Krugerrand or Canadian Gold Maple?

Question

Hiya. I'm investing a little money in gold. And I want to know what you guys think is the better coin to invest in. The krugerrand being 22 carrat and maple being 24 carrat. It seems that the maple is the better buy, but it is more easily scratched etc. But then extracting gold from a maple is a simple process of melting it down, whereas in a krugerrand the copper needs to be extracted first. So which is trhe better buy and why?

Answer 1

I believe the Kruger is marketable worldwide. I don't know about the Maple. I cannot see that it makes a great difference. Presumably you just want to invest in the gold rather than a coin (would be sovereigns then), so make sure you are not paying too much premium for the coin.

Answer 2

It is extremely doubtful that anyone is going to want to melt the coins except possibly for industrial use, which currently is a very remote possibility.  So the question is one more of marketability and relative value.  For some odd reason that I am not cognizant of Canadian gold sells at a slight premium over spot whereas the Krugerrands sell at a slight discount to spot.  The difference is about $4.00 a coin more or less. This difference has been prevelent for many years.  It is possibly due to the design of the coins themselves.  The Mexican 50 peso gold coin sells at even a steeper discount to spot, about $15 per coin.  I guess that is due to its odd weight.   I guess if it were I I would opt for the maple leaf due to the perceived greater marketability for which you are paying a very slight premium.

Answer 3

I just think gold is over-valued here. A few years ago it could have been purchased for under $400 an ounce. Why buy it now for nearly $1,000 an ounce? The best time to buy a commodity is when nobody else wants it. Not when  everybody is rushing to it. Which means today may be a good time to buy a home.

Answer 4

honestly I would put a little money in both. Putting everything, regardless of how little, is just asking for trouble

Answer 5

Krugerrand is the better choice for this reason.....First off, each coin has the exact same amount of gold in it...1 troy ounce. Krugerrands have copper added in for hardness but the amount of gold is the same.

"The Problem with Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coins

The primary problem is that Gold Maple Leaf coins have sharp reeded (milled) edges and a clear "field" alongside Queen Elizabeth's image. When Gold Maple Leaf coins are taken out of their tubes (1-oz Gold Maple Leafs come ten coins to a tube.), it is extremely difficult to get them back in their tubes without scratching.



It is not realistic to suggest that people investing in Gold Maple Leaf coins never remove the coins for inspection, for then investors would be "buying a pig in a poke." When gold coin investors lay out thousands of dollars, they want to inspect their gold-and rightfully so.



Compounding the problem is that some gold coin investors do not realize that scratching Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins lowers their values. Consequently, some Gold Maple Leaf coins get really beat up. Not only are Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins easily scratched, if they are dropped on a hard surface a rim "ding" is guaranteed. Gold Maple Leaf coins are falling into disfavor with dealers for another reason.



In 1983, the Royal Canadian Mint switched to .9999 fine gold for Gold Maple Leaf coins. This may sound like a better deal for Gold Maple Leaf coin buyers, but the change was so insignificant that the Royal Canadian Mint did not even increase prices for Gold Maple Leaf coins.



There is almost an immeasurable difference between .999 fine gold and .9999 fine gold, but you cannot tell that to gold coin investors who want pure gold coins. The .999 fine Gold Maple Leaf coins sell at lower markups than .9999 fine Gold Maple Leaf coins.



Because of the ease with which Gold Maple Leaf coins are damaged, each Gold Maple Leaf coin sold back into the market has to be inspected not for only for damage but also date, to distinguish between .999 fine coins and .9999 fine coins. Then the dealer doing the inspection has to decide what to do with the coin, ship it to another buyer (who may complain about the scratches) or send it to a refinery.



Even when Gold Maple Leaf coins come back in perfect condition, they have to be inspected. This creates a lot of unnecessary work in an industry that works on a razor-thin margin. Consequently, some dealers are now bidding back of spot for 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf coins, knowing that any 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf coins that come in may end up being sent to a refinery. "



As a core gold holding I would say either get the American Gold Eagles or the South African Krugerrand. Either one is fine. The American Gold Eagles are slightly more expensive but I would start with that as a core holding and add to it in small amounts with South African Krugerrands.



As for where to buy I would use Monex as a primary source. Monex has the Silver Canada Maple Leafs in lots of 100 coins. And they have the lowest primiums on gold American Eagles and South African Krugerrands in lots of 10 coins per order. If you want to add to the gold holding after that then Kitco is the best place to buy single South African Krugerrands.



Ill start with the Kitco Website for your reference https://online.kitco.com/bullion/index.h... use this site to buy Single Gold South African Krugerrands up to 8 coins for the best deal. This site should be used only after you have a core gold holding. Otherwise use the Monex site.

Answer 6

Canadian Gold Maple looks attractive also and you dont keep such things where it can get scrached. I have them and never got this problem.Best wishes