When people
refer to the “gold market” they often mean the cash, futures
or numismatic markets. But there’s another side of the gold market
that shouldn’t be overlooked. The use of gold for actual purchases and
exchanges.
There’s
a significant line of distinction between rare coin, numismatic and
bullion dealers. I’ve gotten the impression that rare coin and numismatic
coin dealers think they may have a “holy bloodline” or something.
Rare coin and
numismatic dealers often criticize the “lowly” bullion dealer. They
often refer to bullion dealers as “less informed”. I received an email
recently from a world renowned numismatic scholar that has spent a lifetime
researching Middle Eastern coinage. He referred to his practice as “important
to civilization itself”.
He demanded
that we drop his name from our dealer search engine because he did not
want to be associated with “bullion dealers”. We deleted his record
within seconds.
I have never
downplayed the significance of numismatic and rare coin collecting. Nor
would I criticize someone for devoting their lives to the study of ancient
coinage. It’s a fascinating topic.
However, we
built BullionCoin.com to help people locate reputable coin and bullion
dealers fast. It’s a free service for dealers and users.
We’re not concerned
about the distinction between rare coin, numismatic and bullion coin dealers.
That’s not the purpose of the directory.
We developed
BullionCoin.com as an Internet resource for dealers and consumers. The
site was developed in 1997 while I was trading gold and silver futures
to address a need I perceived in the market.
In 1997
there were no powerful, database driven directories that helped people
find coin and bullion dealers.
Anyway, back
to the other side of the gold market. The arguments are on both sides in
regards to the value of rare coins, numismatics and bullion.
However, I’d
like to make a very significant point regarding bullion.
Bullion coins
have
a universal exchange value in practically every country of the world.
You’ll find that gold and silver bullion coins will be enthusiastically
accepted by local traders or businessmen in Mexico, Egypt or Malaysia.
You may need to negotiate the value of the bullion but the gold prices
are easily obtained (even in the boondocks).
If you were
to offer the same local trader or businessman a rare coin or a coin with
numismatic value you would rarely receive the true exchange value for the
coin.
In other words,
in practically every currency of the world it’s fairly easy to assign a
“local
currency value” to gold and silver bullion coins.
Numismatic
and rare coins have value, there’s no doubt about that, but in terms of
a “street value” they’ll never compare to exchange value of gold
and silver bullion coins.
In severe market
downturns, depressions, economic calamity or social unrest, I would much
rather have “spendable” gold and silver bullion coins than a
“priceless” Middle Eastern coin from the Roman Empire.
Bullion
coins are universally accepted. Rare and numismatic coins are not.
Bullion coins maintain a fairly consistent exchange value across every
boarder in the world.
It’s important
to always be aware of the other side of the gold and silver market.
It appears
that gold is about to go up for the first time in many years. People who
know something about the subject tell us that gold is set to make a run.
We asked Mark
Smalley to contribute an article on gold. Mark Smalley is the founder
of the website - BullionCoin.Com - http://www.BullionCoin.com
It is the ultimate bullion coin dealer directory.
The purpose
of the directory is to help users locate competent gold, silver and platinum
bullion dealers quickly and easily.
But that’s
not all, they’ve also provided company ratings based on Web site quality,
E-commerce capacity, customer satisfaction and overall performance. Email
Mark at: mark@bullioncoin.com
