Gold bullions are worth a second look after the stellar performance by gold in 2000-2009 and in the midst of a first quarter 2010 rally. At the end of 2009 gold chalked up a historic $1104 an ounce, followed it up with a two-week rise to top off the first quarter of 2010 with $1126.10.

Gold bullion refers to both gold bullion bars and gold bullion coins. US gold bullions are of 24 karats, with 0.999% gold content. Unlike rare gold coins and gold jewelry, they are without numismatic value. Their value lies in the amount or percentage of gold that they contain.

Gold bullion coins, because of the artistry that went into their design, enjoy a higher premium than the simpler designed gold bullion bars. Gold bullion bars come in many sizes and weights. They are stamped with the manufacturer’s name and information about weight and purity.

Gold bullion coins and gold bullion bars are traded differently. Gold bullion coins need no storage after a change of ownership. Because of their size they can be immediately taken into possession by the new owner without jeopardizing security and secrecy. They can be secretly and safely kept at home without need of sophisticated security storage.

The gold bullion bars, because of their size, are cumbersome for an ordinary investor to keep. During a change of ownership, the new owner gets hold of a mere piece of paper attesting to his ownership of the traded gold bullion bars. The gold bullion bars remain secure in a bank vault or some safe storage. The new owner is charged a storage fee.

Gold bullions are kept short-term, unlike rare gold coins that are held on to by collectors and investors over a longer period of time. Gold bullions are keyed to daily price changes, even hour on the hour price fluctuations.

Have a second look at gold bullions with Certified Gold Exchange, America’s biggest and most trusted, as your tour guide. CGE has been certified by the Better Business Bureau with A+, the highest possible rating. Call us 1-800-300-715 or log in to http://www.gold-bullion.org.

Steve Kickner

The manner in which an investor stores his or her gold bullion is a matter of personal preference, but experienced investors recommend keeping a comfortable portion of bullion within your own physical reach. In a real emergency, cold hard bullion is an invaluable resource, as well as genuine independence from banks and the government. Bullion bars and coins don’t occupy much space, so holders should use a small safe, gun case, or other secure designation for their gold bullion storage.

Some individuals aren’t comfortable with the notion of personally storing their gold bullion bars and coins, and use safety deposit boxes. This type of gold bullion storage is quite common, and depositors have thirty days to retrieve their gold bullion storage in the event of a bank closure. Still, it is wise to have at least a small amount of bullion within arm’s reach, as well as two or three locations designated for liquidating the bullion, if need be. If the investor does need to suddenly liquidate his or her metal, they should be abreast of the current gold price, as bullion prices are slightly higher than the ever-fluctuating spot price.

Investors who use IRAs for their gold bullion storage often have their bullion holdings secured at Wilmington Trust in Delaware, which is used by both Sterling Trust, and Gold Star, who are the two government-approved precious metal IRA custodians.

Prospective buyers can avoid paying mind-bending retail prices for their bullion bars and coins by contacting one of our friendly specialists, who offer institutional discounts on these, and many other items to household investors like you.

Jonathan Monroe

Simply by landing on this blog, it is fair to say that you have heard how well gold bullion has done since 2001. Yes, the 300%+ return over the past nine years, and the 24% performance of the yellow metal in 2009, has been talked about, written about, and blogged about to death by economists, market experts, and pundits for the last decade. Yet, even though the general consensus is that it is good to own some gold, most “experts” have avoided giving advice on what to do with your gold once you buy it. It seems to me like this is rather important, since 60-75% of investors are buying gold bullion in the current cycle for the first time (not including jewelry purchases or gold that came as part of an appliance).

There are two main schools of thought on what to do as far as possession of gold. Some individuals believe that gold bullion storage is the most appropriate way to conduct your investing, while others say that holding the gold bullion yourself is the only way to go. The truth is, both of the opinions CAN be correct, it just depends on what your goals are for your gold bullion investing.

If you are using technical trading to play the gold market, or if you plan on making a very large volume purchase that you plan to sell within a short period of time (due to the fact that you foresee a major jump within a relatively short time frame), then gold bullion storage may be the best option. Shipping can sometimes take days or weeks, it can be cumbersome (and dangerous) to hold all that gold by yourself with no long-term storage plan, and when you do plan to sell you want to complete the transaction immediately; this is impossible is you have to box, insure, and ship your gold to the dealer.

If your plan is to hold onto the gold for a longer period of time, or if you are concerned about needing your gold during a national financial emergency (namely, the collapse of the dollar), then you definitely want to take physical delivery of your metals. The best way to store gold privately is in a home fire-safe or a safety deposit box at your nearby bank. Even if the bank or the FDIC fails, your gold is safe. Stay in touch with Gold-Bullion.org to learn more about the recent slew of bank failures and how this situation could affect gold bullion prices in 2010.

Jonathan Monroe