Did you know you could invest all or some of your IRA in gold? That’s right you can, and there are a number of ways to accomplish this. But, why put any part of your IRA in gold at all? Well, let’s do a little comparison.

Purchasing Gold Before the Stock Collapse of 2008

If you had purchased gold around the end of the housing boom in early 2006 (right before the burst of the bubble), before the stock market tumbled, you could have purchased an ounce at around $500. Let’s say you put just $50,000 into gold, effectively purchasing 100 ounces. Today, that gold would be worth around $120,000. That’s more than double your money over 100% return. The same amount invested in the S&P500 would have lost about 20% as of today (investing a similar amount around the same time in a basket of stocks representative of the S&P 500). Stocks ARE up since the crash, but gold is WAY UP, and it never went down.

Gold, as has been evidenced recently and in decades past, is a great hedge. A hedge against inflation, deflation, a weakening currency (weakening US dollar). Check out our post “8 Reasons to Own Gold.”

But, many are surprised that you can hold gold in retirement accounts as well.  The process is simple, straightforward, and Gold Coins Gain can help. As a first step fill out our:

Free Gold Investment Guide

and a representative will contact you (if you’d like) with more details on how to make an IRA Gold Investment

It’s come to our attention here at the Gold Coins Gain blog that many people are interested in our gold investing guide, so I thought I would dedicate an entire post to talking about investing in gold, and our free gold investing guide.

If you’re like many people out there, you’ve stumbled upon this blog in doing research. You’re thinking about investing in gold, but you’re not sure whether you should or not. Prices are very high right now, is it the right time to go in? Well the short answer is YES. The longer answer involves your personal financial portfolio, your goals, and honestly your personal preferences when it comes to gold. I’ve heard from investment advisors the world over, gold must be a part of your portfolio, but the one thing they can’t agree on is how much.

Check out many of the other posts on this blog for more information on the economy, gold, and how best to profit from its continuing upward movement, then feel free to fill out our free gold guide form. We’ll send you a copy which should answer many of your questions and then, if you’d like, you can speak to one of our representatives and they can help you formulate a gold investment strategy.

FILL OUT OUR FREE GOLD INVESTING GUIDE TODAY

The US Mint has suspended sales of one-ounce silver and gold bullion American Eagle coins! Sales have been so strong that the reserves have run out, the Mint announced in a memo to their authorized bullion purchasers today:

The United States Mint has depleted its current inventory of 2009 American Eagle 1-0unce gold bullion coins due to the continued strong demand for this product.

Last year the US Mint took similar measures when faced with an avalanche of demand for bullion and suspended production of fractional gold coins. The Mint is attempting to find enough gold blanks to manufacture more coins to satiate investors.

A number of coin shops have reported difficulty finding gold Krugerrands this month as bullion demand skyrockets, and the South African government is shipping more.

The demand for gold coins is so strong that the US Mint had to stop sales of a number of different coins last year and this year because they ran out of blanks. They hope to begin minting some fractional bullion coins again December 3 that had been discontinued over the last two years. A spokesman for the Mint, Michael White, told the Wall Street Journal that

The demand is strong, but we also need to have the blanks to be able to do it.

The last few months have seen a huge growth in investor demand for proof and bullion coins. Investors like the easy liquidity of gold coins and have appreciated the record gains the metal has made this year.

The 1933 Gold Double Eagle

We prefer gold as an investment strategy, but it’s pretty interesting to read the history behind gold coins that are valued by collectors. Collector’s Weekly conducted an interview with a collector named A.C. Dwyer last week on American Double Eagles and famous shipwrecks.

Here are some highlights from the interview:

• Did you know that a shipwreck carrying massive amounts of gold determined the timing of the Civil War? In 1857, a hurricane sank the S.S. Central America which was carrying newly minted gold from the California gold rush to New York. The US was already in the midst of a terrible financial crisis, and banks in New York needed the gold on this ship to pay European lenders. The disappearance of so much irreplaceable gold caused the crisis to spin out of control, which was one of the main causes of the Civil War.

• Dwyer discusses the famous confiscation of gold by the US Federal Government in 1933 and the fate of the 1933 Double Eagle. Despite the fact that they were illegal to own, and almost all were melted down into gold bars instead of being released to the public, some Double Eagles were smuggled out of the country and one even found its way into King Farouk of Egypt’s collection.

• Dwyer’s dream gold coin to own is not the most famous or worth billions, instead it’s a coin with such a mysterious fate that any serious collector would be overjoyed to own. It is a double eagle that was in the pocket of a Confederate Lieutenant. The coin took a musket shot in the Battle of Shiloh saving the man’s life. The double eagle remained in his pocket when he lost his life when his submarine sunk later in the Civil War. The coin was miraculously recovered by divers a few years ago when the wreck was found, still bent in half from the musket shot. It’s not technically worth anything because it’s been so damaged it can’t be graded, but the fact that the legend was proven true makes it an amazing piece of history.

November means one thing in the retail world – the holiday season has begun! While supermarkets aren’t playing “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” yet as your walk down the aisles, already they are displaying decorations and the bulk of their holiday merchandise is making its way to the floor. And soon you will need to make choices about what sort of holiday your family will celebrate.

Will you max out your credit cards to buy the latest Transformers toys? Will you open new store cards to get that extra one time 15 percent off on all the kids’ new winter coats? While you may not consider yourself materialistic, what values are you displaying?

My sister spoke some truth yesterday, “It’s almost out of my control, you know? How much “stuff” is shoved in my kid’s face. The commercials during Hannah Montana, oh boy. And, this sounds really shallow….and…I know she’s only six years old, but I just don’t want her to be…dorky.”

It’s hard to find the line between showing your love and setting a good example. Examples like frugality, saving, and being responsible with your money. But if you are one of the few lucky people who do have some disposable income for gifts this holiday season, maybe you should think about giving your child a timeless gift that won’t break and end up in the garbage, but actually grow in value as you child gets older. You can give your child a gold coin.

Coins make excellent gifts for kids of all ages. Depending on where they were minted, you can teach little kids about geography and history through a coin collection. And while your sixteen year old is begging for a car, she’ll be a lot happier to forgo the car now if she is given an investment like gold coins that she can turn into a down payment on her first home when she finishes school. Instead of giving your kids cheap, fadlike things, you can make them feel like they are worth their weight in gold by giving them something of long-lasting value. The best thing about coins is that they come in different sizes and denominations, so even if you only have a couple hundred dollars to spend, you can still purchase some coins as stocking stuffers. It’s a way to build your child’s savings every year while giving them lessons about wealth preservation in a concrete way they will never forget. And a six year old will feel like a princess telling her classmates that she has real gold at home in her piggy bank.

The Royal Canadian Mint created a giant gold coin the size of a pizza whose bullion value alone is $3.4 million. Five coins in total were minted back in 2007, but one of the 100-kilogrammers has just begun a whirlwind tour around Canada that will culminate in a live online auction in 2011.

The face value on the Maple Leaf is $1 million, though the 99.999 percent pure gold coin is obviously worth much more. It is the largest gold coin ever minted according to Guinness World Records.

I absolutely LOVE GOLD

One blogger recently reported on a friend’s breakfast meeting with John Paulson, the multi-billionaire (or multi-bullionaire, as you will soon learn) hedge fund manager. They talked about the Fed’s massive money injection and the coming inflation. And where is John Paulson, #33 on the Forbes 400 list of wealthy Americans, reportedly putting all of his $4.3 billion? If you guessed gold – you’re right!

Paulson believes that Bernanke’s stimulus efforts were the only way to avert another Great Depression…but it won’t be without consequences! The US Monetary Base was increased by around 120%, so more than twice the amount of money is in circulation than there was a little over a year ago. And while we are on the lookout for inflation signs, which have been popping up gradually the last couple months, a cup of coffee is still about the price it was a year ago and hasn’t increase 120%. Why is that?

Because, as anyone trying to buy a house right now, or anyone who’s credit cards have been cutoff without warning and little cause can tell you, the bank’s aren’t lending the money yet. They are sitting on it, watching the news like hawks. So the number of times a dollar is used, “the velocity of money” as its called by economists, has actually decreased, due to the credit crisis restricting people’s funds, lowered consumer confidence, and high unemployment (no paycheck means no shopping sprees). But the velocity of money will increase, it can’t stagnate forever, and that is when we are set to experience double digit inflation.

Paulson cited the Fed’s policies in the ‘70s. They increased the money supply by about 13%, and then within one to two years inflation was up 12%. The massive money printing we have experienced will bring on inflation; it’s just a matter of time for the numbers to catch up with each other. So, if you invested in a 12 months CD over at ING Direct, you would give you about a 1.75% return at the time of this blog post. If in the course of the following year12% inflation kicked in, you would actually lose 10.25% of your money!

I know, I know, a CD is supposed to be a conservative investment to store and protect your wealth. Where can you put your money if all you are trying to do is protect it? Reportedly, Paulson has invested 100% of his worth into a gold option of his own firm’s hedge fund. They offer an option that allows you to invest in the fund using physical gold. A dollar investment must first be converted to a gold investment and that value is invested in the fund which has a number of different asset classes including gold mining stocks. When leaving the fund, you receive gold instead of cash, based off of the day’s spot price of gold bullion. Paulson is predicting a run on gold once inflation kicks in and people try to find some safe hedge for their wealth. One interesting statistic he cites is that all the world’s investible assets total 200 trillion dollars, and gold only makes up 800 billion dollars worth. Simple supply and demand will tell you that we could see gold performing this well for quite a few years to come.

Harrod's Sphinx isn't for sale, but gold bullion is.

Fashionistas may be heading to Harrod’s for Hermes bags but recessionistas may do themselves a favor by snapping up gold bullion. Yes, the famed department store is now selling gold bullion bars and seven gold bullion coins including the American Golden Eagle, the British Sovereign, and the Australian Kangaroo.

“For many people this is a new and unfamiliar asset class that demands absolute trust. Up until now, however, London has had no well-recognized name serving this market. Harrods saw the opportunity to help individuals buy physical gold in a prudent manner,” stated Chris Hall, the head of Harrod’s Gold Bullion.

Sales began yesterday and transactions have already started. Harrod’s has partnered with Swiss refiner Produits Artistiques Metaux Precieux to bring London shoppers the opportunity to pick up a few coins with a new gown.

Last week Jim Rogers, famous commodities investor, said that gold would top $2000 an ounce within the next decade.

Along with George Soros, Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund in the 70s and then retired shortly after at the age of 37. He founded the Rogers International Commodity Index in 1998, which rose 13% this year. Rogers is known for his bullish views on commodities, and has written books including “Hot Commodities” and “A Bull in China.”

Rogers stated in last week’s speech that he likes gold and owns gold bullion, gold coins, and gold futures. He called the dollar “terribly flawed,” and cited increasing foreign debts and shortages in the commodity’s production as reasons that gold’s value will increase.

One point that really hit home with me when reading about Rogers’s speech was this statement: “Thirty years ago, the last time we had a bull market in commodities, Asia was not in the game. And now they are all trying to live like we do.”

This point is so important! When gold hit a record high of $850/oz in January 1980, there were nowhere near as many private investors available to purchase gold. We now have millions upon millions more players in the game. As fundamental laws of economics state, when you have a rapidly increasing demand for a fixed supply of a commodity, the value of that commodity will skyrocket.