Seeking advice on gold buying

[ameiko]

I have regretted in the past not buying gold when it was much lower. While I do not intend to go hogwild, I thought that adding some gold and silver (say 5 to 10% of net worth) might not be a bad idea.

I went to the US Mint's website (it was a .gov) and they had a list of recommended dealers. Is using them a good idea? And other advice such as high how the premium should be? One of my friends claimed that transaction cost was something insane like 30% but Wikihow mentioned that premium is typically 1%.

Much thanks!

[telephus44]

I buy mine from Buillion Direct (I know that's probably spelled wrong).

[isabella]

Coin stores, pawn shops and some jewelry stores in my location sell gold coins.
My favorite silver purchase to date, I was at an estate auction about 2 1/2 maybe three years ago ... bought 50 silver dollars for $38. go figure not even face value of the coins.

[stats45]

If you are looking for a short-term profit from gold, I wouldn't buy now. The prices are too high, and I wouldn't bet on the economy being worse than it has been in the last few years.

If you are looking to add gold (or some other precious metals) to you financial portfolio long-term, I would wait until the prices come down from their current highs. Look at any chart of gold prices in the last 30 years. When the economic situation improves, people move out of gold and other precious metals into areas of the economy where the rate of return is higher.

If you think 'this time is different', do some research on how gold has been marketed to people for the last thirty years. You'll see that there have been few changes.

[isabella]

sure ratchets .. I'll let you know when I want to double my money on the silver dollars. Seriously I can't tell you how fast I paid for them, left the auction and drove over to a coin shop to authenticate them. I started the bidding at $25. LOL they still live in the old brown felt bag they came in.... I have a relative that has retired and does the coin show circuit that's been trying to get them away from me too.
Flea markets used to sell silver coins rather cheaply around here too. I was paying .15 cents for Mercury dimes, some very readable others very worn out. I don't ever remember seeing gold coins at the flea markets.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Ditto what everyone else posted. Keep in mind that gold is a commodity. Commodities are very risky for the average, pedestrian small investor.

[Deleted]

People say gold is tangible, but it is really just a yellow rock. While it has industrial uses, its value is really mental. People, individually, don't need gold. It's value is based in old thinking and customs.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

It's value is based in old thinking and customs.
The same could be said about our currency. Big gold plays and commodity investing should be done only by experts who have 10s of millions to play with.

[Small Biz Owner]

Best bet is a coin shop. Cash only so leave the credit cards and debit card at home. I agree with mmc, silver or copper are better options.