Pamp/ Credit Suisse Gold Bars vs. Cold Bullion Coins?? - grams vs oz??

Can you please tell me which you prefer and why?

Pamp/ Credit Suisse Mini Gold Bars vs. Gold Bullion Coins

grams vs oz

What is your preferred means of investing in gold, and why? I'm just branching into gold. I appreciate the face value aspect of govt. mint coins, and the serial number stamping on some gold bars...but is there something I'm missing? Also, are the gold bars worth the same w/out the assay card if they are still stamped with a serial number? Thanks for your advice!

 

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Welcome to CT and the Bullion Investing forum!

A lots on these questions can be gleaned from threads that will be found in a simple keyword search of the site, go to the top right of each page, use the 'Advanced Search' feature. Here are some other recent threads that have been up on the Pamp Suisse gold in recent weeks:


PAMP Suisse Gold bar ebay sale-need advice

Buying and selling PAMP SUISSE 1 Ounce 999 Silver Bullion

 

Honestly I just have a wide variety. When I first started I just only wanted the PAMP Bars because of the simplicity of the design and the fact that it came with an assay card was a nice plus because of the peace of mind it gave me. While my PAMP bar was nice to look at, sadly the same packaging that was really important to me at first also became sort of annoying because I couldn't actually touch the gold itself and under no circumstance would I ever consider to take it out. Although on ebay I have seen very very few PAMP bars that are sold without the assay card but personally I wouldn't ever buy one and I've seen them sell for a bit less than the ones that are sold how they were originally sold.

To make my investing/collecting a little more fun for myself I decided to look towards gold bullion coins. I don't know why but I really liked the look of the South African Krugerrands so I began buying some of them as well. There's quite a bit of Gold Bullion coins out there from the Krugerrand, Gold Eagle, Maple Leaf, Sovererign, etc. It just depends what you're looking for. Some of these coins will have higher premiums than others and for the most part may sell higher than the PAMP bars seeing that coins can be looked at as both collectable and for investment while the bars mainly (not always) are looked solely for investment purposes.

So to answer your question I like both for different reasons. The PAMP looks really nice and so do the coins which I put in airtites and have them in a nice display. Honestly just depends on what you prefer and are into.

I'm pretty new to all this too and I'm far from being anywhere nearly as knowledgeable as other people on this board, but this is just somethings I've learned/seen myself. Hopefully something in all this blabbing on helped!

 

Welcome to CoinTalk!

A good way to think about it is to decide what form of gold will be easiest to resell. After all, the ultimate goal is to resell someday for a profit, and if you own some rarely seen form of gold with a tiny collector base, you're going to have to accept a discounted price. That said, I think the 1 ounce gold coins from the US mint are the best. Fractional gold coins from the US mint are second best if you want a smaller size.

 

The only piece of gold that I have is a 1g PAMP bar that I got from APMEX. The only thing that I don't like about it is that it is tiny, and in it's packaging it can get stuck in between the plastic and you have to shake it around to get it centered right...bothers me...

 

It's also going to be difficult to resell. The 1g bars are more novelty items than investments.

 

I think that could just depend on where you sell it. I notice on ebay they are pretty popular and are currently selling anywhere between $50-$60, like this one that's ending in just a few minutes:

Pamp 1 Gram

I haven't purchased any of them yet but to be honest I wouldn't mind picking a few up in the future. Seeing that I'm in college and don't have enough to always buy the bigger sizes like 10grams to an ounce, I know that if I want to buy gold there are these smaller more affordable bars. You pay more of a premium buying them in fractional pieces but in the end you sell them with a higher premium.

 

Same, I'm in college too, so when I got it for less than $50 I thought it was perfect, because I couldn't justify spending TOO much money on investments at the time.

 

Yeah man I know how you feel like. I went to a local coin store that actually has pretty low premiums on some bullion/coins and I was way stoked because I had saved up enough to get a new 1/4 gold krugerrand. Some guy was before me so I'm just standing around waiting but I couldn't help hearing all the stuff he was getting, something along the lines of.. "Yeah I'll take 500 Silver Eagles, 100 Silver Maple Leafs, 10 Scottsdale Stackers, 300 Philharmonics..." and it continued while behind the counter this HUGE stack of silver kept getting bigger and bigger. Just as I thought he was done, I hear... "Oh, I'd like some gold too". My turn finally comes I'm like "..one... 1/4 Krugerand please..." haha

 

Some day, when we are making more than we are spending, we will be able to afford that much in gold and silver too. I was eying up a 1/10 oz AGE earlier this week in a new shop I went to, I might get it tomorrow. I like the foreign bullion, and old US gold more though, so who knows. May just ask for some "junk" silver.

 

meh i just accidently bought 1oz of silver junk coins for $24 >.< i put around $30 and the original price was 18.64 + $3 shipping and i thought no1 else was going to bid so i put the bid at the last 3 seconds and it jumped to $21 im so mad....the guy was also selling "buy it now" and it was for $20....way to lose money >.<!

 

yeah can't go wrong with the junk, makes me happy to know even when I can't afford one whole oz of silver that I can pick up a mercury dime or two

 

These 1 gram gold bars usually have a very high premium on them. Most of the ones that I have seen are selling on ebay.

 

Personally, I would buy a high quality silver coin like an ASE before I would buy a low quality gold product like the 1g bars. They are somewhat popular now on Ebay, but probably could not be sold elsewhere without a big discount from Ebay prices. It's the "greater fool theory" at work. People know they are overpaying for them, but expect there to be a "greater fool" around in the future to take them off their hands. I don't think this is a good way to invest, but every person has to decide for themselves how much risk they can tolerate by buying second rate products.

 

Not really understanding what you mean by "low quality" product? Last time I checked a gram of gold is a gram of gold or if you're talking about the company with PAMP being one of the bigger/well known bullion bars. I haven't gone to a single coin store in california that hasn't had PAMP bars (ranging from 1 gram to 1 oz). It's the same way with bullion gold coins like the maple leaf, american eagle and krugerrand, when you buy fractional you pay a higher premium. Why? Because the everyday collector/investor can afford it. A lot of people I know can't even afford the current prices for a ounce of gold, let alone if it keeps rising, which if it does does I think it make it a tad bit easier to dump fractional pieces rather than an ounces.

 

There is a difference between quality and purity. If you like 1g Pamp bars, buy them. But before you sink a lot of money into them, take one and resell it to one of the coin shops you mentioned that sells them. I just wanted you to know that I would never purchase one with my money for the reasons I gave above.

 

Really not wanting to argue but more try and understand what you're saying because to me it's not making any sense. You're talking about purity, ok well it has 99.99% pure 24k gold. Not understanding what you mean by quality either? It's fine if you're not fond of them, but purity and quality is no different than any other bullion. Like I said not trying to argue, more trying to figure out what you're talking about.

 

I must admit, the greater fool theory is an absolutely awesome new idea. With all the tech and info available, how can somebody post on a message board and not have any idea how to use google. or any other search engine? Sometimes my neck hurts from shaking my head...true story...

 

Most serious gold bullion collectors will not buy 1g bars regardless of purity or who made them. The bars you mentioned are very overpriced. They are novelty items and not investments. You are going to pay a large premium to buy them and unless you find another person interested in overpaying for a novelty item, you are going to resell them someday for melt value or a bit less. If you like them, buy them, but don't do so thinking you are investing.

 

It's not a new idea and I didn't originate it. The idea has been around since at least the 1960s when growth stock investors of the time justified overpaying for stocks in the belief that a greater fool was certain to come along and pay even more for the stock.

Edit: It didn't work and many investors and brokerage firms went bankrupt because of it. Lesson learned.