Your husband could not wait to get home from work. Although the morning started as just another Tuesday work day, it quickly took a turn after lunch. Called into one of the salesmen’s office for an unannounced “meeting,” your husband found out that the data storage company that they worked for had just been bought. The details of the sale were still being worked out, but it looked like the official announcement would be made by the end of the week.
Your husband has only been with the company for three years, but when he started he was given some stock options. The HR person explained that they weren’t really worth anything at the time, but if the board of directors achieved their goal, the options would be worth six figures in the event the company was sold. Not a bad bonus for a job that was already paying well and promising strong future sales.
As he rambled through the news about the possible impact the sale could have for his stock options, you were so glad that as a couple you had been able to pay off all of your existing debt, except for the house mortgage. As your husband was scheming and dreaming as he explained the possible details, he even mentioned wanted to put part of the new money into a gold bullion investment. Crazy, right?
After talking with your financial advisor, however, it turns out a gold bullion or other precious metal investment is not crazy at all. For couples and individuals who already have a pretty diversified investment strategy, a gold bullion purchase can make pretty good sense.
Historically, gold has been an investment that often does the opposite of other more traditional investments. When, for example, the dollar is losing value, many large investors spend a good deal of time and resources buying gold and adding it to their investment portfolio. If an investor has the opportunity, in fact, many advisors suggest looking at precious metals as another diversified opportunity.
And now, you and your husband find yourselves researching anything and everything you can find about gold. The information is fascinating:
- The American Eagle gold coin is traded more than any coin in the world. In fact, nearly 80% of the gold bullion world supply is in the form of this coin.
- America still mines gold. In the year 2014, in fact, America mined 211 tons of this precious metal.
- Minted bars and casted bars are the two forms of gold castings.
- The largest gold bar in the world weighs 440 pounds. A cubic foot of gold weighs half of a ton.
- Three-fourths of all the gold in the world has been extracted since 1910.