As for how long one should hold onto the commodity, Beahm suggests the "long term" or at least, more than one year. To sell a gold coin, investors can choose to work with a variety of retailers like Kitco (kitco.com), Blanchard (blanchardgold.com) and USAGOLD (usagold.com).
Experts don't usually recommend selling back your entire gold investments unless you really have to -- sort of like life insurance. It may be wiser to rebalance your gold exposure, by selling a bit here and there when the market goes awry.
Constable on Gold
My colleague here at TheStreet.com, Simon Constable, is our resident gold expert. He, too, is bullish on my investment.
Gold Could Hit $1,300 (Video)
Simon Constable explains that favorable chart formations combined with an increasingly unappealing stock market could take gold prices back to record highs and beyond.
To watch the video, click the player:
According to Simon, "Buying gold bullion coins is like buying financial insurance for your portfolio. It's a hedge against catastrophic events occurring." What if conditions suddenly improve? "If nothing bad happens, then the gold will be a bad investment, but everything else will be superb," he says. "But if something bad happens, like a depression or financial catastrophe, then the gold should greatly appreciate in value."
I can live with that.
What Do You Think?
Had I stated I was interested in purchasing gold a few years ago, I would have expected quite a few brush-offs. Only weird folks like gold, right? It's so Byzantine!
But now gold, as an investment vehicle, has become more socially acceptable. What do you think? Am I still to be considered "weird" for buying into the new gold rush?
