Canadian Finance Blog

How Investing in Gold Can Save You From an Economic Crisis

Posted: 21 Oct 2010 02:00 AM PDT

When the economic crisis first slammed the United States, many related it to a country specific problem. However, the crisis quickly spread around the world, finally hitting Canada in 2009. In fact, January and February of 2009 were terrible months for Canadians as more than 240,000 workers found themselves unemployed and Canadian households reported an 8% loss in net worth with a 2% gain in debt.

Like in other countries around the world, Canadians are now wondering what the most secure option for investing can be – with a possible United States Dollar crash looming. How can investing in gold save you from an economic crisis? Gold acts as an emergency currency – transferable to any other currency in the world and recognized as being precious and valuable around the globe.

Economic Security Through Gold

According to National Geographic, only about 161,000 tons of gold have been mined throughout the world. In addition, the estimated yearly yield in mined gold is about 2,471 tons. This makes gold a rare and slow growing resource that is unlikely to change soon. One of the primary reasons for the increasing price of gold stems not only from it’s physical rarity throughout the world, but from it’s perceived value as an investment opportunity in the face of a declining dollar. While currencies are tied to political actions, gold remains stoic when compared to national currency.

Gold is also a tangible investment – you can hold it in your hands and feel the weight. This is not to say that being able to touch your investment is a psychological boost. In fact, a tangible investment gives you more selling power than other investments like stocks or bonds.

Investing in Gold in Canada

One of the easiest ways of investing in gold to save yourself from an economic crisis is to rely on the national bullion gold coin of Canada (and inspiration behind the Canadian Finance Blog logo) – the Canadian Maple Leaf Gold Coin. While these gold coins are also currency, the face value rarely relates to the actual value of the gold. For example, the $1 million Canadian Maple Leaf gold coin minted in 2007 can be spent as official currency in the country of Canada. However, the gold in this 100 kg gold coin is worth far more than $1 million – more than double, in fact. Still, in an economic crisis, it is helpful for the same investment to be backed up in the face of different economic disasters.

The Canadian Maple Leaf Gold Coin is available in a variety of different weights beyond the enormous 100 kg variety. Coins are available in weights as low as 1/20 of an ounce. Other common gold coins include the 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and troy ounce varieties. With exception to the face value and weight markings on the front and back of the coins, the general design of these coins is identical.

Author Bio: Philip Rudy helps run and maintain goldcoin.net – a website that teaches you everything you need to know about gold coins.

How Investing in Gold Can Save You From an Economic Crisis originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on October 21, 2010.