While the Indian government buys its gold in the hundred of tons, a growing number of people around the world are buying by the ounce.
For years I've been saying on TV and elsewhere that one-ounce coins like the American Eagle and the Canadian Maple Leaf make excellent gifts that the recipients will always remember and treasure. The same goes for 24-karat gold jewelry.
The U.S. Mint seems to be thinking the same thing – it plans to restart the sale of half-ounce, quarter-ounce and one-tenth-ounce gold coins on December 3, just in time for Christmas gift-giving. Last year, the Mint ran out.
Coin sales have been impressive this year – the Mint has sold more than 1.1 million of the one-ounce American Eagles and 140,000 American Buffalo coins, also one ounce.
In Britain, the Royal Mint quadrupled its gold-coin output in the third quarter of 2009 to meet demand.
The World Gold Council says gold demand overall was up 10 percent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the second quarter. The council says jewelry demand was up 17 percent to 473 metric tons, and that 81 tons worth of gold bars were purchased, up 30 percent from the previous quarter.
Even at the current record prices, gold in the form of coins and jewelry may prove to be gifts of good value.
If someone offered to sell you a one-ounce gold coin for $50, would you buy it? It may seem like a silly question, but apparently not everyone would make that deal. Watch this humorous video to see.
