Where on earth do you buy gold?

In an age of mass consumerism I have always found it slightly odd that the only thing people don't know how to buy is probably the only thing that ever keeps its value.

The first question you need to ask yourself is do you want to actually take possession of the gold or would you rather have someone else look after it for you.

If you decide you want to take possession you will pay a little bit extra because of the small dealer's charge. The plus side of this is you have it in your hot little mitts and that makes some people feel more secure.

This makes some people feel LESS secure though and they would rather it was locked away in a vault somewhere, fully insured and out of harms way. Providing its ownership is guaranteed, and if you use the recommendation below it is 100% guaranteed, then you have no worries. The other advantage of buying and not taking ownership is that you can buy in smaller quantities so you can top up your stash of gold (nice expression) any time you like.

So here are my favourite ways to buy gold and silver.

1.BUY THROUGH BULLIONVAULT.

Anyone interested in purchasing gold and not wanting to take possession should make Bullion Vault their first port of call. Click below and you will be taken to what is in my opinion one of the best and easiest sites currently available.

http://www.bullionvault.com

2.BUY THROUGH GOLD INVESTMENTS IN LONDON.

China has almost doubled its gold reserves in the past five years, it indicated. The country has raised gold reserves to 1,054 tonnes, from 600 tonnes it last disclosed, in 2003, according to Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which manages China's £1,330 billion in foreign exchange reserves.

(Hou Hulmin, Vice General Secretary of the China Gold Association, said China should build its reserves to 5,000 tonnes.)

I also buy Kruggerands from Gold Investments in London and have done so since 1997. They are helpful and their prices are as good, if not better than anyone else I know. I also like the fact that they have been in this business since 1982.

At any time of the day they will quote you a “Buy” price, and a “Sell” price, and the difference is the sellers margin.

The price varies by the minute depending on two factors:

1. The spot price of gold (you can see this on the live charts on the gold page of this web site).
   
   
2. The dollar/pound exchange rate, since gold is priced per ounce in dollars.

Gold investments will buy gold from you if you want to sell at any time.

If you want to buy gold, or just have a chat, I suggest you ask for Mike Temple at Gold Investments and if you mention my name you will get a slight discount - not much because the margins are very thin anyway.

Mike's number is 0207 283 7752.

They also offer a holding service if you don't want to take possession.

You can also buy unallocated silver from him and I believe this will offer excellent investment potential over the next five years. This is good for people who worry about taking physical possession as you merely hold a certificate instead.

Are there risks? Of course there are, as with any investment. The price of gold can go down as well as up, you have to store the gold (although you could hide a quarter of a million pounds of gold in your house and no one would ever find it because it is so small). Do be sensible though – don't start telling your mates that you buy gold bullion or you are just asking for trouble. If in doubt – buy certificates.

And whatever you do only buy bullion (coins or bars) never jewellery where the gold content can be as little as a third of the price.