While a lot of people love gold, they are not necessarily well educated about it. Because of this, they are not fully able to gain advantage from what gold can do for them. The following article will teach you what you need to know about gold.
It is important to understand the type of scale your gold dealer uses. Some dealers use a Troy scale while others use a pennyweight. On a Troy scale, gold weighs 31.1 grams per ounce. A pennyweight equals 1.555 grams. In comparison, a US scale measures each ounce of gold at 28 grams.
If you are headed to a gold party, keep your expectations low. While you may walk out with a few hundred dollars, you are not going to get rich. You also won’t get the full value of your jewelry. Go and have fun, but do not sell anything you don’t want to sell.
If you have no idea what your gold might be worth, than an appraisal is a good idea. Though you will have to pay a bit, knowing its value is crucial. Only use an independent, accredited appraiser to get the most realistic value. Even if you still choose to sell, do know that you aren’t going to get the appraised value.
When considering selling your gold jewelry, you need to figure out if you want to get melt value or sell it as jewelry. You may get more if you can wait to sell it to a buyer who values it as a beautiful piece of jewelry. However, if you are patient, you will find a buyer who is willing to pay top dollar for your jewelry.
If you are thinking about becoming a buyer or seller of gold, make sure you are legal! In the United States, you must have a license to purchase, sell or trade gold in any quantities on a regular basis. Check with your city or town about how to become licensed, and then enjoy your new entitlement to dealing in gold.
Try saving on gold by buying some at regular intervals. It doesn’t even matter what the current gold price is. Every month or every regular period, try to buy some gold. Its price may be higher one month and lower the next, but that doesn’t matter. The consistency is what matters since its value will eventually even out and rise later on due to gold’s value going against the value of currency.
When looking to buy gold as an investment, it is important that you invest in solid gold. There are many phrases you should look out for such as “gold clad,” “gold enveloped” because these are just fancy words for gold plated. This means under the gold is a different metal, which drastically drives down the value.
Try to avoid buying gold coins from small shops that claim to be reputable dealers. You want to make sure that the people you deal with are really knowledgeable about the business, so it would be in your best interest to look for a gold dealer that has a much larger inventory.
Get a certificate of authenticity when buying gold jewelry. This is your proof that the piece you have purchased is real, consists of a certain karat count and has a specific value. This certificate can be used to authenticate your piece for resale or insurance purposes, should you need it.
Do your math before walking into a gold selling situation. You need to have an idea of what your gold is potentially worth. If you don’t and the dealer senses that, chances are you’ll receive a lowball offer. Do yourself a favor, and don’t put yourself in that situation. It only costs you money.
When you are investing in gold bullions or coins, stay away from high premiums. A premium of ten percent is usually the acceptable average because this is fairly close to the spot price. If you pay a high premium, the actual price of the gold will need to go higher in order for you to realize a profit.
When buying and selling gold coins and bullions, realize that you will be responsible for capital gains and losses. The US government treats all gold sales as long term capital gains. The tax rate on such sales is 28 percent. Ensure that you keep good financial records to help prepare you tax return.
While ETFs are a great way to trade in gold, nothing is like owning real gold. There are downsides to this, of course, such as the difficulty you will face if you need to sell the gold fast, plus the cost upfront is often large. Once six years have passed, though, it ends up being cheaper than an ETF.
As this article said in the beginning, no matter what people think of gold, they rarely know much about it. You should know more than you did to start. Use what you’ve just learned to make smart decisions about gold.
