Gold received as a Christmas gift

[lakesidez]

Our kids each received a 5 gram bar of gold from their grandparents. It's in a nice holder from APMEX (link below).

5 gram Gold Bar - APMEX (In TEP Package) | APMEX (Gold Bars & Rounds) | APMEX

Now I have zero knowledge about gold as an investment but would like to look into purchasing more. Granted we already have a safe deposit box which is where these will end up today. But I am thinking about dabbling more in metals.

Any advise and or tips? I like the APMEX site, as I was able to create an account and they track your portfolio and value for you.

I am a total newbie so please ignore my ignorance, lol.

[nmordowitz]

My advice - if you are not currently a metals trader - work with someone in commodities for about 5 years - learn what moves the market
Then you can make the decision to dabble
Those markets can move on the slightest news somewhere that you have no clue and you can lose your shirt..

[lakesidez]

Originally Posted by nmordowitz

My advice - if you are not currently a metals trader - work with someone in commodities for about 5 years - learn what moves the market
Then you can make the decision to dabble
Those markets can move on the slightest news somewhere that you have no clue and you can lose your shirt..

Maybe I should define dabble, in my terms, I am more so looking at this as a long term investment to supplement my other investments. More so maybe buy 5 g a month and store them away type of thing.

[nmordowitz]

Why not just pick up Krugerands - or older US Coins - which have a market outside of just gold value
Gold is high these days - and the dollar and euro are at par - consider a euro gold investment and plan on the euro taking off again post the trump presidency...
Some form of a hedge...
Those sound like a lot more fun - or i would consider buying gold again at 800 - i think it has a few runs downward...

[SCR]

You don't need to learn about trading metals if you're just buying/holding. Certainly there are better times to buy than others, but stretch a Gold chart out 20+ years and it's up.

The gold bars you bought are tied directly to the spot gold price + a small dealer premium. APMEX is where most people I know buy gold online, but local coin stores are fun to visit too. Normally the store owner will be very knowledgeable and will answer any questions.

Collector coins have some collector value, much like trading cards. Similar to trading cards, if you're new to coin collecting, it will take a little bit of research to get up to speed, but it's not rocket science.

If you want to trade metals/add it to an investment portfolio - 'paper' metals is easier and more cost effective. GLD and SLV are the commonly traded metals on the stock exchange. Having $10,000+ in gold can get expensive to hold & then sell, whereas you can buy a stock equivalent for a small fee.

[mwheeler27]

That's a really cool gift from the Grandparents!

Toys break. Electronics become obsolete. Clothes get worn out, (if you wear them), but precious metals as a gift will be there and hold value for as long as the recipient wishes to hang onto them.

I enjoy precious metals. I use them as long-term savings accounts for my kids. I add one ounce of silver to their holdings each month. By the time I end up giving them what's theirs, they should have a fair amount. It won't matter much to them what the prices did over the years I was adding to their holdings. Plus, this method ensures each kid, no matter their age, ends up with the exact same amount of precious metals in the end.

Some good advice has already been given in this thread. If all you're looking to do is "dabble" for now, I would simply decide what small amount of money you could part with each month, and buy that much in either gold or silver to be put away as a long-term investment/savings account. If you are using a dollar amount, you will take advantage of the lows in the market. If you do what I do with a certain ounce goal each month, the price fluctuations in the market aren't hugely important or relevant.

For what it's worth, (which likely isn't much), I prefer silver over gold. I see it as a better long-term investment with the greatest percentage growth possible at today's prices. I know some, if not many, would disagree with me. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

If you do it, enjoy it. And good luck!

[lakesidez]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

That's a really cool gift from the Grandparents!

Toys break. Electronics become obsolete. Clothes get worn out, (if you wear them), but precious metals as a gift will be there and hold value for as long as the recipient wishes to hang onto them.

I enjoy precious metals. I use them as long-term savings accounts for my kids. I add one ounce of silver to their holdings each month. By the time I end up giving them what's theirs, they should have a fair amount. It won't matter much to them what the prices did over the years I was adding to their holdings. Plus, this method ensures each kid, no matter their age, ends up with the exact same amount of precious metals in the end.

Some good advice has already been given in this thread. If all you're looking to do is "dabble" for now, I would simply decide what small amount of money you could part with each month, and buy that much in either gold or silver to be put away as a long-term investment/savings account. If you are using a dollar amount, you will take advantage of the lows in the market. If you do what I do with a certain ounce goal each month, the price fluctuations in the market aren't hugely important or relevant.

For what it's worth, (which likely isn't much), I prefer silver over gold. I see it as a better long-term investment with the greatest percentage growth possible at today's prices. I know some, if not many, would disagree with me. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

If you do it, enjoy it. And good luck!

Would a self directed gold\silver IRA be a decent option? Rather than me buying physical and storing at home and or safe deposit box?

[mwheeler27]

Originally Posted by lakesidez

Would a self directed gold\silver IRA be a decent option? Rather than me buying physical and storing at home and or safe deposit box?

"Decent option"? = Yes

In terms of "enjoyment" - I think holding the physical metal is more fun.

Think about those Christmas presents... How much more fun are those 5-gram gold bars in your hand as apposed to a piece of paper with "5-grams of gold" printed on it?

Just my thoughts.

[lakesidez]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

"Decent option"? = Yes

In terms of "enjoyment" - I think holding the physical metal is more fun.

Think about those Christmas presents... How much more fun are those 5-gram gold bars in your hand as apposed to a piece of paper with "5-grams of gold" printed on it?

Just my thoughts.

Yup makes sense, maybe a dumb questions, but.........is it easy to sell once the time comes when you want sell? I mean say I have a stack of these mini gold pieces in 5-gram holders. I mean where can I go to sell it?

[twoten01]

Originally Posted by lakesidez

Yup makes sense, maybe a dumb questions, but.........is it easy to sell once the time comes when you want sell? I mean say I have a stack of these mini gold pieces in 5-gram holders. I mean where can I go to sell it?

Very easy! there are plenty of forums that would buy up ozs upon ozs within minutes. But the much better buy for liquidity is the 1/10 oz american gold eagle. ( i could sell 1,000 of these in 1 hour) #1 option for liquidity in gold.

[lakesidez]

Originally Posted by twoten01

Very easy! there are plenty of forums that would buy up ozs upon ozs within minutes. But the much better buy for liquidity is the 1/10 oz american gold eagle. ( i could sell 1,000 of these in 1 hour) #1 option for liquidity in gold.

Ahhh interesting, yeah I was looking at these as well on apmex since I do like the look\history compared to just a gold bar. Guessing it would make sense to buy in the current year if I was just looking at holding them for 10+ years, right? Just buy them what I would call plain and put in a holder?

[JMarchand1981]

Good as a gift is such a clever idea. I prefer silver but I have a two year old I could get some silver for. Thanks for the idea!

[smackvay]

i gave silver and gold this year in stead of presents .

At any given time i can beat apmex on just about anything i have in stock.
if you are wanting something specific i probably wont have it unless it is common, however if you just want something at a good price let me know what you are looking for as i have all kinds of stuff every day.

Good luck
Mike

[Spider-Fan]

If you are looking at this as a store for your wealth with plans to liquidate one day... focus on buying just a few different things. Meaning, don't buy one of every 1/10 ozt gold coin that is out there, consistentlyrics buy the samem1/10 ozt gold coin. When it comes time to liquidate, selling a bunch of a few different things will be much faster and easier than a huge variety of thinvs.

[lakesidez]

Thank you everyone for the information\advise thus far, I really appreciate the insight.

[twoten01]

Originally Posted by lakesidez

Ahhh interesting, yeah I was looking at these as well on apmex since I do like the look\history compared to just a gold bar. Guessing it would make sense to buy in the current year if I was just looking at holding them for 10+ years, right? Just buy them what I would call plain and put in a holder?

Buy any year you can get if at the same price as current year. Most dealers try to charge more for older years but you can buy most years for the same price as a 2016 or 2017. I just picked up a 1999, for $10 cheaper then Apmex

[lakesidez]

Originally Posted by twoten01

Buy any year you can get if at the same price as current year. Most dealers try to charge more for older years but you can buy most years for the same price as a 2016 or 2017. I just picked up a 1999, for $10 cheaper then Apmex

That's one thing I don't understand why would older years be worth more? Isn't gold basically gold and worth what gold is currently going for? Or am I missing something? From my "general" thinking if I own say a 1/10 oz American Eagle from 2010 versus 2016 all I would care about is the gold content and the year would be meaningless (at least to me), or is this wrong thinking?