Economic times are cyclical. And while they are cyclical, when one thing is up, usually something is down. When the dollar drops in value, and the economy goes into recession, typically, stocks and the stock market can drop. This is usually followed by precious metals increasing in value. People turn to these investment vehicles as a hedge. The other thing that investors do is use gold as a part of a balanced portfolio.

There are many vehicles to invest in gold. You can invest in The South African Krugerand coin is one of the most popular gold collector's coins in the world. The original Krugerrands contain exactly one ounce (33.93 grams) of pure gold, plus a small amount of copper (2.826 grams) to create a stronger, more durable gold coin. Krugerrand therefore have a total weight of 1.0909 troy ounces (33.93 grams). Some new collectors worry that they are receiving less gold when buying a coin of less than 100% purity, but in truth 1 ounce Krugerrands contain exactly the same amount of gold as a 100% gold coin like the Canadian Maple Leaf.

There are many who like to invest in coins from their countries, and many of those who fancy American numismatists go for American Eagle Gold Coins. These coins were first introduced in the gold market in 1986, following its authorization and recognition as an official gold bullion coin of the United States under the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985. Such coins are sold by almost every coin and precious metal dealer in the country.

The American Eagle is an excellent choice for investing in gold coins.

Basically, American Gold Eagle Coins are highly priced in the gold market because of its purity and content. As bullion coins are priced according to their values in terms of their content of a particular precious metal, American Gold Eagle Coins are not purchased or sold according to their face values. Instead, their content and weight is taken into consideration. The coins do have a face value stamped in, but this is much more symbolic in nature.

American Gold Eagle coins come in 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz. These have face values of $5, $10, $25, and $50 respectively. Gold that is used in the American Eagle is mined from the United States only. Basically, the process of coin making entails the minting of the coins using 24-karat gold, small amounts of alloy and other metals. Therefore, an ounce of American Gold Eagle coin actually contains a 91.67% purity of gold.

Because of its notable quality, the value of American Gold Eagle Coins are considered to be far more stable than the price of currencies, stocks, and other forms of volatile investments. In addition to such, these gold coins are far much easier to trade than other investments. Right now, gold is sitting at all time values, as the US dollar continues to decline.

While gold has been, and for the foreseeable future looks to be a stable investment, you must know that any investment carries some level of risk. Any investment can go up or down in value. When ever making the decision as to investing in anything, do your due diligence and find out all you can about the item you are investing in, and make sure you understand your holding and exit strategy. Make sure you know what you will do if the value of the item over the short term goes down.