The Best Gold Information You Will Ever Find

Gold is a highly prized metal. Ever since gold was discovered, people have treasured it. Here is some advice on how to get started with gold, whether you’re planning on investing or just looking to buy gold jewelry.

When you invest in gold, it is a good idea to go with buillon bars. These bars come in varying weights. They can be found in sizes as small as a half-ounce or as large as four hundred ounce bars. The 400 ounce bars are generally hard to find.

You can actually sell your gold online. Gold dealing doesn’t require physical stores anymore. There are quite a few websites out there that will buy it. The site will mail you a kit for mailing in your items. If they accept the pieces, you will receive their prevailing rate.

If you are buying gold as a form of a retirement fund, make sure to buy the right kind. Gold needs to be IRS-approved. This means it needs to be in the form of coins or bullion that is marked 24 karats. Lean towards buying the bars over the coins as they hold more value than coins.

Melt Value

When it comes time to sell your gold, figure out if you would like to sell it for its melt value or simply as a piece. Most private sellers and pawn brokers are only willing to pay melt value for gold jewelry. This shouldn’t deter you from selling your gold, as there is probably a buyer out there willing to buy for collector value.

Antique stores may hold valuable gold. A smart and educated gold shopper can make some great finds. Lots of folks donate items or sell them in such venues simply because they lack knowledge of their true value. You can reap the benefits of their loss if you do your homework first.

Be sure you know about the gold in your possession. Not all that looks as if it’s real gold is as valuable as the real thing. A lot of the time there will be something mixed with the gold so it holds up better. This will lower it’s worth. Gold plate is also not very valuable. If you don’t know exactly what you have, consider an appraisal.

Investigate several gold dealers before choosing one to do business with. The chances are good that you will get completely different offers for your gold. Going with the very first buyer who comes along might prove a bad deal. Be sure to take time to choose your buyer wisely for the best profit.

A magnet can be used as a cheap and fast way to determine if a piece is really made of gold. Precious metals, such as gold, are not magnetic. Many times you see the clasp gold plated but not the rest of the piece. A magnet is an easy way to test.

Talk to someone at any gold party to determine how they decide a piece’s karats. The item is stamped, a lot of times. There are ways to determine a piece’s purity if no stamp is present. A way to tell if a gold representative is new and inexperienced is if they use an acid test. This is a simple test used by newer gold dealers.

Make sure you read fine print in any sales contract to a full understanding. If you sell gold through a mail-in purchaser, make sure you understand the terms of the deal. This will show the commission and fees associated with your transaction.

These tips should give you a good foundation for understanding how to trade in gold. It is a great way to invest your extra money. Take what you have learned here and use it to start your own investments in gold today.