Investing in Platinum or Palladium? [Read This First]

Platinum and palladium are both precious metals, just like gold and silver, because their occurrence in the earth’s crust is rare. In fact, platinum is actually more rare than gold. So why doesn’t GoldSilver sell them?

Gold & Silver Confiscation: Can the Government Seize Assets?

One concern of retail precious metals investors is the possibility of a gold confiscation. Imagine having the forethought to buy gold to shield your finances from an economic or monetary crisis—only to have it taken away from you by your government.

The Effect of a Stock Market Collapse on Silver & Gold

Many investors hold gold and silver to hedge against various economic crises. But does this hedge hold up during stock market crashes? Knowing what effect a market plunge and subsequent dollar collapse will have on silver and gold is vital to making investment decisions now and then deciding what course to take should a major recession or depression occur.

What Is Gold Liquidity and Why Is It Important?

In a free-market economy, virtually any tangible good can be sold to someone, somewhere. When you’re a seller, your primary concern will likely be receiving what you consider to be “fair value.” Is that something you can be reasonably sure of getting, or might you wind up disappointed? Liquidity refers to how easily you will be able to sell an asset at a widely recognized fair price on the open market. Let’s take a closer look.  [ View the Current Gold Price ] Liquid and Illiquid Investments Gold and silver bullion are highly liquid assets. There is a universally recognized pricing […]

How Effective Is Gold As a Hedge? History Has an Empirical Answer

Gold has been a safe haven for literally thousands of years. But how effective is it as a “hedge”? A hedge is an asset that tends to rise when others fall. For example, an investor holding common stocks might find it advantageous to hold some gold too, since it has historically been strong during the worst stock market crashes. But in the big picture, does it really pay to always have some gold in one’s portfolio? History provides some clear answers. We analyzed several historical scenarios to see how a theoretical portfolio performed with various amounts of gold (including zero). The […]

What Is the Gold Spot Price and How Is It Set?

The spot price of gold is based on the price of one troy ounce of gold on international exchanges. Gold spot prices refer to the “bid” price you see listed—which is the price most recently quoted in the market that buyers are willing to purchase at. This is usually lower than the “ask” price sellers are currently seeking. The spot price is based on trading activity in the futures markets. It is an international standard for the spot price of gold to be quoted in US dollars. In the US, the COMEX is the primary exchange where gold is traded […]

The Best Time to Buy Gold & Silver in 2024

Can’t decide if you should buy gold now or wait? We looked at the historical data to see if we could identify the best time of the year to buy. Is there a best time of year to buy gold? To fully answer that, let’s start at the beginning. Why Buy Gold? We don’t just buy gold in isolation. We buy gold as part of a portfolio – part of a broader strategy, and we choose our allocation to gold relative to our allocation to other assets. One of the best frameworks for choosing these allocations is through the lens […]

How Much is My Gold or Silver Worth?

Whether you are looking to sell your gold or silver for the best price, or just value it for insurance purposes, you can easily get an accurate estimate of how much you should reasonably be able to expect for it. Gold and silver are constantly priced on the open market according to the forces of supply and demand, setting what it costs to buy or what you can expect to receive for selling a pure troy ounce (or gram, depending on your market) of metal, and thus anything derived from it… much the same way changes in the global market […]

A Guide to Trading Gold and Silver Futures Contracts

There are two primary ways to invest in precious metals: buying physical metals and via futures contracts. Futures markets are electronic trading markets where buyers and sellers trade contracts based on the ability to take delivery of a certain amount of gold at a certain price on a certain future date Though they technically involve the eventual delivery of large amounts of physical gold, the vast majority of trading in futures markets is done as short-term speculation and very few traders ever receive (or want to receive) physical gold, as they’re bought and sold well ahead of the dates such […]

What Is the London Fix Price?

The “London Fix” is issued by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). It is the way that global daily prices are set for precious metals including silver, platinum and palladium. But most importantly, gold. The “London Fix Price” is an agreed-upon fair-value price for a precious metal based on current buying/selling interest at various prices and as agreed to by LBMA member banks; for gold it is set twice per day These days, the London Fix Price is not nearly as important as it used to be, as all metals’ constantly changing spot prices (i.e. fair-value current prices) are easily […]