COLUMBUS, Ohio — This week, gold prices hit a record high of $1900 an ounce. If you're looking to cash in, now is the time to buy, or sell? 10TV's Pete Scalia spoke with a local gold retailer to find out.
Gregory Nabil is a business operations manager for Buckeye Gold Coin and Jewelry. He says we haven't seen gold prices this high in a long time. "Gold is actually at a historic high," he says, "and silver is at a seven to an eight-year high."
The price of gold is often tied to the US dollar and fluctuates based on economic uncertainty. "From the beginning of time, gold and silver has always been considered a currency," Nabil adds. "So, they default back to the gold and silver as being an ultimate currency, so when the dollar is weak, people start investing more in those precious metals."
While many people are looking to cash in, others are speculating that prices could go even higher. "We have people where, they started investing early, and may have paid, you know, 500 to 800 dollars an ounce on gold," Nabil says. "And you know, with gold being over 19-hundred at this point, they're getting their return on their investment. Then, on the flip side of it," he continues, "people are seeing all of that uncertainty going on, they believe, and I believe as well, gold and silver are going to continue to trend upward. So they're starting that investment process now."
When it comes to investing in gold, there are a number of options. "Bars, rounds, government-minted, privately minted, point 9-9-9 fine gold and silver. That's going to be your investment-grade gold and silver that people are starting to invest in," Nabil explains.
Many people are also looking to cash in on the "gold rush" by selling items they already have, and not just jewelry. "When it comes to gold, you know, your jewelry, your dental gold, even -- people don't realize that we buy dental gold," Nabil explains. "Anything that looks like it could be gold or silver, bring it in because we have the tools and technology here to get everything tested," Nabil says. "There's a lot of times people might look at something and think, ok, that's not gold. They bring it in, and it tests out to be 10- or 14-karat gold."
Of course, investing in gold is speculative. You'll want to talk to a professional financial adviser before making any decisions. But if you're looking to make some quick cash, now might be a good time to do so. "It's never really a bad time to be selling gold," Nabil says. "Right now with these historic highs, it's definitely a great time to be selling."