2021 study of stats, data and analysis of 4510 different searches.

The reason you are here.

We analyzed 4510 searches related to "What gold is the best?" and found out that people ask about three different things.

1. They want to know which type of gold is the purest.
2. They look for investment advice, and they want to know which type of gold is the best to trade or invest in.
3. They want to buy a piece of gold jewelry as a gift and try to find out which gold jewelry would be the best to give?

In this article, we will address each reason one by one.

1. What gold is the best: purity of gold.

By far, the majority of people meant to ask one of the following:

What karat gold is best?

or

What is the highest quality gold?

49.89% of all people wanted to know exactly this.

And so the answer is:

the gold that contains close to 100% gold and is often referred to as "fine gold" or commercially "pure".

An industrial-scale chemical procedure is used to refine gold to 99.99% (also known as "four nine").

Purification can go to very high numbers, but 100% pure gold is essentially impossible to achieve. The purest type of gold commercially available is 999.99. It often referred to as "five nine".

This "five nine" and above purity is widely used to produce collectable products that sell for a significant premium to their intrinsic commodity value.

The Royal Canadian Mint regularly produces commemorative coins from this "five nine" gold.

One example of a 99.999% gold product is the coin below (face value - $200). The last time we checked, the market price of it was $4,099.95 CAD, and it was sold out!

To see more examples of the highest purity gold products see our article "Gold: fineness, stamps, scams, and 7 great confusions around it!" to find out more about gold purity

You will find more than enough information there.

With this, let us move to the potential reason #2.

2. What gold is the best: trading or investing in gold.

35.7% of all the study group asking "What gold is the best" wanted to know:

what is the best gold coin to buy

what is the best gold bar to buy

what is the best gold to buy for investment

To answer this question, we would need to look more closely at the different types of gold ownership available and the pros and cons of each.

Gold ownership. Type #1. Physical gold.

Here we will talk about actually owning physical metal: coins or bullions.

This type of ownership is perfect during the time of financial crisis.

Both gold coins or bullions are simply a lump of cold hard metal. Typically it is stamped with the purity of the metal and who refined it.

The value of gold bullion is simply the weight multiplied by the purity of gold, multiplied by the gold spot price, which is freely available on lots of different websites.

Before buying physical gold, you should understand that there is a relatively significant difference between the buy and the sell price of physical gold.

For example, when writing this article, CanadaGold would sell you gold bullion for $2,364.51 each.

1oz Recognized Gold Bars

1-3 Bars: $2,364.51 each 4+ Bars: $2,362.24 each

If CanadaGold had to buy gold bullion from you at the same time, they would pay you $1,942.75 for premium items and $1,653.40 for melt items.

By premium, they mean premium jewelry, diamond jewelry, coins and bars.

So as you see, jewelry would be bought at the market price of cold hard metal. No one would be paying you for the art or prestige of your jewelry unless it is an auctionable item, a rarity, antique etc. Make sure you know this before buying into premium jewelry brands.

But all dealers are different. They set their prices. Some jewelry companies would take their jewelry back, giving you the same price you pay minus 10%.

Shop around!

Also, more and more people start understanding the reality of the current economic situation, so the buy-and-sell spread for physical gold tends to widen.

This is especially true during the time of financial instability.

For example, during the 2008 financial crisis, dealers were out of stock for several months as many people were looking to buy gold and precious metals.

In the fall of 2008, when there was severe retail and wholesale shortage of silver and gold bullion products, the spot price of gold was near $700 oz. But you would not be able to buy it for less than $875 per oz from eBay and related online auctions if you wanted to get physical gold bullion coins in your hands.

In other words - physical gold against spot price was trading roughly 25% above its spot price.

If you compare this situation with prices before the 2008 Financial Crisis, you would typically be able to get 1 oz American Gold Eagle coins for less than 4% over the fluctuating spot gold price.

Another important aspect of physical gold is that it can be purchased with cash, and cash does not leave electronic records.

So it is one of the best-known ways to start preserving your wealth and mitigate the risk of government theft if this was an aspect of your initial question.

Because of the different rules and regulations, under the flags of anti-money laundering, war on terrorism etc., laws may require the dealer to get your ID and record the sale under certain circumstances. So if you care about the privacy of your purchase, make sure you study this aspect before the transaction with a dealer.

With owning physical gold, there comes another issue to solve - where to store your gold.

If you hold it yourself, someone can find it and take it. If the government knows about the location of your gold, there is always a risk of government theft, like it happened many times in human history. If someone else holds it, you are putting a lot of trust in the Third Party.

Every storage option has some pros and cons. Let's quickly look at them.

Option #1: Storing your gold at home.

You can store your physical gold at home (aka "under the mattress").

Pros:

• In a financial collapse situation, you have quick access to money, which could be a lifesaver.
• There is no risk of any mismanagement on the side of the Third Party; there is no technical or jurisdictional risk of blocking your access to your gold.
• Cost of storage - FREE.

Cons:

• If at the stroke of a judge's pen, your home assets may be seized due to accusations of tax avoidance, terrorism, money laundering, failure to pay on child support, alimony, or civil lawsuits etc. - so you may lose it all.
• In many totalitarian systems, the government can seize your stuff, leaving you high and dry.

For the reasons mentioned above, it is a prudent option to hold at least some of your assets overseas as insurance against eh... unexpected circumstances.

Option #2: Bank vaults or security boxes.

This is considered to be a bad idea. During the financial collapse, banks may close and getting access to security deposit boxes in a bank like that can be impossible for very long periods, if at all. It is also one of the first places governments go looking for gold and precious metals if they choose to confiscate peoples' wealth. I was surprised to learn how many people consider storing metals in bank vaults is like letting the fox guard the henhouse.

Option #3: Non bank vault or storage facility.

This type of storage exists outside of the banking system, and private storage facilities are reasonably safe.

A genuine storage facility makes its money by charging you storage fees. There is no chance of a "run" on a storage facility, as there is always enough metal to equal the depositors. They very rarely go broke, and if they do, your deposits are on your balance sheet, not theirs, so any liquidators do have an obligation to return your assets to you. There is a lot more information regarding the private vaults. Leave us a comment. We can always elaborate on the subject.

Gold ownership type #2. Numismatic (collectable coins).

Numismatics is only a wise investment for a coin collector who knows what they are doing as the value of numismatic coins is not in the metal contained in the coin but in its design, rarity, or something else entirely.

Experienced numismatic sellers will be providing all sorts of reasons why the coin you are trying to buy is worth more than just the metal inside of it, including why governments will not be able to confiscate this type of coin. They will try to seel you that it is a rare piece and therefore worth much more. If you are not an expert with extreme knowledge of numismatics, it is wise to stay away from this type of trades.

Gold ownership type #3. ETF, XAU, PAX etc.

Gold ETFs - Exchange Traded Funds are like stocks on the stock market but are designed to track the price of the gold. GLD is one of the known ticker symbols. You can also buy XAU/USD - a spot commodity based on the price of gold and traded against the US dollar. It is very often called GOLD on Forex markets.

You can buy them through your broker, and the transaction fees are pretty low. Also, there are generally no storage fees. This should be an alarm bell for you. If there are no storage fees, it is because there is no metal underlying the stock. If you call your brokers and ask to allocates a part of your portfolio to gold, they will probably put your money in one of these ETF funds as they get commissions on this. They will make no commissions by exercising any other options, and you will have to take that money out of their portfolio and probably never return. Chances are they will present you with a million reasons why that is a terrible financial strategy.

Decide what weight to put to their arguments.

ETF’s are suitable for trading. As no actual metal changes hands, the cost per transaction is extremely low. Knowledge is required to profit from day trading, so if you do not know what you are doing, there are significant risks associated with ETF trading.

Also, if the ETF fund is mismanaged and goes broke, you lose your investment. This is exactly what happened with MF Global. Many people lost hundreds of thousands of dollars simply because their broker broke, pardon me the pun, and with them the fund they invested in.

Also, during stock market crashes, you may not be able to redeem your profits even if you have them. Stock markets get shut down during a collapse. During a big collapse, who knows for how long? By the time you can trade your position, the government may have confiscated it, forced you to sell it to them, outlawed ownership, your funds will be chopped by shart level of inflation etc.

"Digital Gold" era.

The current economic situation and pandemic that keep producing instability make more and more people think about safeguarding their money, keeping investment portfolios from decreasing in value, and hedging against economic downturns and inflation.

A traditional hedge against market volatility and economic instability or financial crashes is investing in physical gold, as mentioned above. In his recent talk with Robert Kiyosaki, Harry Dent also suggests investing in T-Bonds.

These days a lot of people turned to digital currencies. Bitcoin had been labelled "digital gold". Investing in digital gold is a subject entirely beyond the scope of this article. So we will touch on some main points very lightly here.

Many people don't believe in crypto. Some analysts preach that digital gold has no or little intrinsic value, and thus gold is better. Other people make fun of them, showing hyper profits made with crypto during recent years.

Many financial experts remain cautious. Two of the most significant concerns currently faced by digital currencies are volatility and acceptability by governments.

Volatility is what scares a lot of investors when it comes to things like bitcoin. Bitcoin has gone from $3,500 to $60,000 in just a couple of years and then lost 50% of its value in a few days and fell below the 30K mark.

For high-risk traders and speculators, this is a big plus. But, say, for retirement portfolios, volatility is not advised as no one wants to speculate their retirements away.

Gold has been used as a store for wealth for thousands of years and has a proven history as a hedge against inflation. Cryptocurrencies are a recent invention and have no proven history. Both gold and cryptocurrencies are technically competing with fiat currencies and could be banned or made inaccessible by governments.

It is less likely to happen with gold, although history has many cases when different governments outlawed the possession of gold. Numerous governments worldwide, including Denmark, India, Thailand, China and others already strongly advised against bitcoin and altcoins. China even tried to ban bitcoins and crypto for years.

So government intervention is another factor to consider.

With this, let us move to reason #3 you may have asked the question: "What gold is the best!"

3. You want to buy a gold jewelry piece, and you are trying to find out the best thing to give?

Finally, 14.42% of people in the researched group, when asking "What gold is the best", were looking for a piece of good advice on buying a gold gift for someone.

There are a lot of different things that may affect your choice of "the best".

Age, price and religion are just some of them.

And while this can be a day-long discussion, we thought we would offer you three excellent directions to help you to frame your thinking process and decision-making.

1. Buy into well-known brands.

Most probably, it will be impactful and will be appreciated loudly as a gift.

But as much as a lot of women love fine jewelry, most of them don't or can't wear them every day.

High-End Brands is just too fancy to wear to the office or school! But I do want to wear a necklace that I never take off, one that's made for layering and casual as well as dress wear.

I adore the Designer Brands collection, but many of the pendants are just too glam to wear every day. Sometimes I can find something small, something only an inch long, perfect for layering or just wearing alone.

Don't get us wrong - some people will wear High End, Luxury, or Designer jewelry every day, and they adore it and think it is ideal for casual or dressy wear. Especially the type of people that want their jewelry to be noticed.

Designer shapes are often so unique and pretty; it's sure to be noticed! And they are so charming, aren't they?

I absolutely adore this necklace - it's the one I wear every day, and I love layering it with longer silver necklaces or just wearing it alone. The horseshoe is my good luck charm, and the way it hangs, at a jaunty, sassy angle, just speaks to me!

It may also be appealing as a special gift for a special occasion or a gift with a religious inclination:

I gave this exact necklace as a christening gift, and it's perfect! It's tiny and sweet, and though it seems made for a younger girl, it can still be worn by grown-ups, too… on a side note, the pendant also looks great as a charm on a charm bracelet!

So, buying into some well-established brand has its appeal.

2. Go very exotic with the TYPE or STYLE of the gold piece.

It may be pricey and does not fit every personality type, but it is impactful.

One of the best example to experience how exotic is modern exotic gold can be is to go to Art Masters click SHOP BY METAL and see the different exotic colors of gold they have: Red, Cyan, Violet, Black - you would not believe how cyan or violet modern gold can be!

Other companies that created an incredibly interesting exotic color of gold are Le Vian with their Honey Gold and Strawberry Gold and Damiani with their Brown gold.

Check it out.

Daminai

Le Vian

We will speak in great details about different colors and shades of gold in our upcoming article "50 Shades of Gold". Subscribe to our newsletter not to miss it.

3. Go minimalist if you want to see her wearing your gift every day.

Here is a little secret you should know. If you don't know it yet, most women realized that it is not a bad idea to have an elegant pendant necklace or simple pair of white gold studs they can wear to any occasion.

Also, it is not every time you can afford a $300-400 dollar for a jewelry piece. Especially considering all this Covid situation. But you still want to give a lovely gift!

One of the great options is to go bare minimum to give a gift of a classic look.

Minimalist jewelry, also known as "naked jewelry" or "barely there jewelry", has been trending for a few years now. They are affordable and easy to find, especially if you know the right places. The minimalist style is readily available in every type of jewelry: rings, bracelets, necklaces, chokers, cuffs, earrings and body jewelry, all in a simple yet stylish form. The simple and delicate nature of these jewelry pieces allows creating effortless looks that aren't going to take away your lady's natural beauty.

This is the trick and the secret!

Minimalist jewelry enhances natural beauty. They're flirty, delicate and dainty. They add subtle sex appeal while remaining classy. A woman can easily pair minimalist jewelry pieces together to "build" looks; she wants to integrate them into the daily routines and personal style flawlessly. Minimalist jewelry pieces are incredibly versatile and can seamlessly take a woman from a day at work to a night out. And last but not least, minimalist jewelry takes much less thought, low maintenance and still gives a great trendy look simply because they are not overloaded. There isn't a tremendous amount of detail. There isn't a bunch of crystals or sparkles. There aren't any bright or bold colors.

Minimalist jewelry's statement is: "Less is more".

They help to create a simple yet elegant look that allows natural beauty to shine through.

So if you go the minimalist way and choose this type to be your gift idea, you are gifting a Timeless Appeal. You are gifting a clean and classy look that will never go out of style.

How cool is that?!

Secret #2 here. Minimal does not mean less sentimental! Their simplicity can carry a great sentimental value multiplied by the fact that minimal jewelry does fit almost any style. Women tend to wear them all day long for all occasions.

Your women will appreciate how versatile and thoughtful your gift is since it can easily be paired with almost any of her favourite outfits. Try to pair other pieces of jewelry with the same rate of success. Good luck!

Fashion trends come and go, but minimalistic designs are not going anywhere! Take a pair of classic stud earrings or lovely hoops - the ultimate mix of simplicity and style.

The nine examples below are just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, these pieces can be stacked for a more-is-more dressing approach, but their beauty truly lies in their simplicity and quality.

There. Now you have it. An excellent frame we gave you here will help you make a great choice of what gold is best.

Did we miss anything useful?

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