How to buy gold, and where to store it.

There is no mystery behind buying gold. No secret to how you should buy it.

Yes, gold has an air of mystery about it. It is purchased and hoarded by central banks, third-world dictators and the super-wealthy. It is also worn by the rich and famous. It’s easy to imagine that, like fancy cars or bespoke shoes, gold is available only to a select few.

But this isn’t the case. Anyone can buy gold.

Anyone, you might think, who has $1,700 or so in loose change. Well, you don’t need that much. You can buy fractional gold coins. In other words, you don’t have to pay for a full Troy ounce. You can buy half an ounce, even a tenth of an ounce. Or half a gram.

For example, at today’s prices you can buy a .9999 pure gold half-gram gold coin for about $30.

Once you have decided you want to own some gold, even if you are starting out small, you next have to decide where and how to buy it.

You have a few choices when buying gold.

First, find a dealer. The most secure way to find a reputable dealer is to go to the website of the mint of any country that issues gold coins–whether the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Austria, New Zealand or South Africa. Most of those sites will list recommended dealers.

If you find one of these dealers within driving distance, get in the car and go buy some gold.

If not, you can turn to the internet. There are several totally reliable dealers who sell gold online for purchase within North America.

If you decide to buy your gold elsewhere, be careful. There are plenty of fraudsters out there who will be happy either to rip you off or charge you too much. Before you buy anywhere, check out the price of the coins you are interested in on one of the government mint websites, or another approved dealer. What you are asked to pay elsewhere shouldn’t be that much different.

Once you have your gold, you then have to decide where to store it. I have written extensively about this elsewhere on this site.

You have three different options when storing your gold.

1. Hide it at home.

2. Store it in a bank’s safety deposit box.

3. Or buy gold, without ever taking possession of it.

Options one and two are pretty self-evident. Option three is about buying gold, allocated or unallocated, and having the seller store it in their own vaults. You never even get to see it. An example of a reputable gold dealer which offers this service is BullionVault.com.

So there you have it. There is no hidden secret to how to buy gold. Anyone can do it. As for how and where to store it, that’s up to you. And you don’t have to choose just one option. You can store some of your gold at home, some with your local bank and some in the form of allocated or unallocated storage.

Further reading on buying gold…

Where to buy gold bullion.

The best time to buy gold coins and bars.

Where to store your gold.

Understand The Difference Between Gold Bullion and Numismatic Coins.

Gold: The Ultimate Protection Against Big Government and the Traditional Banking System.