Gold is a precious metal that we Indians are often fascinated to buy during major festivals such as on Dhanteras. Purchasing gold serves dual purposes. Firstly, it is a good investment avenue. Secondly, one can also use it as a fashion accessory or a gift. Thankfully, other than jewelry, you can also buy gold in the form of physical coins and bars.

Many people prefer to buy pure gold coins over jewelry as it is convenient to buy in small denominations. So, if you are also planning to buy gold coins, here are a few things that you must remember while finalizing the purchase.

1. Know the Purity Level of The Gold Coins

Generally, you can measure the purity of gold using karat and fineness. Karat is more prevalent among Indians. 24 karat is the purest form of gold which contains 24 parts of gold. Whereas 22 karat gold contains two parts of other metals and this is done to make the jewelry or coins more durable.

Fineness is another method to measure the purity of gold. It represents the proportion of the weight of gold to the total weight including impurities and alloy.

2. Hallmarking

Apart from purity you also need to check if your gold coin is Hallmarked or not. BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), certifies the purity of gold and silver by stamping them. Although hallmarking is done for the specified gold karats, you can approach BIS any time to get your gold coins tested and hallmarked.

The four components of gold that are hallmarked are:

• BIS logo
• Identification mark and number of Jewellers
• Logo of Assaying and center of hallmarking.
• Purity in fineness and karat

3. Packaging

Always buy the gold coins in tamper-proof packaging. It will guard the coins against fraud, damage, and counterfeiting.

However, if you have any plans to resell the gold coins. Then, it is recommended to avoid tearing or opening the tamper-proof packaging. This will ensure the credibility and purity of the gold coin.

4. Making Charges

Every single gold coin will come with some specific making charges. This refers to the charge of labor involved in coin’s creation. These charges are a reflection of present rates of gold and sometimes an individual may be fleeced into paying higher than the necessary. So it is better to insist on fixed making charges as it will help you to save a lot of money and is a smarter as well as an easier way to go around.

5. Buy Back Policies

Most gold dealers offer the option of buyback. They offer customers the provision to exchange old gold coins or jewelry for a new one. While the price can change but the value of gold will remain the same. Thus, discussing buybacks during a purchase can benefit you in the future, especially when you are in need of money.

Conclusion

On average Indians purchase the most gold and everyday Diamond Jewellery across the world. In this maddening rush to buy these precious metals and with a soaring number of gold dealers, it is quite common to make certain mistakes. But remembering a few steps mentioned above could ensure that an individual gets the best worth for their money.