If you’re going to buy Gold or Silver because you understand the risks, thesis and have conviction – you ought to know how to buy it the right way.  If you are confused as to why someone would buy gold or silver, this is a great introduction to The Gold Standard and why we no longer have one:

In contrast to the Gold Standard, our central economic planning “authorities” have since then destroyed the value of our money using counterfeit paper debt-based currency & the institution of “modern money mechanics:”

To find the best sources for Gold/Silver bullion buying, we should review the reasons for owning gold/silver:

1) It is not an “investment.”  Many investment professionals eschew physical gold ownership because they don’t see why someone would want to keep a piece of yellow metal in a box that does not produce anything or generate on-going returns.  However, there are more reasons to own gold and silver other than as an income-generating asset.

2) For the purposes of this article, Gold/Silver is being considered a currency no different than the paper dollars in your pocket.  Like your paycheck, the objective is to SAVE as much money as you can for the future.  If that’s the objective then obviously the goal should be to save as much gold or silver (measured in ounces) as possible.  It is worth noting that goldbugs who want to invest in the gold sector can do so through buying precious miners and gold exploration companies.  Some even pay dividends which would satisfy the need for capital protection, income generation, and growth over time.  This is an investment since you’d be buying shares of a company – consult a professional.

3) Since the goal is QUANTITY of money, the metric to be used is WEIGHT.  This should make it pretty easy – try to get the best Ounce:Dollar ratio you can find.  In my experience, you must avoid the following:

• Websites claiming to sell coins with historic or “numismatic” value.  Why?  Because we have already established that it is the QUANTITY of money saved that is important. Companies that claim to sell coins with “numismatic” value are selling the coin with the cost of the metal + an additional premium for the value of the print on the coin.  In some cases, historically valuable coins can be a good “investment,” but we are merely trying to PRESERVE capital from the destruction of monetary inflation.  Buying a gold coin with a 25% premium on it for the numismatic value of its face is 25% less gold than you otherwise could have purchased.
• Gold/Silver financial products that do not offer you physical ownership of the metal.  In the current market environment, possession is 9/10ths of the law and if you don’t have your money, you don’t own it.  This was proven in the MF Global bankruptcy in 2011, which established that if push comes to shove financial institutions can and will outright STEAL assets out of your account.
• Paper Gold/Silver – some financial instruments claim to track the spot-price of gold, but do not actually entitle you to physical ownership of bullion.  This involves a “counter party” when establishing value since the management of that instrument is someone other than yourself.  Understand that again, if a bank closes and you are left holding serial numbers, you will end up empty handed.  Bill Murphy elucidates this clearly in this August 2012 Interview.
• High premiums – not all bullion products are created equally.  The “spot” price of gold/silver will always be different than the prices of bullion products you buy online or at a coin shop.  The reason for this is many fold, but an easy way to think about it is the spot price of wheat versus the price of a loaf of bread at the grocery store.  The wheat price is determined by supply/demand and future bets by investors/speculators whereas the price of a loaf of bread differs based on the type of loaf, where you buy it, packaging, processing, distribution, etc.  When it comes to gold/silver, buying the most for the least is always best.  This is why central banks own gold in denominations of large, unadorned ingots rather than in jewelry, numismatic coins and teeth fillings.

To summarize, Peter Schiff eloquently spends 10 minutes explaining the process of what to avoid:

Once you know what to avoid, picking a product becomes fun and easy.  There is a large number of online portals to buy Gold and Silver and you could search your local area for coinshops.  Understanding what not to buy will help you navigate the different products each company offers, but for an investor of my size these companies have been great:

My personal dealer is Bullion Direct – they allow you to store unshipped bullion in a “portfolio” which acts like free storage.  If you don’t buy in large quantities you can accumulate bullion until it becomes cost-effective to ship.  They also have a trading platform that allows you to sell bullion to other individuals called the “Nucleo Exchange.”

Apmex is a precious metals dealer that has a huge catalog of bullion products.  They don’t just sell bars and coins, they sell junk silver (which are old US currency with differing ratios of silver melted into the coin), numismatics, platinum, IRA products, Jewlery, currency and more.  Fast, secure shipping in my experience.

Midas Resources is a dealer closely associated with the GCN network and Alex Jones’ radio show.  They have great gift deals and also carry a wide range of bullion products in addition to other “liberty-oriented” products.