Precious metals such as silver, gold and platinum have been used as a hedge for inflation for many years. If you are investing in different types of assets and attempting to diversify your holdings, these metals provide a recognized value that will balance out your account during tough economic times. You have a few options to choose from when you decide to invest in this space.
Numismatic Coins
One option for your portfolio is to invest in numismatic coins. These coins range from the United States Morgan Silver Dollar or Walking Liberty to Mercury dimes or gold Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles. These coins contain rare and valuable metals such as silver and gold and were struck by the United States Mint. This gives them a spot value that’s correlated to the current price of each respective metal. In addition, due to their rarity, numismatic coins also hold value based on their age, condition and mintage numbers. If a coin such as a Barber quarter has a low mintage and is still in excellent condition, it will be more valuable than a silver eagle that is struck today, even though the silver eagle has a larger quantity of silver.
Gold and Silver Bars
Another popular option is to invest in silver and gold bullion. This can be done in a few different ways. One way is to purchase silver or gold bars. These are available in many sizes that typically range from 1/10 of an ounce to 100 ounces. You’ll find this type of precious metal available online at reputable dealers. In addition, most coin shops in metropolitan areas will have silver or gold bars available for purchase. When you are investing in this type of precious metal, the main point of value is the correlation between the bar’s size and current price for the precious metal. Gold and silver prices fluctuate when commodities markets are open.
Bullion Coins
Bullion coins can also be used to increase your exposure to precious metals. Gold and silver bullion coins are available from a number of mints that are located throughout the world. While the United States Silver or Gold Eagle is the most popular, the Chinese Panda or Britannia from the British Royal Mint can also be used to store your wealth.
Precious Metal ETFs and Stocks
A third way to invest in precious metals is by purchasing shares in a gold mining company or by investing in an ETF that tracks the price of silver or gold. There are some investment vehicles available that will allow you to purchase shares of the underlying asset on paper and redeem that paper for the actual physical metal. The advantage of purchasing precious metals in this manner is that it frees you from actually having to safely store any precious metals. As an example, if you purchase shares in a mining company that keeps production costs in line, your shares may go up in value and increase the net worth of your portfolio.
If you do choose to take physical possession of precious metals, it’s imperative that you store them in a safe place. A home safe or security deposit box at a bank are a couple of options that you can use.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!