Investing in Gold

For centuries, buying gold has been recognized as one of the best ways to preserve one's wealth and purchasing power. Gold is a unique investment, one that has served mankind well for thousands of years. From the times of ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to more modern times, man has been fascinated with the beauty and magic of gold, and with its power to change men's lives.

Gold bullion is real, honest money...and, many say, the best form of money the world has ever known. It is a store of value and a safe haven in times of crisis. Gold is rare, durable and does not wear out in the manner of lesser metals (or paper!) when passed from hand to hand. A small amount, easily carried, can purchase a significant amount of goods and services. It is universally accepted, and can be easily bought and sold around the world.

Today, the beauty of a gold bar lies in its ability to diversify investments, protect wealth and preserve one's purchasing power.

Gold bullion is available from Monex in three convenient forms:

The 10-ounce gold bullion bar of at least .995 fine purity is the standard industry unit. It is traditionally used for trading and storage, and can also be taken for personal delivery. Each gold bar is hallmarked by a leading refiner to certify weight and purity.


Also available from Monex is the 32.15 troy ounce gold “kilobar”...a one kilogram bar of fine gold bullion of at least .999 purity. Manufacturers of these bars certify the weight and purity of the bullion content by imprinting their stamp or hallmark on each bar.

And finally, for those who want the finest investment-grade gold bullion bars available, we proudly offer the exclusive Monex-certified 10-ounce gold bullion ingot...composed of pure .9999 (or "four-nines") fine gold bullion—among the purest gold bullion bars available to investors today. Each bar is certified, with its weight and purity guaranteed by Monex, and each bar is further hallmarked by Heraeus, one of the world's leading refiners, and the 800 year-old Austrian Mint, one of the world's leading minting institutions.

Gold bullion bars are real, tangible assets, and throughout history, have been an ideal store of value and an excellent hedge against inflation, deflation and political uncertainty. They are extremely liquid investments, easily stored and transported, and can be a uniquely private way to preserve one's wealth.

Call a Monex Account Representative today to discuss how a gold bullion investment could and possibly should become part of your investment portfolio.

Monex Account Representatives are normally available between 5:30am and 5:30pm Pacific time each Monday through Friday (except national holidays)...and on many weekends.

Give us a call...give our service a try...and compare our prices. You'll see why Monex has been America's trusted name in coin and bullion trading...for over 40 years.

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How to Clean Gold Jewelry

1. Mix a squeeze of mild dish detergent with warm water in a bowl.
   
2. Put the gold item into the soap mixture and let sit for a few minutes.
   
3. Use a soft toothbrush to gently scrub the jewelry.
   
4. Remove item from soapy water, rinse it and dry thoroughly with a soft polishing cloth.
   

Tips & Warnings

• It is wise to check clasps, mountings, prongs and posts for damage before washing the jewelry. If you find a problem, take the item to a jeweler for repair.
• Always be sure gold jewelry is completely dry before storing it.
• Never use a harsh or abrasive cleaner, a stiff brush or a scouring pad on gold.

Facts about Gold

Gold, like no other metal, has a fascinating history and a special place in the world.  For thousands of years it has been used as an ornament of kings, a currency and standard for global currencies, and more recently, in a wide range of electronic devices and medical applications. 

Gold's many unique properties have secured it a central role in history and human development. Gold is a remarkable, rare metal, with an unparalleled combination of chemical and physical properties. It is the only yellow metal and bears its name from the Old English word for yellow, 'geolu'. It is also the only metal that forms no oxide film on it's surface in air at normal temperatures, meaning that it will never rust or tarnish.

Gold's chemical symbol, Au, comes from the Latin word for gold, arum. In the Periodic Table of Elements, gold is classified as a transitional metal with the following characteristics:

• Symbol: Au
• Atomic number: 79
• Atomic mass: 196.96655 amu
• Number of protons/electrons: 79
• Number of neutrons: 118
• Melting point: 1,064.43°C (1,337.58°K, 1,947.97°F)
• Boiling point: 2,807.0°C (3,80.15°K, 5,084.6°F)
• Density @ 293°K: 19.32 grams per cubic centimeter
• Crystal structure: cubic
• oxidation states: +1, +3
   
  Like other transition metals gold's valence electrons, or the electrons it uses to combine with other elements, are present in more than one shell. Unusually for a metal, gold can also form compounds (aurides) in which its oxidation number is negative (-1). For example, gold can combine with cesium to form cesium auride, CsAu, and rubidium to form rubidium auride, RbAu. These are ionic compounds with non-metallic properties in which the Cs or Rb ions are charged +1 while the Au atoms are charged 1-.
  Gold may be alloyed with various other metals to give it special properties. In its pure form, gold has a metallic luster and is sun yellow, but when mixed or alloyed with other metals, such as silver (Ag), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), tellurium (Te), and iron (Fe), creates various color hues ranging from silver-white to green and orange-red. Usually, red, yellow and green golds are made by adding varying amounts of copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) to produce alloys of 10 to 14 carats. White golds have traditionally been made by alloying nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) with gold, but more recently silver (Ag) and palladium (Pd) have replaced the zinc. These color variation treatments to gold are mostly used in jewelry.
  
  
  
  Gold is found in nature in quartz veins and secondary alluvial deposits as a free metal or in a combined state. It is widely distributed although it is rare, being 75th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth. It is almost always associated with varying amounts of silver; the naturally occurring gold-silver alloy is called electrum. Gold occurs, in chemical combination with tellurium, in the minerals calaverite and sylvanite along with silver, and in the mineral nagyagite along with lead, antimony, and sulfur. It occurs with mercury as gold amalgam. It is generally present to a small extent in iron pyrites; galena, the lead sulfide ore that usually contains silver, sometimes also contains appreciable amounts of gold. Gold also occurs in seawater to the extent of 5 to 250 parts by weight to 100 million parts of water. Although the quantity of gold present in seawater is more than 9 billion metric tons, the cost of recovering the gold would be far greater than the value of the gold that could thus be recovered.

How to sell your old gold jewelry

If you're planning to sell jewelry to take advantage of the high price of gold, you might be better off selling unwanted pieces as jewelry, rather than for the melting pot.
If you sell gold jewelry for its scrap value, you'll lose much of its retail value, perhaps 75% or more. The scrap price is based on the value of the metal alone and doesn't reflect the craftsmanship or any aesthetic or antique value, let alone emotional attachment you or family members may have to the piece.
"When reality kicks in, it's not such a great idea," said Donald Palmieri, a master gemologist appraiser and the president of Gem Certification & Appraisal Lab in New York City.
Some pieces indeed have little or no resale value, like old class rings (minus the gemstone) and used garden-variety wedding bands, and would make good candidates for the scrapheap if you need extra cash. Also consider scrapping a gold earring if you've lost its mate.

What's it worth?

If you wonder what your gold jewelry is really worth, have it appraised. You can find credentialed appraisers at the Web sites of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers and the American Society of Appraisers.Short of a full-blown appraisal, you can hire an appraiser for a consultation. The fee, depending on your location, ranges from about $50 to $200 an hour.

How can you find out how much your unwanted wedding band or damaged gold bangle bracelet is worth as scrap? Here's a brief tutorial about gold prices:

• The price of gold based on a troy ounce of 24-karat, or pure, gold. A troy ounce contains 31.1 grams, or 20 pennyweights. (You can find the current price for gold at Kitco or Goldprice.org.)

• Gold less than 24K is discounted proportionately: 18K is 75% pure gold, 14K is 58.3%, and 10K is 41.7% gold. Gold jewelry of 10K or more will have a karat stamp.

What's that wedding band from your despised ex-spouse worth? Ask a jeweler to weigh it and give you a quote based on the spot price for gold. The price will be further discounted by the fees to assay and refine it -- normally 10% to 20% -- and any profit the buyer hopes to make.
In the week after gold hit a historic high of $1,035 an ounce and then dropped below the $1,000 milestone, a 14K wedding band was selling for about $75.

Jewelry Hallmark Guide

If you own a piece of precious metal jewelry, you have likely noticed a small stamp on a hidden part of the ring, necklace, bracelet or earring. These stamps are known as a jewelry hallmark, and appear on almost all precious metal jewelry. Jewelry hallmarking can give you clues as to the jewelry’s country of origin, metal content, purity, and the name – or initials – of the maker.

European Hallmarks
Hallmarking has a long and illustrious history that began in Europe during the 14th century. English and French jewelers in particular hallmarked their jewelry with elaborate designs and animal symbols to denote the origin of the jewelry, the metal, the purity, and the maker. Though intricate and lovely, the European hallmarks can be tough to decipher and are easily misinterpreted by a novice. Luckily for Americans, the U.S. jewelry hallmarking system is much easier to read.

American Hallmarks
Though many countries require jewelers to hallmark their precious metal jewelry, the United States interestingly does not. Yet despite the absence of a law mandating hallmarking, most U.S. fine jewelry does indeed come stamped to assure the purchaser of the quality of the metal. Since the purity of the metal is a major indicator of the jewelry’s value, many jewelry buyers feel more comfortable purchasing a piece that is hallmarked. However, it is important to note that a hallmark can also give a buyer a false sense of security since it is not tightly regulated in the U.S. Unscrupulous jewelers or street vendors can create their own hallmark to pass off poor quality jewelry as quality pieces. The most important factor is always to buy from a reputable jeweler.
Here is a quick rundown of the most common jewelry hallmarks that indicate the metal and purity:

U.S. Platinum Jewelry Hallmarks
Plat - A platinum ring marked with Plat or 950 Plat is considered nearly pure platinum (95% platinum) and is therefore quite expensive. 950 is the highest grade of platinum available for jewelry.
IridPlat - Platinum rings with this hallmark are 90% pure platinum with 10% other metals mixed in. These rings, also often marked with .90 Plat, cost less than their purer platinum counterpart above.

U.S. Gold Jewelry Hallmarks
10k - 10 karat gold is the lowest karat gold, and is composed of 10 parts gold to 14 parts other metals. 10 karat gold costs much less than higher gold purities.

14k - 14 karat gold is one of the most popular gold purities for gold jewelry. 14 karat gold is composed of 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metals.

18k - 18 karat gold is very high quality gold, and is composed of 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metals.

24k - 24 karat gold is pure gold, and is the most expensive and most malleable gold composition. The addition of other metals to gold makes it stronger and more durable, since 24 karat gold is quite soft and is easily dented, dinged and bent.

U.S. Silver Jewelry Hallmarks

 900 - The 900 stamp on silver denotes that the metal is 9 parts pure silver and one part alloy metal. This stamp was used mainly on silver coins and is not commonly used on jewelry in modern times.

925 - 925 is the hallmark stamp for sterling silver. This is the most common hallmark seen on silver jewelry, and means that the jewelry is composed of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals. Sterling silver is the highest quality silver used in jewelry, since pure silver is much too malleable to be worn on a daily basis.

How to Buy Gold Jewelry

Gold jewelry never goes out of style, and for good reason, because gold is as wearer-friendly as it is beautiful. Pure gold doesn't react with other elements to create tarnish, the residue that accumulates on some metals before transferring to your skin as a stain. Sometimes people have allergy or staining problems with metals that are combined with gold, but the gold itself is rarely a problem.

Gold can be worked into nearly any shape, including tiny strands that do not break easily. One ounce of gold can even be hammered into an ultra thin sheet that's ten feet square. Gold can be manipulated nearly any way the artisan desires.

How Pure Is Your Gold Jewelry?

Chances are the ring on your finger is marked 18K, 14K, or 10K, with the K standing for karat, the system used to describe the percentage of pure gold an item contains. The higher the karat number, the higher the percentage of gold in your gold jewelry.

• 24K gold is pure gold.
• 18K gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 75% gold.
• 14K gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 58.3% gold.
• 12K gold contains 12 parts gold and 12 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 50% gold.
• 10K gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 41.7% gold. 10K gold is the minimum karat that can be called "gold" in the United States.

European Markings

European gold jewelry is marked with numbers that indicate their percentage of gold, such as:

• 18K gold is marked 750 to indicate 75% gold
• 14K gold is marked 585 for 58.5%
• 10K gold is marked 417 for 41.7%

Other Markings on Gold Jewelry

The karat marking on your gold jewelry should be accompanied by a hallmark or trademark that identifies its maker. The item's country of origin might also be included.

Why Are Other Metals Mixed With Gold?

You'll find examples of pure gold jewelry, but pure gold is soft and isn't practical for daily wear. Other metals are mixed with it to make it more durable (and to lower its cost).

Adding other metals to the mix also allows metallurgists to change the color of gold. Palladium or nickel can be added to create white gold. Adding copper produces a rose or pink tint, while silver gives gold a greenish cast.
When metals are added to the gold the result is an alloy, a blended mixture of the metals that you can think of as a very expensive cake batter. Solid gold is a term that can be used to describe an item that's at least 10K (in the US) gold all the way through. Even though it's a gold alloy--18K, 14K, or anything down to 10K--it can be called solid gold.

When Gold Is Used as a Coating

There are many ways to mechanically apply a coating of gold onto a much less expensive metal, reducing the item's cost. The thicker the layer of gold, the less likely it is to wear away easily and expose the metal underneath.
Gold Filled Jewelry
Newer gold filled items have markings that indicate how much and what type of gold was used for the layer. A marking that says 1/20 12K G.F. means that the jewelry is at least 1/20th 12K gold by weight.
Gold Plated Jewelry
The gold layer in gold plated jewelry is typically thinner than the gold in gold filled jewelry, so it usually wears away more quickly. Plating is done in different ways.
You might see terms such as gold washed used to describe a very thin layer of gold--one that won't be very durable.

So What Should You Buy?

Solid gold is durable, so it is a better choice for jewelry you'll wear regularly. If you have allergies to nickel or other metals, choose items that have high gold content, such as 18K or 22K gold jewelry.
Gold filled or plated jewelry is suitable for jewelry that you wear occasionally. Everyday use would eventually diminish the gold layer, exposing the metal below, which might stain your skin or cause an allergic reaction.
For pieces that will last a lifetime and beyond, buy the highest quality gold your budget allows.

How to Spot a Fake Gold Chain

Instructions

How to Spot a Fake Gold Chain

1. Use a magnifying glass to analyze the clasp of the gold chain. Look to any stamps or markings that identify what gold, if any, is in the chain. If the chain is marked with GP (gold plated), GF (gold filled) or GL (gold layered), then the chain is not solid gold. Markings that identify the caratage, such as 14k or 24k, are preferred, even though a sophisticated counterfeiter may also fake these marks. Some countries stamp the purity based on the parts per 10,000. For example, 9,999 means that 9,999 particles out of every 10,000 are gold.
   
   
2. Hold the gold chain close to a magnet to see if there is any attraction. Real gold is not affected by a magnetic field. If the chain is attracted to the magnet it is made of some other metal, such as gold plated steel, but is not made of gold.
   
   
3. Rub a jewelry cleaning cloth firmly over a specific section of the gold chain. Use the cloth as if you are trying to clean an old piece of jewelry. If the chain has been gold plated, this will usually enough to rub away the plating so that it looks noticeably different than the rest of the chain.
   
   
4. Dip the gold chain into a cleaner solution that is formulated for sterling silver. After soaking the chain in the cleaning solution, allow it to sit for 24 hours. If the chain is fake gold or gold plated, it will be heavily oxidized and tarnished after 24 hours. This does not happen to real gold. Unfortunately, the gold chain needs to essentially be in your possession for this test, which means it may be too late to spare you from purchasing the item.
   

Tips & Warnings

• Any jeweler can perform what is known as an acid scratch test on the chain. This test only takes a minute to complete. It will not only verify that the gold is real, but will certify how pure the gold is.