Worldwide, investing in gold is perceived as a good way to provide wealth protection. Gold can provide a safety net during periods of inflation and financial uncertainty. Scrooge McDuck had the right idea; do you?

What’s The Best Way To Invest In Gold?
There are many ways you can turn your money in gold. You can buy gold bullion, buy shares in a Gold ETF, or invest in gold mining company stocks. However, most financial experts advise buying physical gold rather than virtual or paper gold. Ensure you buy gold bullion—gold bars and coins—from recognized dealers. Store this gold safely. You will have instant access to a source of funds in a crisis.

Plan Your Investment: What is your goal in buying gold? Do you want to invest for the long term? To realize quick profits with price movements? To buy gold as a hedge against any financial crisis? Do you want to be able to use it as emergency currency? You can plan the type of gold bullion you buy based on this decision. Generally, gold bullion is sold in 1 ounce bars and smaller sizes. You can also buy gold bars of greater sizes to hold as long term investments. You have to store these in a secure place.

Gold Bullion: Gold Bullion can come on the form of bars, rounds, or minted coins. While bars and rounds can be cast by private mints, only government mints can cast gold coins. If you are buying gold for large scale investments, it makes sense to buy larger gold bars. If you want to invest incrementally, buy gold coins. These come at a higher premium, but they are easier to handle and store. You can sell them at your local coin shop and redeem the value if you need cash.

Buy Gold Bullion Online: You can search for established and reputed dealers. Most dealers now sell online, so you can easily buy and sell gold from the convenience of your home. You can buy gold coins at your local coin shop, or through websites like Amazon and ebay. However, while buying and selling precious metals, use a dealer who specializes in these items. Before you buy, check the company’s reputation. Check websites like the Better Business Bureau. Investigate their levels of customer satisfaction over several years. Check how long they have been in business, and if they deal directly with the mints and distributors. This ensures that you will receive genuine products.

Buying Gold Coins: Regardless of how you buy it, the dealer tracks the daily gold price and then adds a premium to the spot price. This covers the manufacturing cost and also takes into account business overheads. Generally, the markup is small, but for some type of gold bullion, the markup could be as high as 75%. Ensure that the gold prices of the coins or bars are as close to the spot price as possible. Avoid buying numismatic coins, as these are generally speculative in nature. The price you expect on these collectible coins depends on the demand and it is best left to experts and coin collectors.

Buy common and recognized value based coins.