If you are reading this then you have an interest in investing in coins such as silver, gold, palladium or platinum. If you are looking to invest then you are thinking money in your pocket with that said there are a couple ways to invest.
One way is with numismatic coins, these are the older rare coins that can take a long time to make allot of money with because you are paying such high premiums at your time of purchase, unfortunately you will have to hold on to it for a very long time. However if you can wait then it can be very rewarding and on a side note it can be fun to collect several different coins from several countries. Depending on where you are purchasing your coins the dealer a lot of times will try and get you to buy numismatic but if you are not wanting this type of investment then do not fall for the many schemes or gimmicks used to get you to buy.
Another way to invest into precious metals is to purchase bullion, these are newer coins even dated as new as the current year. Unlike numismatic coins, the values of these coins are based solely on its metal content and how much that metal is worth at the time. You can buy these in coins, bars or ingots, rounds, cull, and jewelry. Bullion coins do carry a premium because they are minted and are widely recognized. This article will concentrate mostly on the more popular metals such as gold and silver.
Here are some good investment pieces to look at to get a good start, notice the spot price, buy price and your price which is the sale price
American Eagles US Buffalo Liberty Saint-Gaudens Krugerrand Chinese Panda Austrian/Hungarian 100 Corona Mexican Peso Maple Leaf
You might read some articles on how risky investing in precious metals are but if you look at the price in metals such as gold from 10 years ago to now you will see a steady climb even during hard economic times when everything else was dropping. Many investors use these metals as a hedge against other investment because they have proven to not follow the decline when many stocks drop.
Some key notes that is helpful to know when you are investing:
Metals are measured in troy ounces Bullion is valued by quantity and how much the metal is worth at the current time Numismatic is valued by age, condition, historic value, ECT. Spot price is not what you pay, you will almost always pay more. Always research what you are buying and where you are buying it from to avoid scams. You may also use metals to invest in your IRA. You can store these items with companies however you want to do research first to avoid scams
A good rule for buying bullion for investing is to not buy it because it looks nice, you want more ounces for the least amount of money, a good way to do this is to buy in bulk as much as your budget will allow. For some peace of mind you can start out with silver as it will cost less to start.
References:
http://www.investorwords.com
http://www.apmex.com