When to collect bullion coins

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

There is never a bad time if you know when to collect bullion coins

Collecting bullion coins is typically done for the investment. Unlike numismatic coins, which are collected primarily for their historic or rare significance (but may or may not contain any significant amount of precious metal), bullion coins are bought and sold based purely on the amount of gold or silver they contain. For this reason, knowing the best time to collect bullion coins for maximum value may seem a bit confusing.

When to Buy

While it may seem reasonable to stick with the old investment adage, ?buy low, sell high,? this theory does not always hold true for gold and silver bullion. As counter-intuitive as this may feel, the short answer as to when to purchase bullion coins is now, or tomorrow, or last week. Basically, buy it when you have the funds and interest to do so.

The reason for this is simple: gold and silver will always be a good investment, regardless of their current cost. The price of these precious metals fluctuates so rapidly, it can give a person whiplash trying to get in at just the right moment.

Investing in bullion isn’t like playing the stock market. The market for precious metals will never ?crash.” This is the ultimate solid investment, a hedge against financial collapse. If in the unlikely event the dollar is ever rendered worthless, your gold and silver will always be there for you.

Remember, bullion is valued based on its metal content, known as its silver or gold ?melt value.? Therefore, the whims of the market and ?collectibility? rarely come into play. No one cares when it was minted, where, or what pretty pictures are stamped on its face. Bullion is, quite literally, only worth its weight in gold (or silver).

It may, then, seem reasonable to simply wait until you need it to bother with buying gold or silver. This, however, could be a mistake. There have been times in the recent past when fear over national financial collapse has been so great that there was a rush on buying bullion, especially gold. People, preparing for the worst, created a bottleneck in gold production, and mints the world over couldn’t keep up with the demand. This led to actual gold shortages.

In order to avoid getting caught up in such a scenario, it is best to plan for the future and collect bullion while everything in the economy seems to be going relatively smoothly. The last thing you want is to find yourself fighting the masses for coins you could have easily snatched up just a year before.

Silver or Gold

You may wonder if it is better to invest in silver or gold bullion coins. Gold is obviously worth more, but there is a certain advantage to having some silver on hand as well. Silver may be worth less by weight, but if worse comes to worse and you end up needing to sell or trade your coin for actual goods or services, it will be handy to have something on hand that is worth smaller amounts and therefore more easily spent in day to day transactions.

The best thing to do if collecting for TEOTWAWKI (that’s ?The End of the World as We Know It? in survivalist-speak) is to have a good bit of both silver and gold. Silver for everyday spending, gold for big purchases and a solid safety net.