Buy gold

Depending on the producer, the certificate may be a separate document or the blister packaging serves as the certificate. The packaging displays the unique serial number of the gold bar with a signature from the refinery. Gold bars from C. Hafner and Umicore, among others, are delivered in this manner. The advantage of buying gold with a certificate is that it is easier to trade among individuals.

Buying Gold Safely and Securely

It's also important to receive gold in a secure manner. All orders at The Silver Mountain are processed in a specialized and secure external warehouse. Here, all packages are weighed and packed under camera surveillance in accordance with strict insurance conditions. All packages are discreetly packaged, without any mention of our trade name or other factors that could reveal the contents of the package.
 
All shipping methods offered by The Silver Mountain are always fully insured. As an online consumer, you are also legally protected: should a package be lost during transport, we will arrange for a replacement shipment or refund the full purchase amount.

The production costs for a single 100-gram gold bar are significantly lower than the costs for producing 100 1-gram gold bars. The most commonly sold gold bars are those of 1 troy ounce, 50 grams, and 100 grams.
 
While gold bars are cheaper to purchase initially, you cannot divide them into pieces to sell. This means that when investing in gold, you should consider the denominations in which you buy it. Diversifying with multiple sizes of gold bars provides flexibility, as larger bars will be cheaper to purchase while smaller bars are easier to sell.
 
Smaller gold bars have the advantage that you don't have to exchange all your gold at once if you decide to sell some or all of it. In that case, you're relatively more expensive in terms of purchase. To be both flexible and purchase gold at low costs, you can opt for combination bars. These bars, like a chocolate bar, can be divided into smaller denominations that are easier to trade – specifically aimed at providing flexibility and a low price per gram.

Gold Coins 

Many individual investors who buy gold opt for 1 troy ounce - 31.1034 grams - investment gold coins. A troy ounce is the global standard for gold that is 99.9% pure. Examples include the gold Maple Leaf and the gold Krugerrand. Compared to gold bars, there are higher premiums for gold coins, but you also receive a higher bid price when selling in the future. The advantage of coins is their ease of trade. Gold coins like the Maple Leaf and the Krugerrand are globally well-known and easily tradable everywhere.
If you want to purchase gold for a smaller amount, fractional gold coins are a good choice. Fractional coins are minted in a fraction of a troy ounce, such as half a troy ounce or a quarter troy ounce. At The Silver Mountain, gold coins are available in 1/2 troy ounce, 1/4 troy ounce, and 1/10 troy ounce.

A general recommendation suggests that allocating 10% of an investment portfolio to buying gold would be significant enough to offset losses elsewhere. The greater the uncertainty in financial markets, the more compelling it becomes to opt for a larger percentage for purchasing gold.
Most people who buy gold do so with an investment horizon of at least 5 to 10 years. Despite gold being initially a defensive purchase - to preserve wealth - recent periods have shown that the gold price can rise significantly.
 

Buying Physical Gold as a Safe Haven in Times of Uncertainty

 A second reason for choosing to buy physical gold is financial security. Gold is a rare and valuable precious metal valued by people worldwide. Therefore, owning physical gold is interesting; it can always be used as a medium of exchange.
 
Moreover, owning physical gold is safer than holding gold trackers or ETFs (Exchange Traded Fund). Here, you not only deal with an intermediary, bank, or broker, but often it's not possible to physically deliver the gold. An important saying in the gold market is "if you don’t hold it, you don’t own it." Buying physical gold thus entails fewer risks and less dependence on the fiat money system.
 
By choosing gold, your wealth is protected against the instability of current financial systems. While savings rates cannot compensate for inflation, the gold price does.
 
In times where cash is increasingly disappearing and money systems are becoming more digital and abstract, physical gold in the form of gold coins and gold bars offers the opportunity for autonomous trading.

When you buy physical gold, you are not dependent on banks, the deposit guarantee scheme, or the survival of today's currencies. Whereas money systems were previously backed by a gold standard, nowadays money is issued without its value being backed by gold. All the money currently in circulation is thus created as debt, resulting in high inflation and the erosion of the value of this money. By buying physical gold, you protect your wealth and purchasing power.

In Switzerland, storage is possible with Loomis International, the global leader in the storage of physical precious metals. EBN also has a customs depot at Loomis, making it possible to store white precious metals (silver, platinum, and palladium) without paying VAT. Storing gold in Switzerland is also an option, with Switzerland being one of the largest countries in the gold market, making buying and selling extra accessible.
 
The inventories at EBN are audited twice a year by an independent accountant, verifying both the physical inventory and the insurance policy. Your gold is securely protected in storage, and you can request your gold at any time.
 
When you request your gold, it may take up to a week before you can pick it up at our office address in Baarn. We do this to ensure the safety of your gold. Alternatively, you can choose to have your gold delivered to your home.

Want to know more about common mistakes when investing in gold? Rolf van Zanten, owner of The Silver Mountain, explains in the video below.