Got Gold?

I just found a random ad from a place called Uncommon Wisdom: Extraordinary Insights For Growing Your Wealth (I'm not endorsing them at all, just naming the source of this information). Basically this is a place wanting me to buy gold. But they don’t want me to buy just any gold, they want me to buy Austrian 100 Corona and Hungarian 100 Korona coins. Having never heard of these particular coins a quick internet search revealed that Corona/Korona were gold coins minted by the Austro-Hungarian empire staring in the late 1800s, composing of 90% gold by mass.

The reason to buy these particular coins, according to this ad, is because they are lesser known than more traditional gold coins such as American Eagles, or Maple Leafs, or Pandas and therefore do not command the same price premiums above spot as other bullion coins. While this may be true, it is also the biggest drawback. If you do intend to buy gold as an investment or bartering tool in the event the world goes to pot, you could theoretically purchase more grams of gold in the form of Corona/Korona coins for the same amount of money as Eagles, etc. However, because these coins are lesser known you will never be able to sell them for the same price as an equivalent gold mass of the others. And if the world does indeed go to pot, it would be unlikely that you’ll be able to barter with 100+ year-old gold coins that no one recognizes.

If someone were to buy gold for the sake of owning gold in the form of coins, something like this may be the way to go. However, know that any savings you would get by buying lesser known coins will also result in less profits whenever you decide to sell said coins. But most importantly, I would recommend NEVER buying any sort of investment (or anything else for that matter) from unsolicited ads showing up in your mailbox, either physical or electronic. Talk to a local coin dealer for more information about coins if you intend to buy coins, always shop around for the best prices, and make sure you are dealing with someone reputable.