The United States Mint sold around 65,500 ounces of American Eagle Physical Gold coins in December 2011, revealing the increased demand for these coins in the market. Data from the US Mint’s site reveals that there was an overall increase of 60% in the sale of gold coins from 41,000 ounces in November 2011. The American Eagle Gold Coins recorded sales of 1 million ounces in 2011 as compared to 1.2 million ounces in 2010.

Gold futures for delivery in February saw a surge of 1.7% reaching $1,566.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. This ended a six-session slump, the longest since March 2009. There was a 10% decline narrowing the gain for gold in December 2011 to 10% but in the end making it the 11th straight year of an uptrend.

There are many types of physical gold commodities on which you can invest your money. There are a number of options for those who are planning to purchase physical gold.

3 Options for Buying Physical Gold

1. Gold Sovereigns: A coin and bullion dealer, Lawrence Chard feels that sovereigns are the best buy because they have a low premium, are smaller in size and have high aesthetic and historic value. They are also better recognized by individuals who may not be experts. These coins are exempt from taxes in most countries.

2. Krugerrands: These are one of the most famous modern day one ounce bullion coins and are readily available in huge quantities. One can generally buy them at a price that is lower than that of the other one-ounce bullion coins. Although Krugerrands may be beautiful in a different way than sovereigns and do not have as deep a historical value, they are known for their good quality production and are an extremely cost effective means for investors with lower budgets, but a keen interest in investing in physical gold. It is also easy to determine the value and compare the prices of Krugerrands as they contain fine gold of exactly one ounce.

3. Gold Bars: It is often felt that investing in gold bars is the cheapest and best way to invest in physical gold. However, experts now point out that investing in them has some drawbacks. The price of a one ounce gold bar is the same as that of a one ounce Krugerrand. However, if one buys two Krugerands, the quantity price breaks make them a cheaper and better buy. On the other hand, larger gold bars such as the 1 kilogram ones are known to sell at a lower percentage premium as compared to Kruggerands. Only a specialized gold dealer will give you a good price for gold bars. This restricts buyers for gold bars in the market and most of the dealers are known to pay lower for gold bars than for buying gold coins.

Thus, after knowing the available options for buying physical gold, it can be interpreted that Kruggerrands are worthy of exploration if one wants to make an investment in physical gold. However, what makes the decision for buyers is their preference, need and financial considerations for making the purchase. If you collect gold items as a piece of history, then sovereigns may be a better purchase for you in owning physical gold.