Why Invest in Gold and the Many Ways to Invest in Gold

The price of gold itself is up over 50% from its lows in 1999. Graded gold coins are up 70% in the last three years. Futures and options on gold have soared. Who knows how many thousands of percent you'd have made by investing in gold?

There are many major factors that make gold a great investment right now. Gold coin sale is still cheap, while stocks are expensive. In January of 1980, both the Dow Industrials and the price of gold were at the same level: 800. Now, nearly 24 years later, the Dow is near 10,000, while gold is less than half its January 1980 value. There are some great opportunities in gold stocks.
Governments will make our money worth less to pay off their record debts. Governments can print money to pay off their debts. But they can't create gold. The supply of paper money can be infinite. But the supply of gold is extremely limited (they say that the entire gold production in the history of the world could fit on the basketball court.

Gold should do well in extreme bear markets. Silver more than doubled in value from 1932 to 1936 during the Great Depression (the price of gold was fixed by the government). The next long bear market was 1968-1980. Silver rose from around $2 in 1968 to a peak near $50 in 1980.

Gold stock will rise during inflation… and during deflation. Investing in gold is good inflation protection… gold rises as the value of the dollar falls. As the government lowers interest rates significantly and wildly prints money (creating inflation) to offset that deflation… leading to substantially higher gold prices. This is where we are now, and gold has done what it's supposed to do.
When you buy gold coins, you lower risk in your investment portfolio. In the past, gold has tended to do the opposite of stocks…it skyrocketed in the 1970s, when stocks did horribly. Then in the 1980s and 1990s, when stocks soared, gold lost over half its value. Now in the new millennium gold has soared while stocks are still below their year 2000 highs I consider these to be the best opportunity right now. While gold stocks are up nearly 500%, investment grade gold coin investment (those that carry a grading of Mint State (MS) 63 or higher from the grading agencies PCGS or NGC) are 'only' up 70%. These coins peaked in value in 1989. They subsequently fell by 85%, bottoming in 2001. There is still 100% upside on the table here, and your downside is limited (since you're close to meltdown value).

To own gold directly, you can buy common gold coins or small bars of gold. Common gold coins are known as 'bullion' coins. These include popular coins like Krugerrands or Canadian Maple Leafs, and they cost just a few dollars more than the current price of gold. These don't have extraordinary upside or downside, they simply move with the price of gold.

Are you ready to invest in precious metals? Coins and bars bullions are the choice of any smart investor under the current financial circumstances of world economics. While the paper dollar is still devaluating, your gold investment will only increase in value.Reputable sellers online can provide direct access for your immediate investments in precious metals such as gold bars.

By Inventory of Coins and Bullions

What is a Pennyweight of Gold? What is a Gram of Gold?

These are the most frequently asked questions we receive at GoldFellow. It's problematic for everyone as it doesn't relate to any measurement we currently use in our daily life. Pennyweights, however are still commonly used in the U.S. jewelry industry but we prefer to use the more accurate and globally recognized Grams (metric) as our unit of measure.

There are 20 pennyweights also referred to as DWT in an ounce. There are also 31.1 grams in an ounce. As we are talking about precious metals I'll use gold in my example throughout this post.

Many of our customers are weighing their valuables on home kitchen or postal scales of either mechanical or digital make. Most measure in grams and ounces, particularly when weighing food. The grams shown on your scale are not the same as the grams used in gold! You are measuring on a device that uses 28 grams per ounce while gold is measured in troy ounces. There are 31.1 grams per Troy ounce. The simplest way to use your home scale is to multiply the number showing as ounces by 20. That's it. If your scale shows 3.5 oz you have approximately 70 pennyweight. 1.5oz is about 30 pennyweight and so on. (Same for silver and platinum)

Ok, now for measuring your gold in grams. The scale shows 3.5 ounces. Multiply by 31.1 and it comes to 108.85 grams of gold. If it's 1.5 oz x 31.1=46.65 grams.

Lastly, if you would like to know a price per gram, follow this formula. $20 per pennyweight is$12.86 per gram. To convert simply divide $20 by 1.555=$12.86. Try $18 dwt divided by 1.555 and you get $11.58 gram.

A useful site to check out for conversions is http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/grams-to-pennyweights.htm

Hope this is helpful!

By Michael Gusky

White Gold vs Platinum Jewelry

Jewelry pieces are available in a wide array of metals. Perhaps the two most common metals which one will see with jewelry are gold and platinum. For those who like white-tone jewelry, white gold and platinum present two options for jewelry shoppers to choose from if they are searching for a higher end metal which is durable and considered to fit within the fine jewelry category. The following will list some things to consider in order to determine which type of jewelry metal is right for you.

Durability Factor

When comparing the two types of metal, platinum tends to be a bit more durable in consistency than white gold. Although both metal varieties in a jewelry item should be treated with care, the platinum items may be able to handle a bit more wear and tear than their white gold counterparts. If you are searching for a ring, necklace, bracelet or other type of jewelry piece which is durable then platinum might be your best bet.

Color Tone of the Jewelry

Although both white gold and platinum are of a whitish color, white gold is only so due to the adding of alloys to pure gold. White gold is usually comprised of a combination of metals such as gold, silver, palladium, zinc, and copper. In order to make the color whiter a coating of rhodium is often placed on top of the white gold. On the other hand, platinum jewelry is already a whitish color and does not usually need rhodium to be placed on top of it in order to whiten the overall color. Depending on your tastes, choosing one type of metal over the other should be based on your individual desires as the final product is usually white in both cases. It is just through different manufacturing processes in which the jewelry items reach their final color.

Cost

If you are hoping to compare white gold jewelry and platinum jewelry on the basis of cost you will usually find that platinum jewelry is more expensive than white gold jewelry items. This is due in part to the pure consistency of the platinum metal in addition to the preciousness of the metal itself and difficulty in the manufacturing process. With that said, no matter what your price range may be when shopping for jewelry items, if you are searching for a platinum piece of jewelry you can often find a good deal on this item albeit you may have to pay more in the end than if you were buying a white gold item.

Product Availability

For those who are going back and forth between selecting a white gold piece of jewelry and a platinum product you may be wondering which one is more readily available on the general consumer market. Today the trend is to see many more platinum jewelry items being sold by retailers than in the past. Platinum is extremely popular these days as the favorable qualities surrounding this type of jewelry item attract individuals. However, jewelers still carry a great deal of white gold items due to the constant desire of purchasers to buy this type of jewelry. White gold is less expensive than many pieces of platinum jewelry and although it may not be as durable it is still a good choice for many. A diamond will usually look whiter when it is set into a platinum engagement ring. In the end it is ultimately up to the jewelry purchaser to determine which metal type is best suited for them and purchase an item which has the qualities they are looking for in a lovely piece of jewelry.

By James Greene