It was a wild Monday on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 1,031 points, marking the third-worst single-session drop in history. With the Coronavirus continuing to claim more lives in Asia, Europe, and elsewhere, there are concerns that global markets will slow down dramatically as the economy grinds to a virtual halt in major cities if the situation gets worse.
Investors who get shaky when markets get rocky often turn to safe-haven commodities, and gold is one of the most popular destinations. A hedge against bad economic times, gold has only risen in value in recent months, aided in part by the Coronavirus pandemic. Gold prices hit a high of $1,689 on Monday before settling closer to $1,660 — its highest price in seven years. How long gold prices keep rising is uncertain.
What should investors who want to invest in gold do? Those who want to buy gold should focus on gold coins, which contain a high percentage of gold content and are highly liquid. American Gold Eagles and other types of bullion coins from various world mints are good buys, but so, too, are common pre-1933 United States gold coins, which have very low numismatic premiums over melt and have the advantage of a crossover market for coin collectors.
