Since you’ll soon we taking delivery of some actual gold, whether in coin or bar form, you need to put it somewhere. Here’s a list of 10 good places to hide your gold.

1. Safety deposit box. Storing your gold at the bank has some real advantages. The biggest advantage is that you don’t need to worry about someone breaking into your home and walking off with your gold.
2. Floor safe. A safe bolted to your floor (or better yet, actually in your floor) is awfully difficult to move.
3. Bury it in your backyard. Before you call me crazy, think about it. Have you ever heard of a burglar digging around in someone’s back yard?
4. In your walls. Pull off a piece of your molding that runs along the floor, and tuck a few coins inside
5. Inside a fake electric socket. These are cheap and available online – little wall safes that look like electric outlets.
6. Underneath your coffee. Tossing a bit of gold at the bottom of a coffee can is never a bad idea. Be sure to put them in a small plastic bag first, or you will have the strongest smelling gold in the world.
7. In a fake pipe. Seal both ends of a length of PVC pipe with some gold inside, and mount it under your sink. No one but a plumber will have any clue it’s not real.
8. Fake bottom on a cabinet. This one takes some work – it involves custom cabinetry with a false bottom built in. But it’s also just about foolproof, provided you do the woodwork yourself.

This is just a short list of ideas. There are endless great places to hide your gold – you just have to use your imagination. Remember – sometimes hiding your gold in plain site is the best choice of all.

1. Paper gold is, well paper. Though we call it paper, most often paper gold is actually electronic gold. It is electrons on a screen; it is a promise of gold. When you buy gold pool or ETF, you’re trusting that the account holder is actually purchasing the physical gold to back it up. When you’re spending hundreds or thousands of dollars, that’s a lot of trust.
2. Physical gold is removed from the market. When you buy a gold coin or bar, it’s no longer available for sale. When you buy, for example, a gold futures contract, no gold has been removed from the market. They can sell as many as they want – because these customers don’t demand delivery of the actual metal!
3. Paper gold can disappear. If the government decides to shut down GLD (popular gold ETF) and declare all shares void, what are you going to do about it? Your investment will be gone in an instant, with no recourse. Granted, this is entirely unlikely, but it’s something that needs to be considered. When you own physical gold, you’re in charge of it. It can’t be taken away on a whim.
4. Gold in your hand feels amazing. OK, this one might be a little corny. But after having felt an American Gold Eagle in your hand….. there’s just nothing quite like it. Certainly not the same as seeing shares of GLD in your brokerage account. Our ancestors used to use this stuff as money on a daily basis, and it’s easy to understand why.

If you’re going to invest in gold, physical is most definitely the way to go. There are just too many positives vs paper / electronic gold.

Only deal with known, reputable dealers
The biggest fear for a new goldbug is getting ripped off. With all the horror stories out there about people “drilled and filled” gold bars and plated tungsten coins, it’s easy to be scared off. Despite the fact that drilled bars are easy to spot, and tungsten coins don’t exist, the fear is real. New gold buyers should only buy from reputable dealers.

One of my favorites is APMEX – short for American Precious Metals Exchange. However, if you’re buying in very small quantities, it may be cheaper to buy from your local dealer. And by local dealer, I don’t mean pawn shop. I mean a reputable coin dealer. If you can buy hocked TV’s in the same place, don’t buy gold there!

Start small
Your first gold purchase should be small, so you can get your feet wet. Consider just a single coin – maybe a $10 American Gold Eagle. That’s a solid 1/4 ounce of pure gold, in 22K form. Why this coin? Well, Gold Eagles are my favorite, of course! They are easily recognized, nearly impossible to counterfeit, and they have their purity and weight guaranteed by the US Government. Since they are 22K, you can handle the coin without fear of damaging it.

Pick up a single $10 American Eagle, and see what you think. It may be just the thing to make you a full-fledge goldbug. Remember – the face value is just for show. A $10 American Eagle is worth much, much more. As of the writing of this article, a 1/4 troy ounce Gold American Eagle will cost you $336 plus shipping from APMEX, though that price changes by the minute.

Don’t Check The Spot Price Daily
While it’s smart to keep an eye on your investments, precious metals are volatile. The spot, or market, price of gold changes constantly. It changes from minute to minute, hour to hour – sometimes drastically. You shouldn’t concern yourself with the day to day fluctuations in price. Precious metals are long-term investments. Treat them that way.

Avoid Collectibles
Also known as “numismatics” or collectible coins. This includes Proof (really shiny) coins, limited edition coins, key dates, error coins, etc. Numismatic coins carry a huge premium over the gold content, which you may not always get back. If you’re investing in gold, invest in gold. Don’t concern yourself with collectibles.

Enjoy Yourself
Gold is a fantastic long-term investment.

That’s right. You put in the cash, this ATM spits out 24 karat (.999 fine) gold bars. This sort of machine could only ever exist in the ridiculously extravagent UAE. The fact that the bars are .999 fine further my thoughts that this is an absurd machine. Pure gold is extremely soft, and easily damaged. That’s why most popular gold coins, such as the Gold American Eagle and South African Krugerrand, are 22kt gold. Adding a bit of copper or silver hardens the gold considerably.

Gold prices may fluctuate to some extent, but in the long term, gold always appreciates. To understand this better, go online and check out the price of gold over the last 5 years. Then have a look at the prices of gold coins and what a Krugerrand would have cost you 5 years ago and what it will cost you today. And finally have a look at the way gold futures and options have moved over the last few years. The picture becomes quite clear. Gold may have its ups and downs but over a period of time, the highs more than compensate for the lows.

The best thing about gold is that its value is not affected by economic conditions or conflicts. Governments continually print out more and more paper money to pay off their debts. It’s their right to do so but the more money there is in circulation, the less value it has. But no one can produce more gold and its price cannot be manipulated by governments.

Gold does well in times of inflation. Investing in gold at these times is always a good option, since the value of gold will increase in inverse proportion to the fall in the value of the currency. And in times of deflation, when governments print out huge amounts of extra currency to stimulate the economy and pump huge amounts of their reserves into the market, the increased money supply means there is more money to buy gold with and this once again drives up the price.

And of course in times of international conflict, gold is the one item whose value will increase. People in zones of conflict, look upon gold as the one safe and easily transportable asset that will have its value when the war is over, irrespective of which side won.

The bottom line? Gold will always be in demand and is availability will always be limited. This insures that its value will always be high.

First of all, we need to get the spelling correct. In the US and Canada the word is spelled karat while the rest of the world spells it carat. The abbreviations are kt and ct respectively.

Karats are a measure of the purity of gold. It is based on a system of 24ths. That is 24 karat gold is the purest gold possible (99.9% pure). 18 Karat gold is 18/24 (or 75%) pure and 12 Karat is 12/24 or ½ or 50% pure and so on.

Historically, for greater accuracy in measuring the purity of the metal, a karat could be divided into four “grains” and each grain, in turn, could be divided into four “quarts.” For example, gold that is between 18 and 19 karats in purity could have been described as being 18 karats, 2 grains and 2 quarts (18.5 karats). Today these finer measurements are no longer in use.

Karats are increasingly being replaced by the millesimal fineness measurement which allows for greater accuracy. Millesimal fineness is a system of rating the purity of precious metals by denoting the quantity in an alloy in terms of parts per thousand. For example an alloy that is 90% gold will have a millesimal fineness of 900. The millesimal number is usually rounded off to three digits and fractional measurements are not used.

The word karat has an interesting origin. It is derived from the Greek word Keration or “fruit of the carob” – an evergreen shrub. Carob seeds were thought to be uniform in weight and were used on precision scales to weight diamonds and precious metals.

In the US, the Fair Trade Commission has standardized the use of karat markings on gold. All gold items made of 10 karat gold or higher levels of purity must carry a stamp of either “K” or Kt.” Infractions of this law can have serious consequences including large fines.

Hallmarks first came into being when reputed craftsmen such as gold and silver smiths placed a distinguishing mark on their products to denote that they had made it and that it was up to their standard. A gold platter with the mark of a reputed craftsman would be worth more than a similar piece without such a mark because the value of the marked piece was guaranteed by the maker. Obviously the greater the reputation of the craftsman, the more value the hallmark was given.

Over time, the craftsmen formed themselves into guilds or unions. And these guilds took over the tasks of marking the products made by their members or allowed their members to place the marks of the guild they belonged to on what they produced. Thus a member of the goldsmith’s guild could place the common mark of his guild on everything her produces. This signified that his products met the standards of the guild. Since the guilds held their meeting in large halls, the mark that the members were authorized to use was known as a hallmark.

In time, the responsibility of certifying the purity of precious metals was given to independent bodies known as assay offices. The word assay means to test and the institutions test the purity of precious metals and certify them so that the consumer knows what he is buying and can not be cheated by being sold impure metals and alloys under the guise of pure metals.

This practice continues today. A common mistake people often make is confusing the trademarks and hallmarks. Trademarks are the sign of the party that has made the object so its origin is known. Hallmarks are the sign of the purity of the metal used in the manufacture. In all countries with a formal hallmarking scheme the manufacturer is first required to certify the purity of the metal used. The object is then assayed to confirm that it is as pure as is stated and only then is the hall mark applied.

The terms sterling has come to mean good or pure as in a reference to a person’s “sterling qualities.” The origins of this phrase are obviously from the valuable and decorative alloy. But how exactly the term “sterling silver” came into being has been lost in time. However, there are three theories about its origin, none proven and each having its own adherents.

The first, and perhaps most plausible, theory is that the terms comes from “Easterling Silver” which was the currency of a part of Germany in the 13^th century. This region, known as the Easterling was engaged in a great deal of trade with Britain. The payment for British produce was made in the German currency of 92.5% pure silver coins. The purity and the accurate size and value of these coins were greatly respected by the British who soon adopted the standards of the currency of the Easterlings as their own. Easterlings soon became Sterling with local use.

The second theory is that the name comes from a bird. Ancient British coins often had images of birds engraved on them. It is thought that a popular silver coin could have borne the image of a Starling. It is possible that the coins were know by the names of the images they carried and so this coin would have been known as a Starling or Sterling since the origin British spelling of starling was “Stearling.”

The last theory is based on the fact that in the early 18^th century, a rich deposit of silver was discovered in a part of Scotland then known as “Sterlingshire.” This was the largest deposit of silver in the British Isles and contained more mercury than silver found in other places. It is thought that it became known as Sterling Silver to differentiate it from silver with different compositions.

Whatever its origins, the term sterling silver; today stands for metal of strength, purity and value.

Most nations, including the USA adopted the gold standard as a way of valuing their currencies until the mid 20th century. It is now no longer in use. It is important to note that while it was theoretically possible to approach a nation’s central bank, and ask for a specific value of currency to be exchanged for gold, in practice it was rarely, if ever allowed. Still, it was the amount of gold that a country possessed that accounted for its wealth.

However, in 1931-2 Britain abandoned the gold standard. It took the US 40 years to follow suit – gold was abandoned in 1971. In fact, it was in 1971 that for the first time in recorded history, no country had currency that could be redeemed in gold. Today a country’s currency is calculated on the basis of a complex series of variables including its Gross National Product, bank deposits and a host of other factors. This is why it is known as a “floating currency” system and why variations in the production of goods and services have such an immediate impact on currency values.

Gold is still retained by countries because its price is purely market driven and its value, which cannot be control by legislation of political maneuverings. It is therefore now an asset that can be traded rather than the basis of evaluation a nation’s wealth.

In the USA, it was at one time illegal for a citizen of the country to own gold – the theory being the dollar was the equivalent of gold so owning dollars was good enough. This law was changed in the 1970s and the last tie between the dollar and gold was cut. The US government stopped issuing gold coins as legal tender in 1933, although the US mint still issues gold coins of varying denominations which are collector’s items only.

Pure silver, also referred to as fine silver, is a very soft metal and being so ductile and malleable cannot be used for the production of any items that have a functional purpose or are under stress or pressure. Under these conditions pure silver objects will lose their shape and structural integrity. Pure silver is most used for making fine jewelry where its softness is an advantage when fine workmanship is required.

Large silver items are usually made using silver alloyed with other metals like copper or titanium which provide the alloy with strength and rigidity. Since sterling silver must have 92.5% pure silver, it is strong yet ductile enough for shaping into intricate pieces of cutlery and so on.

While the silver content of sterling silver remains fixed, the other metals used to make the alloy may vary so that the alloy is best suited for a specific application. This may include using metals that will increase the resistance to tarnishing, eliminate firescale and even reduce casting porosity. Among the metals most often used to create the alloy are platinum, zinc and germanium. Additive are sometimes added to the alloy when the final application requires it. Sterling silver containing silicon and boron are common.

Irrespective of the other metal used to create the alloy, sterling silver is valued on the basis of its fixed silver content of 92.5% and the other components of the alloy are not taken into account. Sterling silver will always be sterling silver even if the 7.5% is made up of tin or the basest of metals.

A lot of development is being done on sterling silver, and experiments using a variety of other metals and compounds are constantly being tried. However, as of now copper is still the most common other metal used to make the alloy.