Physical Gold and Silver

Special note: Corporate and very high net worth individuals - large scale bullion transaction page - click here

This is the safest form of precious metals investment and many impartial investment advisers suggest it is the first way to invest in gold and or silver if you have not already. Why is it the safest? There are a number of reasons.

It is a finished product, unlike company shares that are subject to balance sheets and normal business risk.

It carries no promise to pay like a currency which relies on the stability of the Government in which that currency is issued.

It has no expiry date, unlike derivatives it does not expire at some future given date.

It can be stored safely and is small, so storage is not a huge issue compared to other bulky commodities such as copper or oil.

It will not perish.

Gold Oz recommends that all investors find about why is is so important to own some gold and or silver in their portfolios. This is where books, articles and content on the web are such a valuable resource, the articles are generally free. The reasons are too numerous and complex to list or attempt to explain here in this section. Gold Oz will be providing a links page to other precious metal sites for this purpose in the near future. Now to the different forms of real gold and silver with some advantages and disadvantages for investors to consider.

What form of gold and silver should you consider, and why?

The various forms of physical precious metals vary according to the premium paid on the weight of metal contained within the product.

That is to say jewelery for instance contains a degree of workmanship and then the wholesale and retail jewelers profit on top of that cost. One must also consider that with jewelry you can gain pleasure from your investment as it can be worn and is seen as a status symbol. So one must consider more than the pure investment aspect of the purchase if you happen to have some additional practical considerations. Coins are collectable and antique coins carry a rarity premium.

Bullion carries the lowest premium of any precious metal investment option. You get the most "bang for your buck" ( by weight) so if you are after a pure investment this is the choice for you. We have shown gold here however we also support silver as an attractive precious metal investment that should be considered after some additional research by the investor.

The next choice you are faced with is where to store your bars, take delivery yourself and then store in the local bank or leave it with the bullion dealer you buy from if they offer this service. There are two kinds of stored investment offered and the first is "allocated" where you are provided with serial numbers for each bar and this costs more in storage fees. The cheaper second option you may be given is an "unallocated" account and Gold Oz currently takes the stance that this is not real physical bullion; rather it is a paper product.

Precious metals are generally bought as a "hedge" against major economic upheaval and you want to be able to get at your bars in such a situation. So we recommend that you consider this very carefully, why are you buying bullion, can you access it when needed, are you trusting a company or even Government when this investment does not need to carry any of this kind of risk.

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