Real World Ways to Invest in Gold

• Gold bullion. - Refiners produce gold bars from one gram to 400 ozs.
• Gold coins. - The most popular are one oz coins such as the American Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, the South African Krugerrand, and the Austrian Vienna Philharmonic. They are easy to keep and transport and closely match the price of gold with a small premium.
• Numismatic coins. - Older coins which fit the description of collectibles have a premium to the value of gold included in the coin. The holder is dependent upon an accurate and fair appraisal.
• Gold certificates. - A certificate which represents ownership of gold bullion held by a financial institution for convenient and safe storage. There is a fee for storage and insurance.
• Gold futures and options. - A futures contract traded on one of the futures exchanges, such as the COMEX in New York. This method is generally leveraged and options provide price movement much more than that of gold itself. It can be used to sell short and can be used to benefit from a drop in the price of gold.
• Gold Mining stocks. - Stock ownership of a company traded on one of the exchanges. The price movement is dependent not only upon the price of gold, but also upon the future of the corporation and management. It's price movement is almost always more than the movement of gold itself. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is one way to invest in stocks.
• Jewelry. - Representing the largest consumption of gold each year, jewelry is a major method of savings in developing economies.
• Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)- Perhaps the safest method of buying and owning gold by buying shares in a fund based solely on the existing market price of gold. No leverage or storage problems. GLD, GDX, and SLV.
• Gold Mutual funds. - A relatively safe method of buying and owning gold stocks allows the owner to diversify among many stocks and allows the investing decisions to be made by a professional. Investment methods vary among funds and provide many different styles of portfolio management for an investor to choose from. Prices move faster and further in both directions than the price of gold.