I'm thinking about buying some gold coins

[Droopy]

I became a coin collector this year. I've been buying proof and silver coins with the long term goal of buying gold coins.

Well, me and dad exchanged gifts this evening and he got me a couple of gift certificates. One to a coin collecting company and another to the U.S. Mint. 1/10 oz. gold coins are now within my reach without setting myself back too far financially.

Do you think gold is still a good investment? The value of these coins will fluctuate with the market price for gold.

[GOPisEvil]

1. One thing I learned in Economics back in skool is:

Gold is not an investment; it is a hedge against inflation.

I have done zero analysis, but gold is trading at a very high price. I'm not sure now is the time to buy if you want to make money on the transaction.

My advice: buy something that interests you, and if you make money on it, great. It will always have SOME value.

[Fire Walk With Me]

11. Never forget: The people who screwed us with gas prices

and this economy also invested in gold. They're still screwing us.

"A New World Order." -Herbert W. Bush.

[pitohui]

2. you're several years too late for gold to be a good investment but this is still cool

you had almost 2 decades to buy when gold was priced very low, what i did, even tho i really had almost nothing for a portion of that time, was i would spend a little each year but now that gold is around $800 an ounce, no, not just much room for appreciation there

so i would say buy if you enjoy collecting the coins but and certainly enjoy the coupons/gift certs you have received...but i would not consider these to be an investment but rather a "fun to have"

thats the great thing about xmas gifts tho...even if they don't end up being a hugely wonderful investment, it's still a nice gift, and ya never know, right?

i also think it's sooo cool that your dad listened to your dream and then tried to make it happen, my dad is a nice guy, but all he ever gets me for xmas is a check -- i have to hunt down my own gift
:-)

[trof]

3. I think it is. But...

For better appreciation I'd buy so called 'rare' or numismatic coins.
Many aren't all that rare, but will increase in price faster than the price of gold.

Take a look at $10 or $20 U.S. gold coins.

Sorry, just saw the 1/10th oz. coins you mentioned.
The ones I recommended would be out of your reach.

The trouble with current U.S. Mint coins is that the price they charge is usually much more than the bullion price, but the buy back price is much lower.
This is a very tricky business.

[pitohui]

4. there's a lot of fraud in the numismatic business tho

i would basically never advise that to anyone, unless they had highly advanced specialized knowledge, i've heard numbers thrown around that the amount of fraudulent coins out there is as high as 50% -- i'm not saying the coins don't have the represented gold or silver, that's easily checked, but the rare coins are not necessarily all that rare -- it is shockingly easy to melt down and create a gold coin, i could do it in my own garage if i were dishonest

he won't make money w. coins from the u.s. mint but nor will he lose a lot of money -- in numismatics it's VERY easy to lose a lot of money because the value of the coin is not primarily because of the metal but rather because of the age and history (which might not be true)

my humble opinion anyway, these days i stick to collecting gems that would be difficult or there's no market to fake them (say a botswana agate nodule for example, not an easily faked gem like a ruby) -- some may say i'm too conservative in those type of purchases and maybe i am, so i'm just disclosing where i come from

[begin_within]

5. Didn't my friend call you or e-mail you?

He is a longtime coin collector who also deals with rare coins on eBay. I thought I gave him your phone or email address sometime this year.

[Droopy]

6. Yeah, three or four months ago and I did talk to him once

I appreciated what the guy had to say, but a lot of it was over my head and I had a hard time getting all of my questions in. That dude is one serious talker. :)

[begin_within]

9. Well you can send him questions by email and I'm sure he will answer

check your pm for his email address

[Droopy]

7. I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S INPUT

I've decided to buy one gold coin from the US Mint. My other gift certificate is to Littleton Coin Company, and I've found that they want $30 more for the same coin that I'm going to get from the mint. I think I will get an ancient coin from Littleton. One of those would seem like a good conversation piece in my collection. Thanks everyone and Merry Christmas.

[pitohui]

8. sounds like a good choice and merry christmas back atchoo!

i think i would make much the same choices, enjoy!

[mopinko]

10. I have bought them for my daughters

I consider a couple of gold coins a hedge against disaster, natural or "man" made.
I guess this applies to anyone, tho.

[DFW]

12. Littleton is purely a retailer, be careful

If you are going to buy more that one coin or two, the outfit a LOT of the US retailers buy from is Heritage in Dallas. I don't know how small an order they'd take from the public, and they usually don't deal in the modern coins (after 1940), but if you are interested in the real thing in gold coins, i.e. the ones that the USA really minted for currency from 1795 to 1933 (most common ones will be from 1873 to 1928), they are THE ones to see. I have put away some of these things for myself, and as long as you want to buy more than one or two, they give the best deals. Their wholesale division supplies many of the big retailers in the States, and has the closest buy-sell spreads.