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With gold on the up hitting all time highs, while silver seems to either be holding its own or on the down turn, you might wonder which is the better investment. As stated before, one factor to consider when investing should be what you can afford. And while many think gold may be the better investment of the two since the price seems to be trending higher, faster; the current price of silver makes it an attractive investment for today as far as cost goes. But what else should you be looking at? Let's take a quick look at some pro's and con's about precious metal investments.
- Do invest in United States silver, gold and platinum bullion.
- Bullion coins are the Silver Eagles, American Gold Eagles, US Platinum Eagles which come in the following weights: 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz and 1 oz. With this variety in size you're bound to find a price to fit your budget IF you're looking to invest.
- Silver bullion also comes in bars that can be purchased in the following weights: 1 oz, 10 oz and 100 oz.
- When buying gold bullion coins stay with the 'known' coins like the Canadian Maple Leaf and the S. African Krugerrand
- When buying numismatic coins (gold or silver), buy as close to 'bullion content value' as possible. If you're looking to buy silver coins, this means buying earlier coinage that had a higher silver content than those minted after 1964.
- Always take physical delivery of what you buy.
- Keep to your budget
- Don't buy privately minted coins that are made to appear 'rare' based on a 'limited' mintage number. They will only be worth the value of their metal content.
- Don't buy coins simply because they are 'pretty'. Always buy coins based on metal content.
- Unless you are knowledgeable in numismatics, stay away from older coins unless you happen upon an outstanding purchase. When buying older coins - silver or gold - you need to be familiar with the mintage and grading factors as well as the coin's value as it relates to the two mentioned factors.
- Don't let yourself be 'talked into' anything you are not comfortable with.
For those that like investing in precious metals, the excitement comes from not only watching the market values go up but also from the hunt .... looking for unfound treasures at estate sales, flea markets and those wanting to unload Grandpa's stash for some quick cash.
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