dealers in your area. I have included links at the end of the article to the US Mint. The first link is to their website and the second link is to the search page for dealers. Some banks also sell gold. Check with your bank. Banks may also be able to give you names of reputable gold dealers. It's a good idea to research any firm you are planning to deal with. Internet searches will yield information on these companies. It's always a good idea to also check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints against the company you have selected.

If you are purchasing jewelry you need to know that most jewelry is not investment grade gold. For instance 14 karat gold is not pure enough and would need more refining in order to be as valuable as coins or bullion. If you like jewelry, that would be one way that you could invest but probably not the best. The gold coins available through the mint are 24 karat gold. This is considered fine gold and is 99 to 99.9% pure.

In order for you to purchase other gold investments you will need to do some research. Other gold investments would include using mutual funds, stocks and ETFs that invest in gold. These types of investments will need to be purchased through an investment broker. If you already use a broker to invest in stocks, then you probably already know how to do this. First time investors will need to set up an account. Beware of fees that brokerage firms charge. This is something that also needs to be researched in order to get the best deals. Normally you will pay a fee each time you make a stock purchase or sale. If your investments don't meet the brokerage firms minimum balance amount, you could also be charged a monthly maintenance fee. These are all things that should be considered when choosing a broker and known in advance before you open an account. Never go into investing of any type without doing your homework.

As with any type of investment purchasing gold requires thought, planning, and research. You never just take someone else's word for it. Always do your own research. That way you can know for sure that you are making a wise decision.

http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProdschedView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001#

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/american_eagles/index.cfm?action=lookup