Investors generally prefer gold coins to jewellery. From being the oldest form of currency, gold coins are now the choicest investment option. As Diwali nears, several banks and other financial services intermediaries start to promote their gold coins. Most of these promotions stress the purity aspect to command a premium for the gold coins sold by them vis-à-vis those sold by jewelers. While banks play up the claim that their gold coins carry the purity surety, jewelers point to the fact that bank coins are definitely costlier as banks levy their own charges and weave them into the cost. Another disadvantage of purchasing coins from banks is that banks do not entertain buy-back of these coins. The regulator Reserve Bank of India doesn’t allow banks to buy it back from the customer. So if you want to sell a bank-sold coin, you will have to go to a jeweller, who will give you less price for a bank’s gold coin. Gold coins come in different karat denomination like 24 karat, 22 carat etc. Nearly seven banks have entered the gold coin market. Even Reliance Money and the Muthoot Group in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have forayed into the gold coin business. Maximum sales take place during festive season such as Akshaya Trithiya in South and Dhanteras in the North.
