Thursday, February 23, 2012

Gold Fraud - The Underbelly of the Gold Market

With the precious metal gold at all time highs, more unscrupulous people have been attracted to the gold market. Unfortunately for consumers, this means they can be swindled or taken in by people or companies that appear legitimate. Recently, a gold fraud case for a well-known gold dealer named Goldline, was dropped in lieu of a settlement. Goldline was popular and had several endorsements from media personalities, one of those being Glenn Beck. Instead of facing the 19 counts of criminal charges, Goldline agreed to pay customers who purchased gold coins from them over 5 million dollars in compensation.

Goldline was not just practicing bad business practices, but were instructing sales people to partake in a form of fraud. After several complaints, they were investigated which led to the charges that were brought against Goldline by Santa Monica's City Attorney. Goldline's practices were described as predatory and deceitful by the head of Santa Monica's City Attorney's consumer protection division. He also said that in pursuing criminal charges against Goldline was a stiff warning to any gold dealers involved in fraudulent practices would be punished.

The fraudulent practices committed by Goldline is know as a bait and switch. Clients were first approached with a certain kind of gold coins available for purchase. After engaging the client, the sales proposal would change and clients were presented with another choice of collectible gold coins. The collectible gold coins, coins that were minted in 1933 or before, were highly recommend during the sales proposal because under federal law they can not be seized or confiscated. The fraud in this situation is that those collectible gold coins had inflated and highly increased prices compared to the coins' actual gold bullion content. Customers everywhere paid the increased prices. The duped clients were overpaying for gold coins, coins that they would never be able to regain the money for if they were sold; and if sold, always taking a big loss.

Sarasota Rare Coin Gallery has over 40 years of experience and are located in the beautiful and sunny Sarasota, Florida. At their address of 640 South Washington Blvd. they have a wonderful and spacious showroom. They offer the special service of in-home and on-site appraisals! Call (941)366-2191 or come into the showroom for your own special and memorable experience!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Forecast for 2012

Buying and trading gold and silver is major business for investors. But lately, the forecasting of gold and silver rates has become quite important and a big business in its own right. Companies and citizens alike have begun to depend on these types of predictions for their investments. So what have the forecasters predicted for 2012? It should be of no surprise to anyone following the market that there have been expectations that gold will continue to rise. But what may surprise you is the sheer amount of the calculated increase.

Citigroup is a well-known and established company. A branch of Citigroup, called CitiFX, claims that in 2012 the precious metal gold will climb to an amazing $2,400 an ounce. If that doesn't impress you, than take a look at their outlook for gold in coming years. Their forecast is that gold will reach a staggering $3,400 an ounce! CitiFX also claims that gold will eventually beat equities, bonds, and some currencies.

In the last decade alone, gold has shown great gains for its investors. According to statistics, gold has gained approximately fifty percent in returns every single year for over a decade. Some claim that as it continues to climb that it is inevitable that the price of gold will soon plummet. But all major analysts claim that it will not only retain its value, but that gold will greatly increase in value through 2012.

Visiting the majestic Sarasota Rare Coin Gallery at 640 S. Washington Blvd, in Sarasota, Florida can be a portal to the past. With over 40 years of combined experience in the art of numismatics, they are a reputable complete and full service coin dealer. Call (941)366-2191 for help placing an order or for any questions!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Why Gold Coins Are A Great Investment

There is a lot of interest for investing in gold in the past couple of years. While gold can be a great investment, there is a better way of investing. Gold coins can be a much safer way of investing in other forms of gold for many reasons. An even safer form than gold coins is rare gold coins that were made in 1933 or the years before that.

Many investors prefer gold coins because most coins are usually alike in purity, weight, and shape. These factors allow gold coins to be traded or sold without difficulty. The fact that they are easy convertible assets makes them an effective investment. Another great quality is that in times of hardship gold coins are easily liquidated giving a person fast access to their fortune.

Rare gold coins can be an indispensable asset to an investor. In the history of the United States there have been instances where the federal government has confiscated private citizen's gold, including coins. With the national debt at its highest rate ever, there is no guarantee that this could happen again. Fortunately, federal laws have been put into place to protect citizens from this unbelievable intrusion.

United States federal law states that coins made in 1933 or coins minted in the years before that can not be seized. This means that your gold investment will be safe from being confiscated by the government. Another benefit is that that the sale of your rare coins is a private matter, does not have to be reported, and therefore it is all profit since no taxes have to be paid. Coins minted after 1933, including bullion gold coins, are required to be reported to the government if sold, and is considered a type of income which you then must pay taxes on.

Sarasota Rare Coin Gallery is a full service coin dealer that can help you receive the most for your PCGS and NGC graded coins. With over 40 years of experience they posses complete knowledge of bullion, rare coins, modern coins and sets, foreign, ancients, and paper money and will help you to purchase or sell any of these items. Sarasota Rare Coin Gallery offer confidential sales and service, along with auction representation and want lists. Call (941)366-2191 or (800)447-8778 for any questions or to place an order, or visit their showroom at 640 South Washington Boulevard in Sarasota, Florida located in the Arts and Antique Building just north of the 301 and 41 split.