There are almost as many opinions on gold bullion as there are gold dealers. In this age of information how can there be so many conflicting ideas about whether gold bullion is a good investment or a bad investment? The answer stems from dealers’ greed, household investors’ insecurity, and the confusion surrounding the history of gold bullion confiscation. Let’s examine each of these three factors briefly.

Gold dealers’ greed leads them to push investors to, or pull investors away from, gold bullion purchases. Gold bullion dealers want people to believe that bullion is the only way to go when buying gold. Such dealers decry all types of coinage as “collectible” and claim that bars will provide both the safety and profitability that investors seek. Other dealers promote coins to rope in clients who want something that can be used to buy goods and services, and many dealers promise that coins will be safe when gold confiscation occurs. Savvy investors know that the use of such definitive words by gold brokers is a huge red flag. Other dealers send regular gold bullion coins to PCGS and NGC for certification, further complicating matters and making it even harder for new investors to determine if gold bullion is a good investment

Household investors are often unsure about which type of gold to buy. The prevalence of gold advertisements on television and the radio, mixed with the opinions of our friends, family and colleagues, can prove to be an information overload. When faced with too many options humans tend to make the mistake of inactivity. Few things do more harm to one’s portfolio than doing nothing at all.

Both sides of the gold bullion confiscation debate make good points. A large part of the “gold bullion is a bad investment” claim has to do with the historic U.S. confiscation of bullion. Some people believe that another bullion seizure is inevitable, but many individuals cling to the belief that our government could never pull off, and get away with, such a caper.

Many FDA-approved medicines do not work for everyone. Does this make them “bad” medicines? Of course not, because they do work for a large number of people. The situation is similar with gold bullion. Gold bullion is a good investment for many people, but certain parameters should be in place for bullion products to live up to their potential. If you plan to hold gold as a short-term investment, have no fear of confiscation and are strictly concerned with profit as opposed to safety, gold bullion could be a good investment for you.

Gold means different things to different people. Do you plan to bequeath your gold to family after you are gone? Does selling your gold for cash make you cringe? Are you buying gold, at least in part, because our government has failed and lost your trust? Gold bullion could be a bad investment idea if you plan on a long-term hold, want to keep the government’s hands off your money and would like something private as well as profitable.

Neither Certified Gold Exchange nor its advisers can presume to tell you what will happen with gold bullion in the future. The United States was built on the basis of personal responsibility and it is each American’s personal responsibility to rigorously research any potential investment, gold or otherwise. A full catalog of gold investments is viewable online via the link in the bottom-left corner of this page, and potential gold investors can call 1-800-300-0715 each weekday from 10am-7pm to ask our non-commissioned account representatives questions, or simply use the check boxes below to indicate which of our free gold investment guides you would like to receive.