Beginning investors will find thorough guidelines for making good decisions in this study of private gold ownership. Emphasis is placed on the asset-preservation qualities of gold at a time when investor uncertainty about the economy and recent investment scandals have led many to seek asset diversification. The economic and political trends driving gold marketing are detailed, as are the reasons why gold plays an important role in millions of investment portfolios worldwide—as both a hedge and an investment for capital gain. With revised content as well as two additional chapters, this updated version examines topics such as gold's role in combating inflation and deflation, how to select a gold firm, the history of gold since 1971, storing gold, and government debt. "Want to invest but don't want a big risk or low return? This book recommends taking your greenbacks and going for the gold. Author Michael J. Kosares, a digital gold dealer, advocates investing in gold because its long-dormant price has begun to rise rapidly in international markets."  — Publishers Weekly "Highly recommended!"  — Midwest Book Review "Thorough guidelines about private gold ownership; Kosares has all the answers."  — Money World magazine "Whether you own some gold or are just toying with the idea, you must have this book."  — Conservative Book Club Michael J. Kosares is the founder and president of USAGOLD-Centennial Precious Metals, one of the oldest and most prestigious U.S. gold firms serving private gold investors. He is editor and publisher of the newsletter News & Views: A Quarterly Review of Forecasts, Commentary & Analysis on the Economy and Precious Metals . He lives in Denver, Colorado. The ABCs of Gold Investing How to Protect and Build Your Wealth with Gold By Michael J. Kosares Addicus Books, Inc. Copyright © 2013 Michael Kosares All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-936374-83-0 Contents Acknowledgments, Introduction, 1 A is for — Asset Preservation: Why Americans Need Gold, 2 B is for — Bullion Coins: Portable, Liquid, and a Reliable Measure of Value, 3 C is for — Choosing a Gold Firm, 4 D is for — Diversification: Now More than Ever, 5 E is for — Education: The Key to Successful Gold Investing, 6 F is for — Fundamentals: Gold's Supply and Demand, 7 G is for — The Great American Bailout: More the End of the Beginning than the Beginning of the End, 8 H is for — Historic Gold Coins: Perhaps Necessary, but Not Necessarily Expensive, 9 I is for — The Inflation-Deflation Debate: More to It Than Meets the Eye, 10 J is for — Jump-Starting Your Portfolio Plan through Gold Ownership, 11 K is for — Kindred Metal — Silver, 12 L is for — London, New York, Hong Kong, and Zurich: A Day in the Life of the Gold Market, 13 M is for — Myths and Realities about Gold, 14 N is for — Navigating Uncharted Waters: Which Investments Performed Best in the Tumultuous "Oh-Oh" Decade?, 15 O is for — Own the Gold; Make the Rules, 16 P is for — Post-1971 History of Gold, 17 Q is for — Quotable Notables on Gold, 18 R is for — Retirement Planning with Gold, 19 S is for — Storing Your Gold, 20 T is for — Ten Memorable Vignettes on Gold and the Value of Money, 21 U is for — Using Gold as Money, 22 V is for — Vital Statistics, 23 W is for — Wealth Insurance, 24 X is for — XYZ An Epilogue: The Once and Future Age of Economic Uncertainty, Appendix, Bibliography, Index, About the Author, CHAPTER 1 A is for ... Asset Preservation: Why Americans Need Gold The possession of gold has ruined fewer men than the lack of it. — Thomas Bailey Aldrich The incident is one of the most memorable of my career. Never before or since has the value of gold in preserving assets been made so abundantly clear to me. It was the mid-1970s. The United States was finally extricating itself from the conflict in South Vietnam. Thousands of South Vietnamese had fled their embattled homeland rather than face the vengeance of the rapidly advancing Communist forces. A couple from South Vietnam who had been part of that exodus sat across from me in my Denver office. They had come to sell their gold. In broken English, the man told me the story of how he and his wife had escaped the fall of Saigon and certain reprisal by North Vietnamese troops. They got out with nothing more than a few personal belongings and the small cache of gold he now spread before me on my desk. His eyes widened as he explained why they were lucky to have survived those last fearful days of the South Vietnamese Republic. They had scrambled onto a fishing boat and had sailed into the South China Sea, where the U.S. Navy rescued them. These were Vietnamese "boat people," survivors of the final chapter in the tragedy of Indochina. Now they were about to redeem their life savings in gold so that they could start a new business in the United States. Their gold wrapped in rice paper was a type called Kim Thanh. These are the commonly traded units i