Best Gold Coins - Everything You Need To Know - UPDATED - YouTube

it's hard to go wrong with gold coins, but if you  don't know where to start or you're concerned  

about making an expensive mistake, well i have a  few tips that i picked up over the last 10 years  

and if you don't really need the  advice but you like to look at gold coins

well i've picked up a few of those too

if you're new to gold let me just start  by saying welcome - buying gold can seem a  

little bit mysterious, even a little bit  strange before you actually get into it  

because it isn't really something that's talked  about often, and my hope in making this video is  

just to demystify it a bit... make it seem a  little less strange and then hopefully  

save you some money while we're at it because if you  charge into this all Leroy Jenkins style you can  

waste a lot of money fast. I'll also just say  that I have made a video similar to this before  

but a lot has changed in the last few months,  and that affects both price and availability  

so my recommendations in that video on what to  buy and where to buy them need a few updates  

the first thing you're going to need to know is  just simply what to buy, and this varies depending  

on where you live and what your reasons for buying  gold are, but generally speaking you want the most  

well-known coins in your region, and you want  to find them at the best price possible as well  

but those two things don't always go together  unfortunately. Here in the United States the  

U.S. Mint produces the American Gold Eagle and the  American Buffalo, and if price wasn't an issue and  

you lived in the United States we'd be able to  say that either those two coins would be your top choice

we'd be able to move on. For the last  few months though in the first quarter of 2021  

Eagles and Buffaloes have carried a much  higher premium than normal  

much higher than most other government-backed bullion coins so you might want to consider a few alternatives  

before we get into those alternatives though let's  just take a look at these two  

these coins are similar in a lot of ways - they're both investment grade coins with little to no collector value  

so you're effectively paying for the gold content  plus a premium that covers the retail cost of producing and selling the coin

both of these coins have one ounce of gold content so they'll cost whatever the spot price of gold is at the time

today it's about $1,750 and then you'll pay a premium on top of that of about six percent

currently with everything going on that premium is more like 11% and higher

and that's why we're going to look at alternatives here in a minute  

the primary differences between these two  coins are the popularity and the gold purity  

the American Gold Eagle is the most popular  gold coin in the world right now and that claim  

is based on recent sales figures the South African  Krugerrand would beat it by total historical sales  

but if you live in the United States this is  the top gold coin - it's a 22 karat gold coin  

so in addition to the one ounce of fine gold, it has  8.33% of silver and copper alloy   

you don't pay more for that extra metal content - it's there simply to make the coin more durable

since copper and silver are harder metals than gold American Gold Eagles come in fractional sizes as well  

you can find the one tenth ounce the one quarter ounce and the one half ounce versions of the same coin  

and they'll be priced like the full ounce versions divided by the gold content with their own premiums as well  

if you want to buy gold but don't want to pay for  a full ounce coin then these are great options  

just as a word of warning though, the smaller the  coin the higher the premium percentage   

so you'll pay more for a 1/10th ounce coin than you would for a one ounce coin if you were to buy 10 of them  

to get to the same gold content, so in normal  times when that one ounce coin has something like  

a 6% premium, you might find that a 1/2 oz will have an 8% premium   

a 1/4 might have an 11% and a 1/10 oz might be more like 15% 

but again currently with everything going on, all of those coins are even more expensive  than that   

it's very common to see premiums as high as 25% on a 1/10 ounce American Gold Eagle right now so you will save money if you  

buy the one ounce coin rather than two 1/2 ounce  four 1/4 or ten 1/10 oz coins... you get the idea  

one other thing to note, the American Gold Eagles  are undergoing a design change later this summer  

and that won't affect the price of these coins but  they will look a little different in a few months  

now the American Gold Buffalo is a 24 karat gold  coin that means it's 99.99 fine gold   

you can see the color difference pretty clearly - it's a deeper yellow like you'd expect from gold

but it has the same outer dimension as the Eagle and also has the same $50 nominal face value

it's very similar to the Eagle, and just a quick note on that face value - theoretically you can spend these at a store  

they're worth about $50 in legal tender but that is  nothing more than a distraction 

it shows that they're government-backed but you're not going to want to use these at the gas station  

the US Mint does not produce fractional  buffaloes they did release some in 2008  

but they're not available today, you'd have to  buy them on the secondary market - they would be very expensive

you will be able to find both a normal BU that means brilliant uncirculated  

version of this coin - that's the standard bullion  coin - as well as a proof   

you'll be able to find proof state in both Eagles and Buffaloes - proofs tend to be a lot more expensive particularly if

you're buying them directly from the Mint. I would  say stick with the BU - this coin doesn't have  

as deep of a history as the American Gold  Eagle, but it is very popular here as well  

if you're looking to buy an American coin while  living in a country like Canada or a few others  

that tax 22 karat gold coins well this would be  the obvious choice you'll find strong preferences  

for that 24 karat gold in a lot of other  countries especially Asian countries as well  

so you have a few things to consider with these  coins but mostly it's just going to come down to  

which one you like - if you like the looks  of one coin over the other go with that coin  

you'll not have trouble selling either one of  these coins if the need arises, but you will  

want to consider that since the Buffalo is 24  karat gold, it is softer and it should be kept  

in a capsule that will prevent it from getting  scratched or dented - I'll have some links to  

those capsules in the descriptions as well  so you don't have to go searching for those  

either of these coins they're going to be a great  option now the main reason a person who lives in  

the U.S. would consider anything other than these  two coins really comes down to a logical reason  

of price or an emotional reason like you just like  something else because there are fun alternatives  

the reason i say that the price is really the only  logical reason though is that you typically won't  

get back the premium in a sale so if you buy a  gold buffalo at 11% premium you'll pay about $1,944  

today again that's based on a $1,750 spot price  give or take but if you sell that you might not  

get much more than spot price back depending on  the buyer maybe you'll get a percent maybe two  

percent over so you could see a loss of 10%  if you turned around and sold that coin back to a  

local shop in a quick sale that's just something  to consider now spot price does increase over time  

but you should always be aware that if you bought  a gold coin and turned around and sold it the  

next day you'd probably lose some money now i just  think everyone should have an idea of what a sale  

would look like before they buy and if you aren't  comfortable selling to a private buyer in person  

or online through a site like eBay or Facebook  then a local coin shop is probably going to be  

the most likely buyer that's not a terrible thing  by the way it's a little like trading in a car  

at a dealership rather than selling it yourself  you won't get as much in the sale but it's less  

hassle so when i say that you might only get back  a percent or two over the spot price of the coin  

that would be your worst case scenario and even  that sounds a little harsh but the lowest price  

is probably going to come from a local coin  shop again that sale will be very easy though  

okay so with all of that in mind i'm going  to show you a few other options that could  

potentially minimize any potential losses in a  quick sale or maximize the gains over a longer  

time frame in other words I'm going to show  you some cheaper options and then I'll tell you  

which ones I recommend all things considered so  let's start with the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf   

because they're a close neighbor that's going to  make them more popular here in the United States

it's also just one of my favorites now this  is another 24 karat 1 ounce pure gold coin  

the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf was the first pure gold  bullion coin available it was introduced by the  

Royal Canadian Mint in 1979 and they've only  made minor changes to the design over the years  

just like the Buffalo and the Eagle that I've  already shown, the year the coin was minted it  

really doesn't mean much to its value but there  are a few aesthetic improvements and safety  

features that have been added to the newer coins  in 2013 the Royal Canadian Mint added these micro  

engraved marks and then in 2015 the Mint added  radial lines as well now that makes them harder to  

counterfeit but it's it also gives the coin this  cartwheel effect when the light hits it just right  

it's a gorgeous coin and they are popular  worldwide here in the United States you'll  

pay a little less premium than you will for the  eagle or the buffalo and you'd get back slightly  

less than a sale to a local coin shop there's  also a very specific tax law if you sell more  

than 25 ounces of these Canadian Maple Leafs  here in the United States in one transaction  

but if you're new to gold i'll just assume that  that doesn't apply to you you're not going to  

have to worry about 25 ounces of these and if you  do want to know more about that tax law the 1099-b form  

I do have a video on capital gains taxes  and I feel like this is getting really long so  

this is probably a good time to tell you that  I've posted all kinds of videos talking about gold

that includes the video that I mentioned  being similar to this one and if you want to  

continue down the rabbit hole be sure to hit my  channel page - again there are a lot of videos there  

right other options the United Kingdom's Royal  Mint has put out a fantastic coin for a low price  

they actually put out a few but i'm going to focus  on their primary coin the Britannia   

this has always been a great looking coin but in 2021 the Royal Mint added new security features that  

make it incredibly difficult to counterfeit if you live  in the uk this coin and anything else from  

the Royal Mint actually should be at the top of your  list since they're exempt from capital gains taxes  

there now everywhere else you should just see  this as a great looking 24 karat gold coin that's  

relatively well recognized and very difficult  to counterfeit so it is not as popular as the  

U.S. Mint coins it's not as popular as the Canadian  Maple Leafs the South African Krugerrands or the  

Austrian Philharmonics even, but any local coin shop  would happily buy them from you and with the new  

security features they are gaining in popularity - on top of the aesthetics and new security features

the one ounce version of this coin can  typically be found at a 5% premium so  

that means it is going to beat the price of just  about any other modern gold bullion coin available  

another modern coin that would rival the Britannia  on price is going to be the Australian Kangaroo  

I don't actually have one to show you so I  grabbed a Swan - this is another gold coin  

produced by the Perth Mint and Australia actually  has two large mints but the Perth Mint is the more popular of the two

the Kangaroo can typically be  found for about that 5% premium as well  

it doesn't have the security features that  Britannia has and it's again not as popular as  

the other coins that I just mentioned here in the  United States at least but the Perth Mint is  

well-known for producing very high quality gold coins  we're going to come back to some of those  

other options in a minute and both the Kangaroos and the Britannias are also available in fractional sizes  

other options that you'd have would be coins  like the Krugerrand or Philharmonic that I just  

mentioned they are among the most popular in the  world - you can typically find either of those coins  

at a low premium and both are very well known so  if you were to sell them it would be very easy  

there are a lot of other options like the Mexican  Libertads or the Chinese Pandas for instance  

and people would complain if I didn't mention  them but those coins fall lower on my list of  

recommendations for a few reasons - if you can find  either of them at a good price and have a specific  

reason that you like them - whether that's for the  culture behind them or the local availability - 

I would never rule them out so before we come  back to final recommendations I wanted to get  

a few points out on how and where to buy the gold  coins now I always recommend starting at a local  

coin shop if you have one normally you're going  to save premium since the online dealer's price  

and shipping and credit card fees if you go that  route but local dealers have been struggling with  

inventory lately and I think this is going to be  a short-term thing so if you do have a local coin  

shop definitely call them and ask what they  have for inventory and then also ask their  

price on something say like a Canadian Gold Maple Leaf that'll give you an idea of what their premium is  

if they don't have inventory or they're asking  far too much for those coins or you're just more  

comfortable buying online, you have a lot of  options there as well and in my last video  

I mentioned APMEX, SDBullion and JMBullion -  all three of those are great options and I will  

add links to those in the description but what  I've been finding is that with availability where  

it is right now, I'm having to look at multiple  dealer sites to find what I want   

I've had good luck lately with SilverGoldBull and Bullion Exchanges, and I'm not going to go into any of them  

specifically except to say that APMEX tends  to be the one with the most inventory, the quickest  

shipping, and the highest prices, so if inventory,  shipping speed, and price are the three criteria  

that you're working from, you'll find that you only  get to pick two at each site - some have inventory  

and low prices but they're slow, some will have low  prices and quick shipping but they only have a few options  

you might have to shop around a little bit

as you get online what you're going to find is that there are hundreds of different options for gold coins and bars  

a lot of them are obscure enough though  that I wouldn't recommend them if you're new  

you will hear people say that gold is gold but  I don't personally believe that based on past  

experiences selling gold coins - I was very  familiar both with the local shops and with eBay  

but my experience selling Sovereigns and 20  Francs Roosters was still a lot more work  

than my experience selling American Gold  Eagles - just something to consider  

if that doesn't concern you in any way, you  will be able to find old European coins  

like Sovereigns and 20 Francs Roosters for a  lower premium than modern gold bullion coins 

bars are another lower premium option that  I don't personally recommend initially  

at least not here in the United States - buyers  are simply more skeptical about bars and while  

you might hypothetically want to verify any  gold purchase whether that's a coin or not  

I've never been concerned when buying a well-known  government-backed coin from a well-respected dealer

newer coins are just harder to copy and  there are serious penalties for counterfeiting  

government coins - so to close this out with the  recommendation on which gold coins I think you  

should start with, I'll say that there are ideal  choices and there are practical choices   

there are even some fun choices but in general you want to start with the most popular coins in your region  

here in the United States that is the American  Gold Eagle followed by the American Gold Buffalo  

and if you're buying in the first quarter  of 2021 though you're going to find that the  

premiums on Eagles and Buffalos are higher than  10% and if that's the case when you're looking  

I would recommend considering one of the other  government-backed coins  

you can find those at more like 5% premium, so if Eagles and Buffalos are too expensive I personally  

look at Canadian Maple Leafs, if Canadian Maple  Leafs are too expensive, I look at Britannias  

you can make a case for any of the coins that  I've mentioned here today and some people will 

but if you simply don't know where to start I  would just say start with those four options  

what I personally try not to do is just buy  randomly - 90% of my gold coins are American Gold  

Eagles or Buffaloes, if I lived in Canada 90% of my  coins would be Canadian Maple Leafs  

if I lived in South Africa it'd be Krugerrands and if I lived in Australia it'd be Kangaroos - again you get the idea  

I just find that variety makes selling more  difficult so any of these less well-known coins  

really need to jump out at me before I'll buy  them - I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy  

them for yourself, just know that they will cost  more and potentially sell for less and if that  

doesn't concern you well again you have a lot of  fun options   

all right so this was a longer video than most so i'm going to call it good right there   

and like I mentioned previously I'm going to have details and links in the description if you want to know  

more about gold coins be sure to check out the videos on my channel page and also be sure to subscribe  

I'm going to be watching the comments so feel free to leave any questions you have or just let us know what your preferences are  

I know there are going to be differences  of opinion - if you found any of this at all interesting

I would really appreciate it if you hit the like button that helps get the word out on this topic

either way, thank you  for watching - I appreciate your time - take care

you