Investment Opportunities for the Coming Decade

According to projections from industry analysts, three of the best investment opportunities for the next ten years may include gold, silver, and food. These projections reflect the growing economic uncertainty becoming commonplace in many areas of the world.

Food as an Investment

All three of these investment opportunities are commodities, with food being the least specific as many different kinds of food are traded in the commodity markets. This makes buying food futures as an investment strategy somewhat hard to implement. Overall food price levels may rise but if, for example, sugar happens to decline due to local factors such as a particularly favourable growing season producing a bumper crop, those who invested in sugar will be left out of the general increase in food values.

Food is also a challenging investment option because its nature makes it difficult to hold directly for long-term investing. Foodstuffs, after all, are organic products that are subject to decay. Food investors must usually purchase investment vehicles rather than the product itself.

Precious Metals as an Investment

The situation is different with precious metals such as silver or gold. The worldwide gold price is not subject to regional variations as food prices can be, and since precious metals do not decay, investors can purchase gold bullion and store it in a safe in their homes if they wish. This investment strategy also has drawbacks, of course, the chief one being the possibility of theft.

One solution to the theft problem is to buy gold online. Using this strategy, investors work with an online firm that helps them access various bullion markets around the world. Such firms provide their clients with information about the current gold price, assist them with buying and selling as needed, and even help them store their precious metals investments in secure vaults in cities such as London, New York, and Zurich. Clients who decide they would prefer to hold their gold directly usually have the option of withdrawing their bars at any time.

Buying gold online can also have other advantages. Trading in coins, for example, may require investors to purchase gold in very limited quantities such as the quarter-ounce. Investors who wish to purchase large quantities of gold may need to complete dozens of transactions, but working with an online firm enables clients to purchase any quantity of gold bullion they wish, any time they want.

With economic uncertainty increasing, investors should begin to consider which types of financial vehicles will best protect the value of their assets in the years to come.

Would You Like a Simple Way to Screen Your Coins for Authenticity? These 3 Tests Will Do That

Counterfeit coins were originally created by people wanting fool merchants and get a cheaper supply of spending money. The counterfeits had to only vaguely resemble the money they were copying to pass because merchants didn't pay much attention to the money.

Now counterfeit coins are made to fool collectors, rather than merchants. This is because the collector market has put substantial premiums on the original value of coins. The new counterfeits are much more difficult to detect, because collectors scrutinize their money more closely than merchants.

The profile of a counterfeit is like profiling a shoplifter. There isn't any. Some lower grade bullion coins are fake. Most people aren't paying close attention to their bullion material, so they are easy to escape unnoticed. The expensive coins are more profitable, but are also more closely scrutinized.

Screening a new coin purchase:

1. Visual Test: When I go to buy a coin, I first screen it by giving it a visual inspection. If I'm not familiar with the coin, I compare it to a known real example. I compare details on both sides, looking closely at the date and value denomination. Next I compare the thickness. Fake coins are almost always thicker than their authentic counterpart.

2. Ring Test: I give the coin the "ring" test by balancing it on the tip of my index finger and striking the edge with a Paper Mate stick pen. I carry that with me as the striker, because it won't harm the coin, and it is solid enough to get a good ring out of the coin when you strike it. A pencil actually doesn't work as well. I've grown to love the sustained "tingggg" I get from almost all coins I test.

The "ring" test works especially well on medium to larger coins. It is quite useful on one ounce silver and gold coins. The vast, vast majority of coins ring. Not-ringing isn't a conclusive test of being counterfeit however. I have encountered a very few genuine coins that don't ring, but I will normally pass up a specimen that doesn't ring.

3. Weight Test: If a coin is still questionable, I will weigh it. The coin in question should weigh within half a gram of a real one, although it would have to be more than a gram off, before I would use weight to convict it.

No single test is infallible when testing a coin for legitimacy. I have to feel pretty certain of my accusation, before calling a coin fake. If a coin fails two of my tests, I will usually call it "highly questionable".

Sending it to a grading service will cost a fair amount, but you'll know for certain the heritage of your coin. Otherwise, I cull the questionable ones from my collection for further investigation. That may include cutting the suspect in half for an autopsy.

Dealing With the Precious Metal

Gold with purity of 0.999% is available in the form of bars weighing 10 ounces or more. These bars are known as bullion. The bullion are pure 24 carat gold. A Merchant who invests large amount of money and buy the bullion for resale to general public is called gold dealer. Members of the public become owners of bullion through these dealers. The dealers of gold keep bullion weighing up to 400 ounces. Gold can be purchased from these dealers against US dollars as well as Canadian dollars. The orders for gold can be placed online. The dealer will ask to make payment either by cheque or by bank transfer. On receipt of the payment, the gold will be shipped. 10 ounce bullion can be purchased directly from the dealer's office also against payment. The dealers will also buy gold bullion from the public. The price can be mutually fixed over phone. Apart from bullion, gold can be purchased or sold in the form of coins also.

When an order for bullion is placed with a dealer, the price will be calculated based on ruling gold price at that time. In most of the cases, the buyer should make payment within 7 days of placing order. The buyer is at liberty to cancel his order if the price of gold is not changed. However, if the price becomes less, it will be the buyer's responsibility and he will be charged for that. The dealers will dispatch the bullion within 3 days of receipt of payment. The firms which deal in gold will entertain feedback and quality complaints from buyers promptly.

A few among the dealers of gold deal with only gold coins. They will be having raw coins and certified coins. Certified coins will be tested and graded by professional Coin Grading Services. Prices of coins will be corresponding to the daily spot prices. Coins can be purchased directly from the dealers' website. There are business firms who will act as brokers for gold purchase. Gold can be purchased from them also. Buyers can call them over phone and fix the price on the basis of spot price of the day. If the deal is finalized, buyer will be allotted a contract number and a locked in price. Buyer can buy the gold irrespective of the market prices after finalization of their contract. When buying gold from a gold dealer, the buyer should have his own judgment regarding the price.

Avoid Fraudulent Gold Buyers: Learn How To Sell Gold Online

You've probably seen commercials or advertisements for companies that offer cash for your old gold, silver, and jewelry. It seems like a great deal, but how can you make sure it isn't a scam? Read on to learn how to avoid a scam and sell your gold, silver, and jewelry online.

Whether you are looking to sell 24k gold jewelry or want to sell scrap gold, most gold buyers are willing to take it off your hands and give you cash in return. But you want to make sure you get the best price when you sell jewelry, gold, or silver.

If you're wondering how much your gold is worth and a competitor doesn't publish their price, beware! Many gold buyers and jewelry buyers will not publish their prices or provide a straightforward answer because they don't want you to know how little they pay for your gold!

Protect yourself from unscrupulous businesses. Before you decide to transact business with any establishment you are strongly advised to research their legitimacy. Check with the Better Business Bureau for any complaints against the company, and if you can, go visit their brick and mortar store in person.

If you can go see them in person, their gold buyers should take the time to evaluate and assess each of your items in front of you. (The most popular method of evaluating gold is hand-testing, which is a non-destructive test that allows us to establish the purity of your items for proper payout.)

For most gold jewelry the value is in the precious metal content of the item - generally the weight of the piece multiplied by current gold prices. However, some pieces may have a higher value if it is a signature piece (i.e. a "signed" piece by Cartier or Tiffany & Co.), contains diamonds, or is a collector's item.

If you are selling your gold online, be sure to clearly read their terms of services before sending them any of your gold, silver, or jewelry. Also ensure that they send you a package to ship your gold (you shouldn't be sending your items on your dime), and that the shipping is insured. When you receive your offer of cash for gold, you should never feel pressured to sell. Gold buyers often do this, but if they do, take your items and find someone else to sell to.

Selling your gold, silver, and jewelry can be a great way to receive extra cash. Just make sure you take your business to legitimate, honest gold buyers, and you can avoid scams and receive the most cash for your gold.

The Greatest Wealth Transfer and Opportunity In History - Fast Approaching

What is currently being done today to the US dollar greatly impacts it negatively. Which in-turn is negatively impacting every fiat currency in the world. Sadly today there is no culture, country or currency that is safe from the negative effects of the dollar. Basically stated, if the world's reserve currency is sick and catches a cold it will become contagious. At that point all the rest of the currencies on the planet will become sick. The truth be told however, at this point the dollar is not just sick, it does not simply have a cold, it's got terminal cancer.

The demise of our world-wide monetary system

At some point the dollar will finally implode after all attempts to stop the process have failed. It is the way governments and central banks have addressed and tried to fix the problem, that's making the problem terminal. As more deficit spending occurs, money printing continues. By masking the ill effects of debt, more and more potential energy is created and stored upon the dollar.

Once the potential energy is finally released, the resulting implosion will be so severe that a majority of people will be in serious duress and financial turmoil. The only few survivors left will be those people who have pre-positioned themselves ahead of time by holding physical precious metals namely gold and silver.

For Every Crisis that Occurs, Opportunity Follows

Many indicators today are telling us that this event is going to be the greatest opportunity in the history of civilization. The timing of this event of course cannot be pegged to any specific timeline. However it is safe to say it will happen in full force, before the current decade runs out. This decade will not be like anything of the past, nor anything that anyone alive today has ever seen or known. There will be major changes taking place throughout the world's financial system.

Problems that were speaking about have already occurred throughout the world on a small-scale. We have seen pockets of these economic calamities occurring within our current lifetimes. Examples for the older generations, look at the hyperinflation of 1923 in Weimar Germany. For the younger generations, we can look to the massive hyperinflation within Zimbabwe that occurred, where in-fact there still trying to recover.

During these times people have always had the option to hold their wealth in US dollars to keep from losing all their assets. But now, today, if all the currencies in the world are sick at the same time, suffering from the same huge inflationary forces, or worse a lack of confidence in currencies, then at that point there is no place else to seek safety other than by holding physical gold and silver.

There has never been a world-wide demand simultaneously, what is happening in the world today is actually a brand new phenomenon that will be absolutely huge. We will all be witnessing the greatest wealth transfer in the history of mankind take place. Therefore we will see the greatest opportunity of mankind taking place. The good news is for those people who act now. Acting now will enable you to take part in this great wealth transfer as it un-folds.

Tom Genot -

Do You Own Mint Packaged or Graded Coins? China Is Producing Knock-Offs of These Too

The cleverest knock-off coins come from China packaged in PCGS holders. This not only authenticates them, but makes it more difficult to closely examine the coin and apply the screening tests outlined in other articles.

Some modern counterfeits are so good, they look even better than the original. I've encountered counterfeits, I would pick as the genuine coin because they look better. I have some counterfeit pandas that I'd swear were made at one of the China mints after hours.

The pandas are mint wrapped, so they discourage further investigation. I removed the wrap and capsule only to find the coin didn't pass the "ring" test and was too thick, compared to another I had. Had I left the coins in the mint wrap, I would have been completely fooled. Their look and weight was right on. The thickness gave them away.

If you buy a graded coin from an unknown source, compare it to a known coin of a similar type. Oftentimes the holder won't look exactly like the original. Some details will be missing or slightly different from the original holder. The holder should fit directly into another holder from the same grading company. They are meant to stack on each other.

If you do encounter a suspicious looking PCGS slabbed coin, return the coin to the grading company. PCGS will check its authenticity. There is a $25 charge for this service plus S&H. Fill out a submission form and check "guaranteed resubmission" on the form.

NGC has a simple, much cheaper and faster way of verifying their coins. You just go the NGC website to "verify NGC certification" on the home page. Enter the number printed above the bar code on the front of your slab and a picture comes up showing the very holder they certified with that number. If yours doesn't match, you know it's fake.

You can be certain of a coins authenticity when the raw coin returns from a major grading company like NGC or PCGS and it is given their approval. Use diligence when buying your coins and scrutinize them closely.

Avoid buying anything that looks suspicious to you. The price may cause suspicion because it is being offered too low. No one will sell precious metal much below bullion costs, so be very leery of someone who is.

Study your coins of interest, using the many available references to see what they should look like, so you can spot a fake easier. Get a second opinion on your proposed purchase if necessary, and purchase only from reputable dealers.