Investing in precious metals has long been considered the privilege of wealthy people who own large sums savings and want to place them in the bank for a long term. Now the trends have changed somewhat. IN last years There is an increased interest on the part of the population in metal bars and investment coins, while not all bank clients belong to the category of VIP persons. On the contrary, coins are often purchased by older people in the hope of using them to create a family capital for their children and grandchildren. Gifts in the form of gold coins have become fashionable: they are presented to leaders, at the birth of a child, to newlyweds, etc. Banks, in turn, try to meet demand and constantly purchase appropriate “thematic” copies. How profitable are investments in precious metals, and what types of coins can be purchased in Russian banks? Let's try to answer these questions.
How can you use precious metal coins?
If you have visited Sberbank branches, then you have probably noticed more than once the brightly illuminated stands with beautiful coins and precious metals in bullion. Looking at all this, many of us had a thought - what are these coins for, what is their practical value and why do people buy them.
We will try to answer these questions, and start with the fact that each coin has its own denomination, expressed in the currency of a certain country. For example, a gold coin “Matsesta” weighing 1 kg, dedicated to the XXII Olympic Winter Games 2014, has a face value of 10 thousand rubles (with a sales price of 2.4 million rubles) and anyone can pay for a purchase in a store with it (at face value) . It is clear that this is not worth doing, since its actual value is many times higher than its nominal value.
The peculiarity of coins made of precious metals is that they can either be bought from a bank (at the sale price) or sold back to the bank, and if you sell immediately after purchase, the price will be significantly lower and you will lose money. However, before approaching the issue of pricing, we will note the main uses of coins and understand their characteristics. So, coins made of precious metals can be used as:
- gifts and souvenirs. As an example, we can cite coins whose release is timed to coincide with the coming Year of the Horse, Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. In addition, there are copies whose design is specially designed to congratulate a family on the birth of a baby, marriage, etc.;
- collectibles. In recent years, in addition to ordinary, homogeneous coins, non-standard coins have become increasingly common on stands: with inserts of different precious metals, holograms, inlaid precious stones or Swarovski crystals;
- objects for investment.
In Russian banks you can purchase coins from both domestic and foreign manufacturers. From the general range, we can distinguish about 30 largest mints located in Niue, the Cook Islands, Australia, Tuvalu, Canada, France, Singapore, Malawi, Spain, Great Britain and other countries. In terms of price-quality ratio, products from Russian mints are especially popular. Next, we will talk about the main characteristics of precious metal coins, and whether it is worth investing in this segment.
Main characteristics of coins made of precious metals
All coins available for purchase in Russian banks can be divided into 2 groups:
- Memorable, or souvenir-gift with high quality proof coinage, perfect smooth surface And complex design reverse, produced in limited quantities. Their price is higher compared to other types.
- Investment coins, minted in the usual “uncirculated” quality. The cost of such a sample is as close as possible to the price of the precious metal it contains. Most often, the circulation of investment coins exceeds tens of thousands; they are produced in several “sizes” (the picture is the same, but the weight of the metal is different). For their production, gold up to 999 purity is usually used.
When purchasing a coin of any type and quality, the buyer is issued a certificate of authenticity and a cash document, which must indicate the type of precious metal, weight, fineness, denomination, as well as the complete set. As a rule, coins are sold in their original packaging, while the net weight, fineness and weight may not be indicated on the product itself, only the issuing country and denomination. All other parameters are at the request of the manufacturer.
So, we come to the most important question about the possibilities of making money by investing in coins made of precious metals. Let's try to figure out how profitable these investments are and what risks are associated with them.
The feasibility of investing in coins – is there any benefit?
As we have already said, banks offer their clients two types of coins - investment and commemorative. Accordingly, based on this classification, we can assume that best result provide investments in investment items. Let's check if this is actually true.
Let the investment metal be gold, so to assess the effectiveness of our investments we will use the discount price of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (depending on world prices for gold), and as of November 27, 2013 it is equal to 1326.53 per gram of metal.
Next, consider an example of purchasing a gold investment coin “Talisman Bear” (mint quality “uncirculated”) weighing 15.55 grams and face value 100 Russian rubles. In Sberbank on November 27, 2013 they will sell it to you for 30,100 rubles or 1,935.69 rubles per gram, which exceeds the discount price of the Central Bank by 45.9%. Moreover, if you suddenly decide to sell the coin, the Sberbank purchase price will be 21,700 rubles or 1,395.5 rubles per gram of gold (5.2% higher than the discount price).
The next step is to evaluate the effectiveness of investing in commemorative coins and to do this, consider the example of purchasing a gold copy belonging to the Sochi - 2014 series, called “Hockey-14” (minting quality “proof”:), with a denomination of 50 rubles. and weighing 7.78 grams. Sberbank's selling price is 17,200 rubles or 2,210.8 rubles per gram of gold (66.66% higher than the discount price), the purchase price is 11,100 rubles or 1,426.74 per gram (7.55% higher than the discount price).
And in conclusion, we present the cost of purchase and sale of the most popular gold investment coin “St. George the Victorious” (mint quality “uncirculated”), with a face value of 50 rubles. and weighing 7.78 grams: Sberbank sale price – 16,170 rubles or 2078.41 rubles per gram of gold (56.68%); purchase price – 10,500 or 1,349.61 rubles per gram (1.72%).
As we can see, investments in coins made of precious metals are unprofitable in the short term and therefore impractical. As for long-term prospects, they directly depend on world prices for precious metals, and we will receive income from investments only after these prices exceed current ones by 50-60%. An exception, perhaps, are commemorative coins that have numismatic (collectible) value, but, unfortunately, this market is very specific and requires certain knowledge in this area, which makes it accessible to a limited circle of specialists. We can only note that the cost of a commemorative coin in the future is influenced by the mintage of the issue - the smaller it is, the more profitable the investment may turn out to be. But, as a rule, valuable coins in the bank are inaccessible to an ordinary client “from the street”, since they do not reach the “counters”.
As for the issue of taxation of these transactions, according to paragraph 11, paragraph 2 of Art. 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation all transactions for the sale of coins made of precious metals, which are legal means of cash payment Russian Federation or another foreign country are exempt from VAT.
As a result, we can conclude that coins made of precious metals are a valuable birthday gift, New Year and other holidays, as well as an investment object for children and grandchildren.
The Golden Coin House not only sells coins, but also buys them. Clients often ask to prove the authenticity of coins. I am taken to a small office with office desk. In front of the master Ruvshan lie a scattering of shining yellow and white diamonds: “235 pieces of 0.01 carats each,” says the master.
Before starting work, he puts on gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints on the gold. There are standards and criteria for the diameter and weight of coins. Therefore, first the coin is checked against them.
“Try to place the coin on its edge: the original always stands firmly,” Ruvshan tries for about ten seconds to place the experimental coin straight, but he fails. “Genuine coins can always be placed on the edge,” he explains. Then we check the coin’s weight on the scales: the standard weight of the “Nicholas” coin is 8.6 grams. The experimental coin weighs 8.54. “Yes, old coins may have a deviation in weight due to abrasions, but not so much - 8.59–8.58 is still acceptable,” says the master.
“If you want, you can come to us with your kitchen scales,” adds Alexey.
Metals that are similar in parameters to gold are often used for counterfeiting. The metal is poured inside and wrapped in gold on top. Such things are tested using a touchstone ( glass with a rough surface that rubs against metals. - Approx. Rusbase). Ruvshan lightly “strikes” the coin on the touchstone, and it leaves a thin mark. Then he takes special acids and drips them from the test tube onto the strip. It does not change in color: “Not gold and gold of the lowest standard immediately give a reaction: they begin to turn black, burn and have a specific smell.”
Large jewelry can be sawed (most often this applies to ingots). But this method is used infrequently, since the gold is seriously deformed. “Fraudsters can fill large ingots with tungsten so that the buyer cannot distinguish a fake by weight. Gold can be counterfeited unnoticed. First, we check the item - and if we notice that the conductivity parameters do not match, we warn the client that we will bite the metal. As a rule, scammers refuse, since this method 100% shows a fake. It happens that clients themselves do not know about the fake. Is it true, last time this happened five years ago,” recalls Alexey.
Another way to check is to use Archimedes' law. The coin (or product) is weighed. A container of water is weighed. Then the product is lowered onto a fishing line or thread into a container of water. The weight is recorded. The dry weight of the product is divided by the weight in water. The value is compared with the metal density table.
“I’m self-taught, I learned everything for two months. Before the “Golden Coin House,” I worked in several gold companies. In the first one I checked 20–30 kg of scrap per month for authenticity. There are no special courses for my skill. But at pawn shops there are courses for those who accept gold,” says Ruvshan. "It takes skill. Sometimes people bring perfect coins. There was a case when four people looked at a coin under a magnifying glass, and the first time without a magnifying glass I noticed a small speck. Probably this is intuition."
Investment coins - is it worth investing in them?
Investments in precious metals are by far the most stable and promising. Along with other options for metal investments, coins play a special role. Collectors and numismatists know exactly what antique collectibles and coins made of precious metals bring stable income to its owner, because they always increase in price.
There really is a reason for this. Over the past decade, financial markets have been rocked by crises. Deposits provide income below the inflation rate, thereby not allowing you to receive income from investments, stock markets They collapse every now and then, which makes the investment risky. Moreover, the cost of coins during this time increased almost fivefold. According to auction participants, the growth trend continues at the same pace, and price increases on average reach 16-20% per year.
Many banks offer services for issuing and selling investment coins. You can buy coins second-hand, but there is a high probability of running into a fake. If buying rare collectible coins requires certain skills and knowledge, then with investment coins everything is much simpler. Their value is equal to the value of the metal from which they are made, while the price of collectible coins consists of its significance and rarity.
What are bullion coins?
These are coins made from high-grade precious metal, mainly gold and silver. Platinum ones are less common. Investment coins are issued by the Central Bank. They are purchased as an investment to preserve and increase assets. They are minted using simplified technology and in large quantities.
If commemorative coins have a certain fragment and are dedicated to some event, then precious coins have a simple design. They indicate the type of metal, weight, denomination, fineness. At the same time, the real price has nothing to do with the face value. So, a coin with a face value of 50 rubles. made of gold will cost about 25-30 tr.
The investment attractiveness of the coin is created by the absence of value added tax. According to statistics, the most popular coins are gold coins. Information on prices is available at the stands of banks selling coins, as well as on the official website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the “Banknotes and Coins” section.
Coins are sold in special capsules to protect them from damage during storage. Since the metal is of a high “soft” standard, mechanical impacts can cause damage, which in the future will reduce the value of the coin due to low quality.
When buying, it is worth remembering that not all banks that sell coins buy them back. The difference between the purchase and sale prices is quite significant, so it is not profitable to sell coins over a short period of time. Like all other gold, coins can only generate income over the long term.
Advantages and disadvantages of investment coins.
To start investing in coins, you need to weigh all the pros and cons of investing. The advantages include:
- Stable growth in price over the long term.
- The price is close to the cost of the precious metal, which is growing in price.
- There is no taxation on purchase.
- If coins are issued in small quantities, their value will be higher due to their value and rarity.
Flaws:
- Requires careful storage. Even minor damage can reduce the coin's condition to satisfactory and reduce its value.
- Responsibility for storage lies with its owner.
- To receive income you need to wait several years.
- When buying secondhand, you can run into a fake.
- Having a rare copy of a coin makes it more difficult to sell it, since you will need to find a real connoisseur who is willing to pay a decent amount for it. The bank will accept even a rare coin only based on the weight of the metal.
- Income can only be obtained in the long term (7-10 years).
Thus, it makes sense to buy investment coins for the preservation and conservation of capital. Providing for her proper storage, you can make good money in a few years. If you choose between gold bars and coins, the latter will be more interesting for an investor in terms of the absence of VAT on purchase.
Which metal to choose?
Standard coins are issued in silver and gold. If you choose for investment purposes, then gold will be more profitable. They are more expensive, the price of gold has less volatility than that of silver.
It is better to choose silver when buying commemorative or collectible coins, 80% of the cost of which does not depend on the metal. The value of silver is lower than gold, so it will take many coins to create capital in coins, making them difficult to store. Gold coins are steadily increasing in price and will always be in demand, since gold is a rare and non-renewable metal.
Coin price.
Several factors influence the value of a coin:
- Coin quality. If the owner of the coin saved it in good quality, then it will be recognized as in excellent condition and purchased at a good price. If there is damage on the coin, the condition will be considered satisfactory and the price will be clearly reduced.
- Coin circulation. This is almost a fundamental factor in pricing. A large circulation means the prevalence of the coin and its low demand, i.e. the price will depend only on the weight of the metal. If the precious coin is also rare, then numismatists will want to get it into their collection and are ready to shell out a large amount.
- Metal. The price of a coin will depend on what metal it is made of. Gold bullion coins are made from 999 fine gold, so the price will be tied to the exchange rate of the metal. The advantage for investors here is that the coin will not cost less than the metal.
- Rarity. A coin made of gold, but issued in a rare edition, will cost many times more than its common counterpart.
- Time. The longer a coin remains with its owner, the more expensive it will be. The price of the metal generally rises over a period of 5 to 10 years, although there may be falls over short periods of time.
Price for some coins:
Where to buy coins?
The simplest and in a safe way is a purchase through a bank. Here coins are sold instead with certificates and an agreement in special packaging. It is not recommended to buy coins by hand, through private advertisements. Even if appearance The coin does not differ from the original, this does not guarantee its authenticity. Now there are methods of precision casting, which allows you to copy a coin exactly.
Gold has long attracted investors as one of possible ways placement and preservation of your capital. But investment gold coins are a less common area of investment.
Let's try to understand the features of such capital placement. Let us highlight the main pros and cons encountered in the question: “Investment coins made of gold.”
Let's start with the basic concept. What is a bullion gold coin? This is a coin issued by the central bank of a country, made of gold and having certain characteristics. The main purpose of the issue is the hoarding of household savings with a pronounced investment character.
Any capital owner who has decided to invest in gold coins must know the basic characteristics of the object in which he is investing.
Characteristics
The main characteristics of coins do not have to be indicated on the coin itself:
- metal, from which it is made;
- weight, usually measured in troy ounces, but can also be expressed in grams;
Advice! One troy ounce = 31.1034807 grams.
- try;
- quality certificate.
Mandatory parameters that must be reflected on the coin:
- denomination;
- name of the issuer;
- year of issue.
It should also be noted that there are investment gold and commemorative investment coins. The main differences between commemorative and investment ones are: higher quality of coinage (“proof”) and, as a rule, a smaller circulation.
Commemorative coins are collectible in nature and are more positioned as gifts or souvenirs. But this does not mean that they cannot be a profitable investment. Moreover, the smaller the circulation, the greater the likelihood that such a coin will rise in price in the future.
Investing in Popular Coins
The second point that an investor needs to pay attention to before investing in gold investment coins is to study the main supply market. For those new to this area of investing, you should pay attention to the coins that are most popular on the market. This will reduce the risks associated with an “incorrectly selected” coin.
Let's look at the most popular Russian and foreign gold investment coins:
- George the Victorious.
Issuer: Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Denominations: 50 and 100 rubles, Weight: 7.78 g and 15.72 g, respectively. Since they are light in weight and correspondingly low in price, they can become best choice for novice investors.
- Australian kangaroo.
Issuer: Perth Mint. Denominations: 5, 15, 25, 50,100, 200, 1 thousand and 3 thousand Australian dollars. Weight: from 1.5 to 1000 grams. This coin is valued not only among investors, but also among collectors.
- Buffalo and Golden Eagle– the most popular American bullion gold coins. Buffalo is available in weight: 1 liter. ounce and denomination of 50 dollars. It is distinguished by high quality – “proof”. The Gold Eagle coin weighs from 3.93 to 31.11 grams and comes in denominations of $5, $10, $25 and $50. The gold purity is lower in comparison with Buffalo, but is more “ancient” - the first release occurred in 1986.
Features of buying and selling
Once the choice is made, you need to move on to the issue of acquisition. How is gold investment coins purchased and what should an investor pay attention to?
There are quite a lot of places where you can buy gold: banks, various financial institutions, specializing in the sale of gold and coins, communities of numismatists and collectors. But we must not forget about the safety of such a purchase. That's why the best option purchases, especially for a novice investor, are Russian banks. This will allow you to avoid counterfeiting and buy high quality coins.
Advice! Choose a bank that occupies a TOP position in Russian and international ratings.
Just as important as buying investment gold coins is selling coins.
You can sell coins:
- in the bank, according to the quotes established by the bank on the day of sale;
- in a pawnshop;
- collectors or numismatists.
Before selling investment gold coins, you should consider:
- Not all bank branches where you can purchase coins can return (sell) them. Usually a list of such branches can be found on the bank’s website;
- the selling price of a coin in a pawnshop will be significantly lower than in a bank;
- the value of a coin may be significantly reduced or not accepted at all if it contains: fingerprints, scratches, nicks, stains
- banks buy coins from individuals when providing identification documents;
- When selling, you will need to pay tax, but only if less than 3 years have passed since the purchase of the coin.
Comparison of gold bars and coins as investment objects
To summarize, we will try to answer the question: “: into investment coins or gold bars?”
To do this, compare them and highlight the main points:
- On average, the weight of a coin is no more than 31.10 g (1 troy ounce), and a bar can weigh up to 1 kg. Therefore, investing in gold bullion coins is more suitable for wealthy investors;
- coins are more liquid, since they are not just an investment object, but also a collectible object;
- the purchase price of an investment coin will be higher than an ingot of the same gold purity and similar weight. This is due to the high cost design work and more complex work during manufacture.
Taking into account comparative characteristics, each investor must choose which investment object suits him best. The most important thing to remember is that such investments are long-term and you cannot count on instant profits.
During the period of unstable situation in financial markets and in national economies Most countries caused a reorientation of investors from investments in foreign currency towards reliable investments. These are investments in gold, which has increased in price by 28-29% since the beginning of this year.
In this case, investments are made mainly in investment coins, and not in bars. It makes sense to figure out what is the reason for such popularity, and what kind of metal money you should invest your savings in.
Investment coins are at the peak of demand - why are they more profitable than bullion?
Investment coins are banknotes that are made from precious metals highest quality and are used exclusively for saving and increasing funds.
The preference of Russian numismatists, who are inclined to purchase spools and silver coins, is quite justified:
- Firstly, when purchasing bars in Russia, VAT (18%) is charged; such tax requirements do not apply to coins;
- Secondly, the bullion can be purchased from a commercial bank and stored in the account of the same financial institution. VAT is not charged in this situation, but the option itself looks unreliable, especially during a crisis.
A similar situation is developing in many other countries. As a result, there is a significant demand for investment coins in the financial market, which has forced the governments of some countries to even start minting additional issues.
What coins should you buy today?
Many investors who decide to invest their savings in investment-grade banknotes for the first time are wondering: what is more profitable - silver or gold? The yellow metal is a win-win option. As for silver, it has significant disadvantages:
- Its growth is unstable and comparatively less than that of gold;
- Investments will bring tangible profits only if large quantities of metal money are purchased;
- Such coins easily oxidize in air and darken, which reduces their value. You must purchase gold coins in special plastic containers and, if possible, do not touch them. with bare hands(there are special jewelry gloves for this).
It makes sense to consider the most profitable and reliable options for gold investment coins, which are now preferred by experienced investors.
- Australian Kangaroo coin. Issued at the beginning of 2016, it has already increased in price in rubles from 89,000 to 92,000 per copy.
- Austrian Philharmoniker. This original coin features the image of the Vienna Philharmonic, which is where it gets its name. It has previously been minted in denominations of 10, 25 and 50 euros. However, it was the 100 euro note issued in 2016 that became especially popular due to the intensive growth of its value (from 90,000 to 92,500 rubles);
- The South African Krugerand, depicting the profile of the South African President advocating the fight against British colonization, was minted in 2013. If at the beginning of this year its price was 88,000 rubles, then at the moment it has already exceeded 93,000 rubles.
- American Bison or Buffalo has been issued in 300,000 units every year since 2006. However, interest in it from investors does not dry up. As a result, since the beginning of 2016, its price has changed from 88,500 rubles to 92,000 rubles.
- Canadian Grizzly, a new coin issued at the beginning of the year, has managed to increase in price by 1000-1500 rubles.
- The Chinese Panda circulates on the market in three versions - 2008, 2011 and 2015 editions. All of them also showed an increase in price by 5-7% since the beginning of this year.
All gold coins discussed above have the same weight, equal to one troy ounce, which ensures ease of use. In addition, they trade on the markets of developed countries and therefore have a high degree of liquidity, which is also important for an investor.
