BUY GOLD

5 April 2024

Today, gld went past 40kTHB, opening at 41,150. Seems gld should no longer be considered a simple insurance "in case of", or a buffer against loss of main income to tie you over, it is now a respectable asset class taking its own place in many investment strategies.

BUY GOLD IN THAILAND

BUY GOLD IN THAILAND

PRICE

Gold is same price everywhere in the world.

http://www.goldtraders.or.th/

The buy and sell prices of bars and jewellry.

https://gold.price-today.info/en/THB/thailand_chiang-mai_chiang-mai/

The purpose of buying gold is to insure against currency collapse or at least to have money that cannot be touched by any counter-party, for spending in retirement or when unemployed.

However history has shown that there is a real risk that the government will not tolerate individuals holding gold and if they know where you are they will call and take it off you. See last section.

CASH

Buy in cash, not credit card, to save 3% fee.

TAX

No tax on nuggets (bars) (normally 7% in Thailand).

But tax is 7% on jewellry (7% is low compared to my country).

Jewellry - a bracelet and necklace - I can take out of Thailand and into my country. But this is very difficult - I would sell in Thailand.

COMMISSION FEE

Low commission. About 0.02%.

WORKMANSHIP

 (ทักษะฝีมือ)

For jewellry, pay for workmanship (ทักษะฝีมือ) - 500b (?) for a simple necklace.

When you sell, you do not get back the ทักษะฝีมือ fee.

PURITY

Pure - in my country, pure 100% gold is 99.9%  24 karat. Most gold is 18 karat = 75% pure.

In Thailand, you buy 96.5% pure (see the website) which is 23.2 karat.

But be careful with the gold - 96.5% is very soft.

WEIGHT

Need to buy a cheap scale that can fit in your pocket so you can verify weight measurements of any gold you buy. Get a precise 0.01g scale.

จำเป็นต้องซื้อเครื่องชั่งน้ำหนักราคาถูกที่สามารถใส่ในกระเป๋าของคุณได้ เพื่อให้คุณสามารถตรวจสอบการวัดน้ำหนักของทองคำที่คุณซื้อได้  รับสเกล 0.01g ที่แม่นยำ

WHERE TO BUY

Your shop. Is it in Chinatown? We need the biggest and the oldest shops in Chinatown. They won't scam.

CONFISCATION RISK

  COMPARE WEIGHT

There is a big difference between the density of gold and silver: gold is 19.32 g/cm³, silver only 10.49 g/cm³.

With the result that a 1 oz bar of gold will be almost half as small as a 1 oz bar of silver.

  COMPARE VALUE

The gold/silver ratio changes. It is the weight of silver it takes to purchase one ounce of gold. If the ratio is 25 to 1, that means, at the current price, you could use 25 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold. 25 to 1 would be considered a narrow ratio. 

A narrow ratio indicates that silver’s relative value is up and a wide ratio indicates that gold’s relative value is up. This ratio is an indicator that can be used to determine the right and wrong times to buy or sell gold and silver.  

SPEND

If you are buying gold to cover a shortfall of income at some point in the future, then bear in mind that you may want to sell small portions of gold - perhaps single coin - and therefore when you purchase gold keep in mind this requirement to later sell gold in small units.

WAYS TO BUY GOLD

There are three main ways to gain exposure to the gold price as a retail investor: bars and coins, gold-backed exchange traded funds and gold mining equities.

Bars and coins give you a piece of metal you can store at home, giving you something physical to hold in your hands. They range in size from one-tenth of an ounce to one kilo or larger. The disadvantage is that the premiums to pay over the spot gold price to buy bars and coins can be substantial, meaning there is a big transaction cost once you sell the gold back, as well as storage and insurance costs.

Gold-backed ETFs have evolved into two main categories of high and low-cost products. These save the buyer from taking physical custody of the bullion. The higher-cost products provide greater liquidity with low transaction costs but are better suited to fund managers moving hundreds of millions of dollars at a time. For retail investors, a newer generation of ETFs with lower management fees and less liquidity are better suited such as Invesco’s Physical Gold ETF or BlackRock’s iShares Gold Trust.

Gold mining company equities is another option to gain exposure to prices of the yellow metal. However, these can come with surprises, positive and negative. If discoveries are made, the share price may rally sharply but if there are technical or political problems, the shares can tank irrespective of the gold price. The world’s largest gold mining companies — Newmont, Barrick Gold and Agnico Eagle Mines — are all dual-listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Gold mining equity funds including VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF are a way to diversify risks.

Precious metals streaming companies are another set of equities to consider, since they take small cuts on sales of many projects in return for providing financing, meaning the risks of each project or company is diluted in a broader portfolio. Among the largest listed precious metals streaming groups are Canada’s Franco-Nevada and Wheaton Precious Metals.

BIG WARNING

Here is a persuasive set of arguments for buying gold. This is at 25 March 2023

https://youtu.be/A2G3MAxdZfU

I follow and agree with all the arguments made in that video. In particular, there's a line something like, 

"How to manage members of the general public, who have more faith in the system than people people sitting round this table do"

At offset Kitco 13'40".

Notice who is sitting round the table. This is an FDIC meeting and the table is members of its systemic resolution advisory committee, SRAC

The SRAC advises the FDIC on how to manage threats to "too big to fail" financial institutions. Love it. 

The quandary they are in is how to prepare such institutions - and the bond holders and depositors - for a systemic failure, whilst at the same time making sure these depositors and bondholders do nothing about it ... for example they don't pull their deposits or sell their bonds.

I suppose first you sting them, to numb and paralyse; and then you suck out all their funds. Ha ha.

But I would say two things about this video and its concluding advice to buy gold.

1. One is that it's a video promoted by the Gold Mining whatever they call themselves, so raise one eyebrow "-).

2. And the other thing is that if all goes in the way they suggest, and you have a safe under the floorboards stuffed full of gold and silver, tge fiat currency collapses as per the govt plan, there's a smooth transition to the new central bank digital curreny, and now the government is running a tight ship using its digital currency.

So, what makes you think that if you take your gold to the bank, they will give you the digital currency equivalent that you need to buy bread and pay your rent?

Wouldn't it be more likely that before the transition, the government says,
"bring us your gold! Bring us your silver! and  we will give you the digital currency equivalent, but after the transition we will not recognise your gold"

And probably what they'll do instead, is call on you - because when you buy gold you have to declare your name and address - locate and break into your safe, and take your gold and put it into their safe!

So raise the other eyebrow ""-).

CONCLUSION

Considering relative weight and price, in the light of confiscation risk, you might like to consider whether it is worth holding this insurance in silver rather than gold or some mixture of the two. This is because the authorities would be very unlikely to call to collect your silver, whereas with gold if the s*** hits the fan they will almost certainly find out where you are and take your gold.

NOTE ON MEASURES - TROY OUNCES / BAHT

Gold internationally is usually measured in Troy ounces. One ounce = 31.1035 grams.

A baht of gold is just under one half troy ounce.

When wr speak of “One ounce of gold”, we typically mean one troy ounce = 31,1035 gram of 100% pure gold.

When a Thai speaks of “One baht of gold”, you typically mean 15.24 grams of 96,5% pure gold = 14.71 grams of 100% pure gold.

NEED 

-Scales

-Passport

-Cash

-Check shop

FLY INTO HEATHROW WITH GOLD IN YOUR POCKETS

When flying into Heathrow Airport (or any UK entry point) with pure gold in bars, there are specific rules you must follow. These rules concern customs declarations, tax implications, and security measures.

### 1. **Customs Declaration**

You must declare any goods that you bring into the UK from outside the EU if their total value exceeds £390. For gold, this rule applies regardless of its form (bars, coins, etc.). The declaration should be made at the customs red channel or red-point phone.

### 2. **Value and Taxes**

Gold, particularly in significant amounts, can easily surpass the value threshold for declarations. Failure to declare could result in fines or confiscation of the gold. Additionally, you might be subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) or other taxes upon entry, depending on the current legislation.

### 3. **Quantitative Restrictions**

While there's no limit to the amount of gold you can bring into the UK for personal use, large quantities may raise suspicion and necessitate proof of ownership and the origin of the gold. This is part of measures to prevent money laundering and the illegal trade.

### 4. **Safety and Security**

Transporting valuable items like gold bars requires careful consideration of security. You should ensure they are securely stored and consider using secure transport services if the value is particularly high.

### 5. **Insurance**

It's advisable to have insurance coverage for the gold you're transporting. This will protect you against potential loss, theft, or damage during your journey.

### Glossary of Terms

- *Customs Declaration*: A document that lists and gives details of goods that are being imported or exported.

- *VAT (Value Added Tax)*: A tax on the amount by which the value of an article has been increased at each stage of its production or distribution.

- *Money Laundering*: The process of concealing the origins of money obtained illegally by passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions.

CLARIFICATION

"You must declare any goods that you bring into the UK from outside the EU if their total value exceeds £390. For gold, this rule applies regardless of its form"

But also:

"there's no limit to the amount of gold you can bring into the UK for personal use".

Let's clarify these points:

### 1. **Declaration Threshold**

When entering the UK, you are required to declare any goods you bring from outside the EU if their total value exceeds £390. This threshold applies to the combined value of all goods you're bringing in, not just gold.

### 2. **Unlimited Quantities of Gold**

The statement that there's no limit to the amount of gold you can bring into the UK for personal use means there are no quantitative restrictions on gold specifically. You can bring in as much gold as you want, but it's subject to declaration and potentially taxes if the value exceeds the £390 threshold.

In essence, while you can technically carry unlimited quantities of gold, the value of the gold dictates the need for declaration and the potential financial implications (like paying VAT). Always declare and follow the guidelines to avoid legal issues.