Investing in physical gold has been popular in the US for decades. After the use of gold moved from a currency consideration to a collecting one, investors began gravitating to various gold products as their go-to choices for investment vehicles.

Broadly speaking, investment gold is available in one of three formats: coins, bars, and rounds. There are investors who swear by each type of gold as the superior choice, but the truth is that all three of them have merits and reasons that they might be preferred.

Whether you are new to gold investing or a seasoned pro, it’s important to know where the crowd is generally going for its gold. Certain products stand out from the rest.

This page is for all investors to raise their awareness about the top products in the gold market these days. Whether you want the list to inform your purchasing or as a means to avoid additional premiums, it is crucial to be aware that these products are the standards for many investors, and with good reason.

American Gold Eagle Coins

The first gold product on the popular list has to be the US Gold Eagle. These coins are the original bullion coin produced by the US Mint. Their design and reputation have made them a favorite for investors and coin collectors since their introduction in 1986.

American Gold Eagles bear a design that is both iconic and exceptionally beautiful. For the purpose of striking this coin, the Mint chose to adapt Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ design for his $20 double-eagle coin, a currency piece from the early 1900s. His depiction of Lady Liberty, forward-facing and resolute above the rays of a sunrise, remains extremely popular in numismatic circles to this day.

The reverse of the coin is the source of its nickname. Although there have been two iterations on Gold Eagles, the reverse has always featured the namesake bird and national symbol as an emblem of its pedigree.

Technically, the Gold Eagle has a $50 face value and is legal tender in the US. However, its collector price exceeds its face value by more than an order of magnitude, so we would not suggest using a Gold Eagle to pay for dinner.

Interestingly, the Gold Eagle is not the purest popular bullion coin or, for that matter, the purest bullion coin produced in the United States. Since its debut, the American Gold Eagle has been minted with 22-karat gold, with the remaining 8.33% of the coin consisting of copper and silver.

Nevertheless, it does contain a full troy ounce of gold in its typical size. The Gold Eagle is also available in 1/10-ounce, ¼-ounce, and ½-ounce denominations, which may allow investors on a limited budget to own a version of this iconic coin.

American Gold Buffalo Coins

As we mentioned, the Gold Eagle is not the purest bullion coin produced by the United States Mint. The Gold Buffalo, on the other hand, is the purest of coins.

In contrast to its older brother’s 91.67% gold content, the Gold Buffalo is minted in 24-karat gold and contains a purity level of no less than 99.9% pure gold. As such, it is slightly lighter than the Gold Eagle, due to the fact that both coins contain a troy ounce of gold, but the Eagle has some additional metals in it.

The Gold Buffalo, which first appeared in 2006, bears an iconic design in its own right. The Mint chose to pay tribute to James Earle Fraser’s Native American design, which adorned the famous Indian nickel between 1913 and 1938.

The design features a right-facing Native American on its obverse and a buffalo, an animal sacred to many Native American cultures, on its reverse. Because of the image on the reverse, the Indian nickel was sometimes called the Buffalo nickel.

Thus, the bullion coin is known as the Gold Buffalo. Much of the coin’s appeal stems not only from the design but also from its purity, which appeals to investors looking to maximize the sheer tonnage of pure gold in their possession.

Unlike the Gold Eagle, the Gold Buffalo is offered in only its 1-oz. denomination. Obviously, this fact may create a bit of a budgetary barrier to entry for some investors. Conversely, the standard size may make for an easier storage and security task for the savvy investor by negating the need to keep up with a bunch of different-sized coins.

More: Compare Gold Eagle vs Gold Buffalo

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coins

Of all gold coins made outside of the United States, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf may be the most popular. As it turns out, the Maple Leaf is both older and purer than anything the US has to offer.

The Gold Maple Leaf is, obviously, the official bullion coin of the Royal Canadian Mint. It features an image of Canada’s signature image on its obverse and a year-dependent depiction of the British monarch on its reverse.

For its first 43 years, it depicted Queen Elizabeth II on its reverse, albeit through four different iterations. However, after the Queen’s death in 2022 and the ascendance of her son, Charles, to the throne of Great Britain, the Canadian Maple Leaf has had his picture on its reverse instead.

The Canadian Maple Leaf may represent a bit of oddity in terms of its appeal. Few coins use their purity levels as their primary selling point. However, because the Royal Canadian Mint manages to mint this coin at an astounding 99.99% purity, the Canadian Maple Leaf is the go-to for investors that value gold content above all.

Even the Gold Buffalo has more impurities, to say nothing of the Gold Eagle and its 22-karat composition. Few other mass-produced coins can jam as much pure gold into their alloys as the Maple Leaf.

Like the Gold Eagle, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is available in 1-oz, ½-oz, ¼-oz, and 1/10-oz varieties. However, the 1-oz is the most popular version for buyers to choose, especially if those buyers are from the United States.

South African Gold Krugerrand Coins

The South African Gold Krugerrand is one of the best-known gold coins in history. The coin, available since 1967, offered the opportunity for storing value in gold in a time when those options were quite limited.

The first thing most collectors notice about the Krugerrand is its distinctive color. Like the Gold Eagle, it is minted in 22-karat gold, or with 91.67% gold purity. Unlike the Gold Eagle – or most other popular bullion coins – the rest of the coin is made of copper, which gives the coins a unique reddish sheen.

The design itself pays homage to two cultural touchstones in South African history. The obverse features the coin’s namesake, Paul Kruger, a 19th-century Boer leader and former president of the country. The reverse of the coin portrays the springbok antelope, one of the most recognizable fauna native to South Africa.

The story of the Krugerrand is also colored by the recent and divisive history of its home country. Unfortunately, the coin became associated with the country’s apartheid years, leading to a significant wane in the coin’s popularity and value. Notably in the US, Illinois actually designated the Krugerrand as a non-exempt item for sales tax, a restriction placed on no other coin.

However, those days are thankfully behind us all, and the Krugerrand has been restored as one of the world’s most timeless gold pieces. Its colorful history may even be a selling point now due to the enhancement of its novelty.

Generally speaking, the Krugerrand is a 1-oz coin. There are options to buy fractional ounce denominations, though – there are ½-ounce, ¼-ounce, and 1/10-ounce versions.

Gold Bars

A gold bar is a rectangular or trapezoidal block of gold sold in a variety of weights and sizes. The most common size is a 1-ounce bar, but you can also find several options in 10-ounce or 1-kilogram sizes.

They usually bear the stamp of their refiner, along with the purity mark associated with the bar. For the most part, gold bars are minted to be at a .999 purity level (aka 24-karat) or higher and have only the scantest of impurities.

Top gold bar refiners include PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, Johnson Matthey, and the Perth Mint. These refiners produce gold bars of the highest quality and have long histories of excellent service.

Now, the thing to realize about buying gold coins is that there is an additional value consideration about them. Their condition and historic significance plays a role in the overall price that you have to pay, and they come with an extra standard of care.

Gold bars don’t have the same considerations. As a result, gold bars are usually cheaper than gold coins on a per-unit basis. In other words, when a gold coin and a bar have the same amount of gold, the bar is almost always cheaper.

On the other hand, gold bars may be slightly harder to resell than coins because they aren’t legal tender and they don’t come with the official stamp and authentication of a sovereign mint and, by extension, an entire sovereign government. In truth, you probably won’t have an issue, but it is a fact to consider.

The other thing to realize is that the value of a gold bar is entirely a function of its metal content. The prices that you can buy them and sell them are direct reflections of the spot price for an ounce of gold.

Gold Rounds

If you want a sort of middle ground between coins and gold bars, gold rounds might be the way to go. A gold round is a coin-like metal disc produced by a private mint, but they are not legal tender in any sovereign nation.

Like gold bars, the value of gold rounds is based upon its metal content more than anything else. Rounds do come in a variety of designs, including those that pay tribute to various people, events, and pop culture touchpoints, but the effect on the value of them is hard to quantify.

However, like gold bars, gold rounds offer a less-expensive option than gold coins of the same size. They might be your choice against gold bars, though, due to their fun and wacky designs, which you can (potentially) display to your friends.

Like most gold products, the most popular rounds are 1-ounce pieces. They do come in a wide range of sizes, weights, and occasionally shapes, though, so you can probably find some very interesting pieces out there.

Conclusion

There are three varieties of gold products that are the most popular options. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks and appeals to different sets of investors.

Coins are likely the most popular type of gold product to buy, and the two American gold bullion coins – the Gold Eagle and the Gold Buffalo – are the biggest favorites in that category. Coins hold their value extremely well and are the most liquid of gold products, but they also require the most care of their condition and design.

Gold bars are solid pieces of gold that you can use to buy in bulk and maximize the sheer amount of gold in your portfolio. However, they may come with a bit of difficulty to resell due to concerns about authenticity and the need to confirm their purity.

Gold rounds are fun coins, essentially, and allow you to buy gold in a fun and unique format. They rely on their metal content for their value, but you may be a bit hardpressed to find a buyer due to the fact that they are not legal tender, but may not offer the same level of generality available with bars.

Whatever your choice, there is no wrong answer, as adding gold to your portfolio is an integral part of diversification. So, if you’re ready to begin your journey with gold, reach out to us today.