Whether it is Liberty Gold Coins or any form of rare gold, the prices are about 2% lower than what was predicted last week. The primary reason for this $31 dollar slide is cited as the disappointing opening of the European Summit. While the prices of palladium registered a rise of 6.3% through the course of the week beginning December 10, 2011, the same has not been the case with gold. Many experts are viewing this as a good time to purchase gold.

By Friday, most of the leaders of the Euro Zone had agreed to a brand new deal for containing the debt crisis of the region. This in turn enhanced the buoyancy of the equity markets and exerted pressure on the US dollar, providing support to precious metals. Therefore, by the time the week drew to a close, gold prices had inched up by $3.40 or 0.2% to the $1,716.80 per ounce mark. The range of gold rallied between intraday low and high of $1,704.90 and $1,727.90, respectively. However, despite this marginal increase, trading remained very thin and similar trends are expected to persist till way past the New Year.

According to George Nickas, the markets are still coming to terms with the European developments which have been inconclusive thus far. Therefore, gold investors are likely to defer their decisions till the onset of the New Year. When calculated in dollars, gold registered a weekly loss of $35.50 post an advancement of $65.60 last week. With respect to the anticipations of next week’s prices, the opinions are split. Whereas the Kitco News Survey predicts a downslide, the Bloomberg Survey projects an increase. Adding the weekly losses of the present week, gold further trimmed down its yearly gains for 2011 to 20.8% or $295.40.

Despite the downturn in gold prices, the demand for rare gold coins has been healthy. However, when purchasing these coins, it is advisable to be extremely cautious. Since most of the US mint gold coins of rare variants have become immensely difficult to come across, they are also fairly expensive. It is, therefore, important to make the decision carefully. Investors must choose to buy coins of the highest grade within their price range, so that they can be retained as long term investments.

Some Guidelines for Purchasing Authentic Coins
Some of the guidelines you need to keep in mind to ensure that you purchase originals include:

1. Always look for quality over quantity: The richer the quality, the rarer the coins would be. Lower quality coins are unlikely to be as rare and priceless. Also, high quality coins are more aesthetically pleasing and are favorites among collectors.
2. Always prefer to buy rare coins that are within your affordability parameters. You should refer to the reports generated by PCGS and NGC and purchase rare coins that have a low survival rate.
3. Prefer stoppers and sleepers during purchase. Sleepers are rare coins which are undervalued with respect to their relative rarity. Stoppers would refer to the significant coin issues that complete the coin sets. Therefore, both have their individual and unique values to be aware of.
4. You should look towards engaging professionals for the purpose. If you wish to purchase rare liberty gold coins, you need to seek some form of professional assistance for recommending the right options to you.
5. Rare coins bought should be duly certified by the NGC and the PCGS. They are the most prominent independent grading agencies that enjoy industry-wide acceptance.

These guidelines should be kept in mind when one is purchasing rare coins for the long term, especially Liberty Gold Coins.