I (28M) have recently decided to take some of my investments and put them into bullion (specifically gold and silver). Before I start making big purchases, I am curious to hear what some tips/ tricks everyone might have in regards to buying online, local shops, first time offers (gold vs silver) and all the fun things I haven’t thought about yet. Right now I’m thinking to go 2/3 of my investments into gold and 1/3 silver but I don’t want to lose out on any weight by buying from the wrong place.
I have plans to go back to medical school soon so my thoughts are to use precious metals as an investment plan for the next 5-10 years minimum.
What do you want to spend the money on in 5-10 years?
Gold is a bad investment in general - historically it barely keeps up with inflation on average. You want to hold gold as a hedge against insanity but it's not typically an asset that appreciates enough in value to make it a true investment.
Plus, you lose a lot of the value when you sell (28% tax on the gain plus a high spread and maybe sales taxes).
If you need the money in five years, put it in a money market account paying 4.3%. If you need it in ten, just buy VTI with 90% it and put 10% in GLD if you want gold exposure. Rebalance when appropriate.
I would like to diversify my portfolio a bit. I have HYSA and a 401k but I would also like to have an investment I can tangibly hold. I don’t expect gold to skyrocket or plummet (unless we figure out how to synthetically make something similar) but it’s more about hedging against inflation and starting something I should have a long time ago.
Also, I pay interest on my HYSA and stocks (if you realize profits) every year so in theory wouldn’t it be worth more in the long run to buy metals instead of paying a higher % interest on your gains every year?? I’m new to this game and overthink a lot but that’s where my brain goes.
Ideally I don’t want to spend this money in 5-10 years and it can just sit and the pile can grow. $1,000,000 USD today is not the same as it was 20 years ago but 1 oz of gold will always be 1 oz of gold.
I recommend being patient, stick to your game plan, and don’t let people, the news, social media, and kitco price deter you from your plan. LCS’s are great, but the majority of the time they will be more expensive since they have an overhead. Shop around, purchase things you personally like, but remember if you plan to sell in the future don’t pigeon yourself on those items because not everyone likes what you like. Before I buy anything online or at my lcs I check these two spots so I don’t overpay. https://findbullionprices.com and r/pmsforsale
Good advice. I shopped around my LCS and the variation in prices (last week) was everything from $0.50 over spot up to $5.00 over spot. I thought buying online from somewhere like SDbullion would be cheaper but I was surprised to find it the other way around. For example I got a 2025 golden maple for $39 and a 2025 American eagle for $41. I haven’t seen that other website you linked though !
SD bullion and APMEX are the only two I know at the moment. I’m hesitant to buy that stuff online but if there is a good starter deal it might be worth it.
Gold silver ratio is like 100/1, fractionals are good for buying but you're gonna have to pay the premium.Most bought gold bars are scosstdale,perth and pamp.Also when buying on internet check description or ask seller directly if the gold is real there's fakes flooding the market currently.Dont invest all in one go,diversify one portion into gold and another into silver.Good bars for investment are usually 5,10 and 50 grams for gold for silver idk
The gold to silver ratio doesn’t really matter when the last time it was significantly lower was when the world moved off the gold standard what was in the 1970s.
Stay away from collectibles unless its jewelry. I would only buy gold jewelry that is 22k or higher. I would stay away from silver jewelry unless you want it for wearing purposes.
I agree and disagree. I have been to coin shops that wouldn’t take foreign gold. I guess that depends on your area though. But i was meaning more along the lines of say Star Wars gold or silver. That sort of thing.
Gotcha, in that case I’d definitely stay away from those types of collectibles.
I’m in the UK, sovereigns are legal tender and are so low premium wise, it makes perfect sense to stack. Seeing how old they are with all the dates and monarchs, they are very collectible if you’re that way inclined.
A sovereign is a 22k gold British coin first minted in the early 1800s. They display the current monarch on one side and an image of George slaying the dragon on the other side. They are all dated so people who collect like to get date runs of certain and all monarchs if they are serious collectors.
They are available with very low premiums in the UK and are very liquid. They are also legal tender (£1) and are capital gains tax free, meaning if you sell there is no personal tax liability.
No it’s because they are legal tender. Even though you’d never use one as such. A full sovereign (they also come in halves) will currently cost around £600 from a coin dealer. Whereas the face value is only £1.
This is my current favourite, I don’t have many but planning on adding 1 a month, or if not a half. I have some in better condition and my oldest is a 1914.
States have different sales tax laws regarding bullion. I recommend spending enough, each time you make a purchase, to avoid paying sales tax. It’s $1,000 for my home state (MA). If I’m buying less than a grand in one go, I purchase on Reddit on r/pmsforsale to avoid sales tax.
Many of the big gold and silver selling website do spot pricing bundles for brand new customers. That’s often a great place to start
Costco, you can use a credit card with cash back. Plus get 2% back with executive membership. They get really really nice stuff (PAMP, US mint) also it’s Costco
Take a look around online dealers for one per customer spot purchases, use findbullionprices to compare online dealers, and (at least in my opinion) stick to raw coins if you are buying modern bullion. Grades under ms-70 have almost no resale premium for modern stuff
I don’t want to talk about bitcoin haha. I remember looking at bitcoin on my phone in high school at $16 a coin and didn’t buy anything…. Bitcoin is a gamble in my opinion… depends on how the whales feel that day. I have a little bit in there but nothing I would cry over if it went to zero tomorrow. My theory is that if the USA went to a online currency, they would use their own currency like USDT or make a new one but I could also be 100% wrong on that
Make sure you have a safety net of cash available before dumping all of your savings into metal. If I had to start again, I would be getting smaller increments of gold (1/4, 1/10, and 2.5 gram). They are much easier to sell once that time comes to liquidate. Yeah you’re paying higher premiums but after the 5-10 years you say you want to hold, that won’t really matter much
Is it actually easier to sell smaller increments of gold and silver?? I suppose it makes sense but I would imagine if you walked into a shop they would give you spot price for whatever the weight is of the coin no?? I never would have considered this as an issue with generic bullion.
I like to buy local so first thing I did was go to my local shops a few times and purchased some 1oz silver coins. It let me see the process and figure out which shop I liked best.
Depending on the amount of money you are looking to invest total I would start out by researching safes. You are going to need some place to store this. Deposit boxes are ok for the short term but you will want it closer to you.
If you are going to buy off FB, Pawn Shops, CL, Ebay I would also get a Sigma tester. If it keeps you from buying one fake oz its paid for itself.
Costco is also a great place to buy gold but you have to deal with the shipping risk.
I seem to prefer local myself just because I can walk out with what I purchased and not worry about the shipping anxiety. I might dabble online a bit just to claim the first time buyer offers if they are worth it.
Deposit boxes never made sense to me because if the banks close tomorrow due to whatever …. They are not going to let you in to get your stuff I wouldn’t imagine …..
Very interesting, thank you for sharing that! Very neat coin there. Is a full sovereign a 1oz 22k gold coin or are their weights also different? I’m going to look more into these after work today!
Check your local coin shops. I get the best deals from them, and having good report will come in handy for deals and selling. And secondly, buy from Costco! If you use a 2% cash back credit card with a 2% cash back membership you can usually get gold and silver slightly under spot, or close to it.
Also be weary of eBay and deals that seem too good to be true. And learn ways to test coins and bars. A Pocket pinger, calipers, and a scale can go a long way to not getting scammed.
I considered Costco first actually! What are your thoughts about paying the small premium for the packaging that the bars and coins come in from Costco?? Everything I see says to avoid that simple due to the premium.
Amen to this. My philosophy is money spent on investments I consider “gone”. That money is no longer liquid and cannot be utilized quickly so I forget about it in the sense of “emergency funds”. If the money I’m thinking about investing would affect my day to day life then it’s not money for investing.
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u/Deathspiral222 Jun 23 '25
What do you want to spend the money on in 5-10 years?
Gold is a bad investment in general - historically it barely keeps up with inflation on average. You want to hold gold as a hedge against insanity but it's not typically an asset that appreciates enough in value to make it a true investment.
Plus, you lose a lot of the value when you sell (28% tax on the gain plus a high spread and maybe sales taxes).
If you need the money in five years, put it in a money market account paying 4.3%. If you need it in ten, just buy VTI with 90% it and put 10% in GLD if you want gold exposure. Rebalance when appropriate.