The primary reason to invest in gold is wealth preservation, akin to purchasing insurance. Physical gold is the real money, it exists independently of corporations, banks, or governments so it does not have counter-party risk. Unlike other investments like real estate, stocks, mutual funds, CDs, or holding fiat currencies in savings accounts, owning anonymous gold doesn’t incur annual taxes, management fees, or penalties.
At Coins Without Borders, our advice to clients primarily revolves around the purchase of ‘junk gold,’ also recognized as old gold coins or jewelry. This strategy stems from historical gold confiscation laws, such as the one enacted in the United States in 1933, where numismatic coins were granted an exemption. Although these coins may incur a slight premium over pure bullion coins, they essentially function as an insurance policy.
Remarkably, gold jewelry is not considered a financial asset under US law, it does not require reporting. Thus no messing with customs forms, and no requirement to declare it as a financial asset. We haven’t discovered any country where it’s handled differently, though always be sure to check the laws along your itinerary. It is best practice to wear jewelry only when moving wealth to your final destination, and should not be worn for daily travel, as it attracts unneeded attention.
We advocate to solely buy gold bullion, not silver. This is because a monster box of silver coins (500 ounces/more than 15 kilograms) holds a current value equivalent to roughly 6 ounces of gold or 170 grams. Carrying silver hampers swift and flexible relocation, while attracting undue public attention.
If you choose to buy pure bullion, we highly advise to buy legal tender bullion coins, i.e. coins that have a currency face value issued by the government, usually far below the spot metal value. Historic precedence shows that legal tender precious metal coins were exempt from confiscation, underlined in FDR’s lesser-known silver confiscation Executive Order 6814. This is a small protective measure that can be swiftly overturned, but it should be nevertheless considered.
Silver may be a superior investment in case you do not intend to leave your country of residence, you are a prepper and have a safe bug out place that very few people know about. During the initial stages of monetary crisis silver historically has performed better than gold, but after the chaos ends it usually quite quickly falls in value against gold. To summarize, sell or barter your bullion silver for gold during the peak of the crisis.
There’s a common misconception that silver might become a barter tool among the general population. However, recent history, such as following the collapse of the Soviet Union, shows precious metals were not used for bartering. Instead, items like vodka, food like meats, Western technology, and services were exchanged within an unregulated underground economy.
Therefore, we strongly support investing in gold bullion as a trading tool to acquire depreciated assets during and right after a deflationary Great Depression type or hyperinflationary Weimar Republic type busts, rather than utilizing it as currency. Our focus is exclusively on dealing with physical, tangible gold, ensuring secure delivery to your preferred destination, whether it’s your home or business.