Buying a Rare Gold Coin
A rare gold coin can be a great investment. Remember, however, that there’s a big difference between buying a rare gold coin and a common bullion coin. Bullion coins are generally purchased by investors who are only interested in owning the metal. Bullion coins sometimes have negligible or no numismatic value. A rare gold coin will most certainly have numismatic value. This means that the logistics of purchasing such a coin are much different than they are for purchasing a bullion coin.
Who Says It’s Rare?
People like bullion coins for investment reasons. There’s no question about whether or not the coins are rare. In fact, investors buy certain coins precisely because they’re common and they have no numismatic value to factor into their overall value. If somebody tells you that a coin is rare, you need to have some sort of way of determining whether or not they’re telling you the truth. This is where coin certification comes into play. This is a service that is generally not required for bullion coins but that is most certainly required for rare coins.
A rare gold coin can be worth a tremendous amount of money. Remember that, if it’s an ounce in size, it’s worth approximately $2,000 based on its 2011 bullion value alone. The numismatic value may bring that overall price way up. A certification service will take a look at the coin and determine whether or not it’s the real deal. You’ll need to have this done if somebody’s offering you a rare coin. Remember, the rarer they claim the coin is, the greater the chance that it’s not what it appears to be.
Dealers
Where rare gold coin purchases are concerned, you’re generally better off going with an established dealer than you are with a private individual. The established dealer will still have to do business the next day and, because of that, they’re going to want to make certain that their customers are happy. Making their customers happy, of course, means selling them legitimate coins. The dealers will also generally know quite a bit more about coinage than you will and will be happy to share their information with you to help you make a purchase that you’ll be happy with. If you do have a chance to buy a gold coin, rare or otherwise, from a private individual, make absolutely certain that it’s certified, that it’s sealed in a slab and that it has the labels from the certification authority affixed to it.