What's The Best Gold To Buy?

 What’s the best gold to buy when you’re trying to protect your wealth? 

Gold coins, gold bars, graded coins, UK coins… the options can feel confusing at first. And while owning any gold is a step in the right direction, choosing the right type of gold could make a significant difference to your long-term strategy. 

In this episode of The Bullion Advantage, we break down: 

🪙 Why many people turn to gold when markets feel uncertain
 📉 The risks of relying too heavily on stocks, property or cash in the bank
 🏦 Why gold is often viewed as financial protection rather than speculation
 ⚖️ Gold vs crypto — how they compare when it comes to stability
 🪙 Gold coins vs gold bars — the key differences you should understand
 📊 The advantages and drawbacks of each option
 🔍 Loose bullion coins vs graded coins explained
 🏛️ What PCGS grading is and why some coins carry higher premiums
 🌍 Why the country of origin can matter when buying gold coins
 🇬🇧 Why UK coins like Britannias and Sovereigns are so popular
 💷 How UK gold coins can be completely free from Capital Gains Tax
 📈 The importance of thinking about your exit strategy before buying gold
 🧭 How to decide what type of gold best fits your personal wealth strategy 

Get your free Guide to Tax-Free Gold:
 https://guide.directbullion.com

📩 Have a question you’d like us to answer in a future episode?
 Leave a comment below or email info@directbullion.com

🔔 Subscribe for weekly insights into gold, markets and protecting your wealth. 

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The purchase of gold from Direct Bullion does not constitute an investment or offer financial returns. Gold is considered a store of value and not an investment product. Past performance of gold is not indicative of future performance. Prices and values of precious metals can fluctuate and are influenced by various market factors. Direct Bullion does not provide investment or tax advice and recommends that you conduct your independent research before making any purchasing decisions. 

#wealthprotection #gold #goldcoins #goldbars #taxfreegold #financeuk #physicalgold #thebullionadvantage 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Let me ask you something. What's the smartest way to keep your wealth safe? You obviously want to avoid something that's just trendy or volatile, but you'll want to find a way that genuinely helps keep safe what you've worked hard to build. Here's the thing though: owning any amount of gold means you're moving in the right direction. But we want you to maximize your wealth and make it work harder for you, and we can help you make the best decisions for your portfolio. By the end of this episode, you'll understand the key differences and hidden advantages people overlook, and how to decide what actually fits your personal needs. We all want to make the right decisions about our wealth, right? Especially in today's uncertain world. Before we get into it though, if you're listening on YouTube, remember to like and subscribe so you never miss out. If you're listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, please follow the show so you never miss another episode. Senior Gold Specialist Harry is on the podcast today to explain how to maximise your wealth in the best way. Harry, thanks so much for jumping back on the podcast with me. Hi Jake. So where is the best place to start when looking for somewhere to put your money?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Work out what you want to get out of it. So are you looking for tax efficiency? Are you looking for safety? Are you looking for the best potential return? Are you looking for something decentralized? Work out what your motivation is. Now, normally, Jake, everyone's in the same boat, although we say that people want the most tax efficient with the best potential returns and they want it away from the banks. Simple as that.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

So is that usually how people come to the conclusion to move into gold?

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Yeah, look, I know a little bit cliche, but that is exactly it. So uh depending on what gold products you go for, gold bars are VAT free, but not capital gains tax exempt. British gold coins are VAT free and capital gains tax exempt. So there's tax efficiency there, and there's different products that offer different returns, different sales, different buys. That's where our team they go into it in a lot more detail. One of the things where we really thrive is it's about focusing on the individual. So although gold's a great fit for many people, how that fit is good for that person is where we go into detail with them. What might be right for you might not be right for someone else, especially when we take consideration the length of time they're looking to hold or how they're looking to liquidate it. So all things taken into consideration.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

What makes gold differentiate itself from traditional places like stocks or property? Stocks and shares, property.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I think there's probably a bigger difference between stocks and there is property. Stocks, you don't see a lot of people necessarily in stocks in this, or or they are moving away from stocks, I should say, because of how volatile it is. Stocks is very much digits on a screen, it's very digital, it's very, very, very fast-paced. It offers a potentially good return depending on what you're going into. Although, from where we've been speaking to people, especially those with the pensions, there's just not been much happening in the stock market for a while. So that's the difference between that and gold, gold's decentralized, it's physical, it's getting your money out of the system, you can physically hold it, it's a finite resource, there's no manipulation. So there's the the polar opposite stocks and gold are very, very different. Yeah, property, there's there's a lot of similarities, they're both physical, they both have a intrinsic value, even if the house is empty, there's still a value to the house, isn't there? So there's a lot of similarities in that. The main differences, and this is me speaking from a property background, yes, if you're looking at buy to let's there's the there is counterparty risk. You've got the potential of tenants not paying, you've got landlord fees, you've got a lot of tax potentially, you've got estate agent fees, and then you've got ongoing maintenance, you've got boilers, windows, roofs, gardens, fences, whatever it might be. Whereas with gold, we like to think, and the reality of it is you buy, you sit on it.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

So would you say there's there's a bit more risk relying too heavily on property or equities?

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Yeah, I think I I think stocks is maybe a bit more risky, and and definitely for the more educated investor, you've got one know what app you're using, two know what the spreads are, three know what the commissions are. Yeah. That there's a lot of don't get me wrong, stocks are great, maybe we've made millions on stocks, but you have to know what you're talking about. And a lot of people we deal with are just trying to protect themselves and more importantly, just beat their bank accounts. They're not looking to become the next Warren Buffett. They just want to they just want to make sure their money that they've worked bloody hard for is actually giving them something in return.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Yeah, well, speaking of which, how how safe is keeping your money in the bank?

SPEAKER_01 4:27

I I mean we only have to go a short while back to look at Northern Rock and what happened there. We don't have to educate everyone because everyone knows that the bank system is failing. We we try and make transactions and the fraud prevention teams call you, the client retention teams call you. How hard is it to make a transaction now?

SPEAKER_00 4:44

That and that that that shows you, doesn't it? It's so true. When it comes to markets, we've spoken a bit about the stock market, property markets, but when those markets start to wobble, things feel uncertain. Why is it that gold tends to move in the other direction generally? And why do people turn to gold when that wobble happens?

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Yeah, uh so gold's counter-cyclical when the other markets are going poorly, gold thrives. The reason for that, everything we've just said, Jake, it's it is decentralized, yeah, it is no counterparty risk, it's physical, so it can't be manipulated. It's all those reasons that people turn to gold when everything else is a bit wobbly.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

So would you say gold is more about protection, insurance, or opportunity?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Every part of me wants to say all three, Jake, but I mean if we're going down to gold as its core, it's a it's a saving method, it's a it's a safety net for sure. Yeah, protection is the most important thing. I guess protection and insurance for me are probably similar. You're ensuring your safety by protecting your money in gold. That that's the main thing. Opportunity, yeah, great. I mean, the market is thriving right now. It's averaged 15% over the last 20 years. I mean, if you put 100,000 in a year ago, it'd be about 160,000 today. I mean, that there's great opportunities, but do not come into the gold market thinking I'm gonna be a millionaire overnight. This is about making sure what you do have stays valuable, and more importantly, when the time does come, you want to use it, it's there and accessible.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Absolutely. One market we haven't spoken about is crypto. This is a vastly more volatile market than I think, probably the ones we've already spoken about. But how does gold compare or work? And cheese, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:23

I mean, they they shouldn't really be using the same sentence unless it's I'm looking to diversify from crypto into gold. Crypto is incredibly volatile, and and don't get me wrong, mate, there's been times where I have friends who work in finance that have made absolute killings from the crypto market, but two months later they've been in absolute tears because they've just lost the entire lot. Crypto is great if you're a high-end gambler, and that is all I see it as is a high-risk gambling reward. Whereas gold is that that is for your steady eddies, that's for the people who just want to protect what they have and more importantly, not risk what they have.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Is there a most common misconception people have when you speak to them about gold?

SPEAKER_01 7:02

It's it's more people's lack of knowledge because no financial advisors or banks or anyone, in fact, is is telling them the benefits. This the standard questions we get: is it hard to buy and sell? Yeah, um, what are the tax implications? They're probably the the two biggest ones. Can I buy any sort of gold? And that's where we have to educate people. But but the the main summary, it's very easy to buy and sell. Uh as you know, we've been going a decade. We've brought loads of people into the market and sold lots of people out of the market. I always say don't look at this as buying a watch, a car, anything like that. You're moving from one bank account that isn't working hard for you to another bank account that is working hard for you. Well perfect. Um, yeah, I it's you you've got to put it in terms that people understand because it's a new market to them. Gold coins, as I say, British, that they're typically the most popular just for the tax efficiency they offer. Yeah. The wait times are getting a little bit longer. A lot of people think it can be like Amazon Prime. You buy today, it gets delivered tomorrow. No, no surprise. The more demand in a market, the longer the wait time. So that's something that people find when they come into it. But the the the misconception is that this is a really convoluted, real hard market to that. No, you call us up, one of the teams speaks to you, yeah, they are experts in this field, they find out what you are looking to get out of the market, and we get you in the right option that suits you.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Yeah. So now we've established that gold can play a very vital part in everyone's wealth journey, choosing the right gold for your situation is another option. So, where do where do you think people should start when they're looking to get into gold and find the right gold for them?

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Yeah, I mean, similar to the first question, uh, it is exactly that. What are you trying to get out of the market? Yeah. Tax efficiency, safety, growth, what what is it you're looking at? So, what are the main differences between gold coins and gold bars? Coins are gonna be most tax efficient, gold bars are gonna be cheapest.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Again, it depends what values you're looking at, because uh obviously we know capital gains tax allowance is three thousand. So if you're only looking at a few hundred pounds or a few thousand pounds, well, it's it's gonna be a long time before you hit that tax threshold anyway. So just get some bars, then they're nice and cheap. If you're looking at hundreds of thousands, like lots of our clients are, well, actually the tax efficiency becomes really important. Yeah, so you might want to look at the the coins. Pensions is really important. For example, you can't chop up a large bar when you want to liquidate it. So, again, then discussing how are you gonna use your pension? Are you gonna draw down quarterly, monthly, how much do you need a month? Working out the right bars for the right fit. So again, each individual, each individual scenario, and we work our way through it.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Exactly. Do you need to think about exit strategy when you're choosing between coins and bars? Then is that what you're saying? I think I think you want to consider it because it's just how are you going to use this gold?

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yeah, a lot of people at the moment like one ounce coins because they're they're they're three, four, five thousand pounds, whatever it is you're you're you're looking at, and that's what they want to do when they liquidate their boiler breaks. They might want to liquidate a little bit there. They go on a nice big holiday, they want to hand some money down to their kids, a wedding, a car, whatever it might be. You don't want to sell your whole portfolio, but you might want to sell a little bit at at a time. So it's interesting. Not a lot of people ask about the exit, but but we try and tell them, well, it's all well and good buying, but you want to know about the other end as well, surely. And then you go on to that. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

Let's say you come to the conclusion that coins are the best option for you. There are two different types of coins that you can own. So, what are the differences between a loose coin and a graded coin?

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah, so loose gold that's popular with clients who are maybe timing the market a bit more, short, shorter term holds, looking to buy low, sell at high. That's your more sophisticated guys, I'd say the the people who analyze the market a bit more. And then certified and graded gold is perfect for someone looking more for the safety. When they're certified and uh graded, they go through an authentication service by the PCGS. Right. So that's the professional coin grading service that authenticates the gold, encapsulates it in tamper-proof casing, makes sure it's given its full provenance behind it and all details. So if you ever wanted to scan it, I mean, look, we we buy back from clients, but we tell everyone you are the owner of the gold, sell it, sell it where you like. So having the full provenance with it is sometimes preferable as well.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

So coins come from all over the world, not just the Royal Mint. Let's compare. Why does the country of origin matter with gold coins?

SPEAKER_01 11:18

For for us, it's just the tax efficiency, so British gold above all else, because that makes it CGT free, capital gains tax-free. Yeah, that's very important because you don't want to be paying tax on the profit you make on it. People always call in and say, I'd like to buy some Kruger Rands. Very everyone knows Krugerands. Yeah, very famous. 22 karat South African coin, that's the main coin of South Africa. But once you educate people in letting no, okay, that's grand, happy to sell you whatever you want, but just so you know you're gonna be paying CGT on it. Um people quickly go back to the Britannas or the English series that we're working with at the time because it's uh the tax efficiency.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

So why are Britannias and sovereigns mentioned so often? Because there are more coins that come from the royal men.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Yeah, I again I think it's just what people knew. Uh, Britannias they produce millions of a year, it's just your book standard one ounce loose gold coin. Yeah, and then sovereigns sovereigns are a bit of a dated thing. Uh, I mean, sovereigns are only 22 carat coins and they're quarter ounces. Actually, Jake, I I do want to say this to listeners because we get this a lot. Sovereigns are specifically quarter ounce, 22 carat coins. Now, the reason I say that is a lot of people call up saying they want one ounce sovereigns or things like that. But just for anyone listening, a sovereign is 22 carat and a quarter ounce.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

Got it.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

And do you know why? It's because in the olden days, a lot of grandparents used to hand them down to kids. It's a tradition in a lot of English families to give newborns a sovereign. Yeah, uh, yeah, yeah. And then sovereign rings, that's where it originally came from. Used to be sovereign coins, so yeah, it they're fine with the sort of more high net worth clients we deal with, sovereigns, you're paying a premium because they're obviously they have to be produced, so you're paying more on the gold value because it's smaller. They don't suit a lot of clients, they're more gifts nowadays. Yeah, if you want value for money, you want to stick with one ounce British coins in one form or another. Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 13:08

So there are collectible gold coins and there's limited edition gold coins. What is the difference between collectible gold coins and limited edition gold coins?

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Yeah, I mean, again, sometimes people call us up saying, Do you have a uh a Beatrix Potter 50th anniversary or the the latest James Bond one? One of the things we always make clear to people, we're not we're not collectors. This is about getting an asset that's gonna protect you and and looking at the best options. We're not out there looking for premiums on coins because there's a very niche market that that may be interested in in buying it. Not not I mean, don't get me wrong, there's companies out there. I mean, the Royal Mint obviously have these all all these different ones on the website, but what is gonna be the most tax efficient, the safest, and the best potential return for our client, not what's the prettiest looking coin. Don't get me wrong, some people love the designs of the coins, some people aren't fond of the monarch, so they that they don't like the king being on it, yeah, but it's looking for the best asset for you and the best safety for you. Limited edition, there's another thing called proofing, which is slightly different to certified and graded. Proof coins are double dipped in a die that makes them ultimately shinier and look prettier. Okay. But they're they're not they haven't been authenticated, they haven't been sealed, they they've just been dipped and put in a nice presentation box. Right again, if you're a collector, proof gold, great. It's it's a collector's dream. We aren't collectors. Yeah, that's where certified and authenticated because of the safety that it goes through, because it's authenticated by the PCGS, that's where the value comes on them.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Whereas proof not really our market. Got it. So you can get coins from the PCGS that are also international coins, it's not just the UK gold coins that are graded. Yep. Are the premiums any different between the UK and the international coins?

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Uh yeah, I mean the UK ones are always going to be typically the most expensive because they offer the most tax efficiency. Yeah, there are slight loopholes if you buy through limited companies, you don't have to necessarily pay well those different taxes, and this all comes down to the individual and the accountant. I have to caveat what I'm saying here by saying I'm not a tax advisor, so but you would only either pay the corporation or the CGT, you wouldn't pay both, you can hold them as an asset. So sometimes the international coins are popular with clients buying through business, you get a little bit more gold for your money, uh, and you don't have to worry as much about the the tax implications on that. But yeah, majority again, British, that that's that's where most people lean towards.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Yeah, the smartest option for UK residents is probably UK gold coins. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

I I never like pushing it. I I I what I really prefer doing is giving everyone the facts and saying which one suits you the best, yeah, but 99.9% is the tax efficiency.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

Yeah. So if someone listening takes just one thing away from this episode before making purchasing decisions, what do you think it should be?

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Talk to someone, talk to us. Don't don't don't just go and buy on the website, don't just do chat GPT and think you know, because guess what chat GPT comes from? All the information comes off the sites that are trying to sell you a specific product. So actually have a conversation, pick up the phone, call us, and we can go through the relevant information, the right resources, the right return, the right option, and uh build a relationship. I mean, Jake, it in this day and age it's so difficult, and people forget that we work in customer service, we work in delivery-based industries, we want to deliver good service to people. That that's so important for us. So actually speak to us.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Protecting your wealth is a simple process. Gold is simple. It's a wealth protection asset. No complicated structures, no moving parts, just physical value you can hold. It's risen in 18 of the past 21 years and fallen in just three. Not in a straight line, but consistently over time. 22 karat and 24 karat gold is VAT free, and UK gold coins are completely free from capital gains tax for UK residents. That's because they're classed as legal tenure. That's why, for many people looking to safeguard what they've built, gold remains one of the most straightforward assets available. And remember, for over a decade, Direct Bullion has helped thousands of clients protect their wealth with physical gold, delivering specialist knowledge and long-term support. To speak with one of Direct Bullion's gold specialists, simply call us on 0800-0557050 or 0207-058-4653. To request your complimentary copy of our guide to tax-free gold to understand how to structure your gold correctly from the start, just go to guide.directbullion.com. That's guide.directbullion.com. When it comes to protecting what's rightfully yours, gold is there for you. Remember, if you're listening on YouTube, hit that like button and also subscribe to our channel so you never miss an update. And if you're listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, please follow the show so you never miss another episode. As always, leave your questions below in the comments section and we'll answer them in the next episode. Thanks for listening to this week's episode of The Bullion Advantage. Stay informed, stay prepared, and most importantly, stay golden. The purchase of gold does not constitute an investment or offer financial returns. Gold is considered a store of value and not an investment product. Past performance of gold is not indicative of future performance. Prices and values of precious metals can fluctuate and are influenced by various market factors. Direct bullion does not provide investment or tax advice and recommends that you conduct your own independent research before making any purchasing decisions.