How to buy gold half sovereigns
Gold half sovereigns are British gold coins issued by The Royal Mint of the United Kingdom. The UK gold sovereign is equivalent to one-pound sterling, but is more frequently used as a bullion coin or for adding to a person’s coins sets for collection. Therefore, half sovereign is equivalent to one-half pound sterling. Gold half sovereigns are still issued for commemorative purposes only. You can buy them from the government or through the Internet.
How to guard against buying counterfeit coins
One thing you should remember is that many people are still trying to lure people to invest in gold – unfortunately, they do not really have real gold to offer. They have counterfeits that are difficult to identify with an untrained eye. Nevertheless, there are still some ways that you can personally determine if your half sovereign is indeed genuine. One way of doing so is by having your recently purchased coin compared to a coin that has been proven genuine and is of the same type. Obviously, comparing a half sovereign to a genuine sovereign will only help to a certain extent. You can also try using a coin gauge and if that is not possible, consider weighing and measuring your recently purchased coin. Compare its weight to the standards defined for UK commemorative coins. If you have measured and weighed the coin several times, but they still do not match, there are chances that you have bought something fake.
Other types of money that you can invest in
Numismatics refers to the study and the habit of not only collecting coin, but also other types of medium of exchange such as paper money. Sometimes, commemorative and rare or limited-edition coins can be quite expensive. If you are currently cash-strapped, you can try lowering your investment just a bit by purchasing paper money instead. You can also try investing in gold as well. Although, this is the type of investment where you do not literally see the gold that you are buying and selling. Gold is at least something easier to purchase and sell off because it is considered valuable by many people. Unlike with coins, which are sometimes appealing only to numismatists, gold is still used for bartering or at least for improving the state of the economy.