Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Are Maple Leaf Gold Coins a Good Investment?

Maple Leaf Gold coins, designed, minted, and offered by the Royal Canadian Mint, are the official gold bullion coin of Canada. They were first produced in 1979 and the Maple Leaf Gold coins issued between 1979 and 1982 have a gold content that measures .999 gold bullion. Some of the issues, currently, are actually 24-karat gold, which is .99999 pure.

According to the Wikipedia Gold Maple Leaf coin page, the Maple Leaf Gold coins are available in the following sizes and weights, each with a different face value (they are considered to be legal tender, but their actual worth is much more, because of the pure gold bullion that they contain):
· 1/25-ounce, face value of $0.50, Canadian
· 1/20-ounce, face value of $1.00, Canadian
· 1/10-ounce, face value of $5.00, Canadian
· 1/4-ounce, face value of $10.00, Canadian
· 1/2-ounce, face value of $20.00, Canadian
· 1-ounce, face value of $50.00, Canadian

But that doesn’t answer the question of whether or not Maple Leaf Gold coins are a good investment. The page on Bullion.com about these coins says that they are often bought by people in India and other areas of the east, where gold bullion is highly prized. So there is a start to an answer: because Maple Leaf Gold coins are pure bullion, they’re in demand not just nationally, but internationally.

When you’re looking to invest, precious metals are good way to go, especially if you want to diversify your portfolio. While it’s never wise to invest solely in one area, making the decision to buy gold, including Maple Leaf Gold coins, is a good call. Gold holds its value through good and bad economic times, it can be converted to cash when needed, and it’s easily transported and stored (at least in small amounts) at home.

The Maple Leaf Gold coins, because they are pure gold, are an excellent investment choice. When you’re getting ready to buy these coins – whether you’re looking at buying just one or two or many – you should look into online companies selling gold. This will ensure that you’re paying the lowest mark-up, are able to lock in the price that you want, and will be able to have the coins delivered to your home or to a vault (entirely your decision), insured.

One of the companies that you should research is MeritFinancial; they have been in business for many years, have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and they offer the Maple Leaf Gold coins at excellent prices.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Gold_Maple_Leaf
mint.ca

Saturday, October 26, 2013

How to Keep Value of Silver Coins Intact

Who doesn’t love a real silver coin? Whether the silver coin is a silver American Eagle. silver bar or silver bullion, the precious metal has worth, beauty and sometimes a bit of history connected to it. That is why it is very important to know exactly what to do to keep the value of silver coins intact. The answer is simple, do absolutely nothing.

Silver is an organic material, the precious metal is harvested directly from Mother Earth. Over time it is possible for the silver to turn a dull shade, the process is called tarnish or toning. Whatever you do, do not remove that pantina. Polishing silver and making it look pretty can actually lower the value of collectible items including silver coins and silver bars.

While it may be very tempting to take out the 1 oz silver or whatever size silver coin you have been collecting, leave it alone. The more silver is handled, the greater chances of a scratched finish. Additionally, silver is a soft metal and silver coins, silver bars and silver bullion is some of the purest forms of the precious metal and too much handling can actually remove finite portions of the material, reducing the overall of the silver investment.

If you are into buying silver and are adding to your collection from online sources, keep the original packaging that cradled the silver bars during shipping. Of course all silver bullion bought online or otherwise should be inspected and received, but after that it is best to wrap it up (if you do not want a patina, protect your silver investment from oxygen) and forget about it.

Most importantly forget about it. Seriously, after making one note of where the silver bars are stored it is so you never forget, do not talk about your silver investment. Silver prices have the potential of increasing over time. The more people know about your silver coins, the more hands may try to skim the pot.