Stock market prices for gold and silver
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FAQ

- Do you have a real customer service at your office or it’s just pictures taken from internet?

Judging by the fact that they have families, yes, they are real people.

Gold, silver, equipment, Cyprus coffee, a professional customer service and a friendly atmosphere - all these qualities exist in our office now. Feel more than welcome to visit us any time to check it out for yourself. Our regular routine it’s that the customers come and go and they return back not as customers only but also as friends. 


- As your customer, can I count on your support and assistance in case of problems?

We will never desert our customers, no matter what problems actually arise. It`s a basic principle of our company.


- How confidential is it to cooperate with KDG Gold?

We have never given out any information about our customers` operations and we`ll never do anything live that. In this aspect of our work can be compared the activities of a bank. There is a very small list of government agencies and departments, which can request such confidential information about our transactions and, if it is official and reasonable, we`ll have to give it out. European commission monitors our activities periodically as well as the activities of other coin shops in order to prevent money-laundering. Small-scale and medium-scale transactions at the same time they do not attract the attention of commissions and agencies.

- Gold is not the kind of financial accounts, the presence of which you have in front of someone accountable.

- Owning gold is not taxed, are not subject to declaration and state registration.

Speaking about the way we communicate with our customers, one day two sisters accidentally met in our office, both of them had already been our patrons for a long time, but neither of the sisters knew about it.


- Scrap gold gave me more money for the Maple Leaf than for the Eagle. Because American Eagle was only 22k, while the purity of the Maple Leaf was 24k. However, on your Web-site American Eagle coins cost more than Maple Leafs. How is it possible?

Unfortunately, you've came across unfair gold buyers. The 22k American Eagles and the 24k Maple Leafs always contain an equal amount of pure gold. For example, American Eagles and Maple Leafs contain 1-ounce of pure gold (31.1 grams), while the 24k Maple Leaf coins weigh 3.1103 grams and the 22k American Eagles weigh a bit more – 33.930 grams. That is, a 24k Maple Leaf coin consists of 24 pieces of metal, and all of them are pure gold, in total they weigh 1 ounce. Speaking about American Eagles, 22 pieces out of 24 are pure gold, also weighing 1 oz., while the remaining two pieces consist of ligature, hardening the ounce of pure gold. The reason is that that the American Eagle coins were used as a currency in the past, they were in circulation. During the circulation the value of such a coin was equal to $ 20 and the people were free to exchange them for 20-dollar bills. Modern American Eagle coins have a value of 50 dollars. We also want to inform you that selling investment coins to pawn-shops isn`t the best option, in a specialized coins store you`ll get a better price.


- I bought a British Sovereign coins in 1904 from you, with the declared purity of 22 karat. At the same time, I inherited a few Sovereigns, coins at the same time, however all of them have a purity of 18k. How can you explain this?

You should keep in mind, that in the past British Sovereigns were not only coined in Britain, but also in British colonies all around the world. All the Sovereigns produced in Great Britain itself, had a purity of 22k. Exactly the same Sovereigns, minted in British colonies often had a lower purity and contained less gold. For example, in Lebanon the Sovereigns only contained 72% of gold. Accordingly, it had a purity of 720, it was slightly higher than 17 karats.  
We don’t want to upset you, but we do not sell or buy British Sovereigns with a purity lower than specified by the Royal Mint of Great Britain - 22k. But you can trade your Sovereigns with a lower purity in the Bank of Greece.


- What are karats and how can they be used to determine the purity of gold?

Cyprus and many other countries of the world they use the metric system for evaluating the purity of gold, expression and labelling of the purity of gold. If gold has a purity of 999.9, it means that means that 1,000 grams of alloy contain 999.9 grams of gold and 0.1 grams of impurities.

1000 grams of gold with a purity of 850 contain 850 grams of pure gold and 150 grams of impurities (ligature), which harden the metal and/or change the colour of the product.

The karat system is still used in the United States, South Africa, Britain and many other countries around the world. A purity of 24 carats means that out of 24 conventional pieces of alloy all 24 are gold. Purity of 18 karats means that out of 24 conventional pieces 18 pieces are gold and 6 pieces are impurities (ligature).

In order to convert the purity of gold, you just have to use a simple formula. For example, in order to figure out the purity of 18-karat gold, you need to do use the following characteristics:

  1. The maximum possible metric purity of gold, which is 1000.
  2. The maximum possible purity of gold in carats, which is equal to 24.
  3. The actual purity of the product in karats, in this example it is 18. You need to divide the maximum possible metric purity of gold by the maximum possible purity of gold in carats and multiply the result by the purity of the product in carats: (1000/24​​) * 18 = 750.

For reversed conversion you need to divide the metric purity of the product by the maximum possible metric purity and then multiply it by the maximum possible purity in carats: (750/1000) * 24 = 18 carats.

If you don’t want to do all these calculations, you can use a special online calculator

We believe that the metric system is better and more accurate. The karat system excludes fractional numbers. In this connection, the Karat system has a higher degree of accuracy. For example, gold 999 and 995 samples in the Karat measurement system fall under the definition of purity of 24 Karats.


- I want to buy a Krugerrand coin, 22k, without VAT, and give it to a jeweler, who is a friend of mine, so he`ll be ably to make a piece of gold jewelry for my wife. Is this operation legal?

No, according to the current law regulations, you cannot use gold coins as material for jewelry with the purpose of avoiding paying VAT or even without it. A two-component ligature that is present in modern Krugerrands really has an unusual reddish color. Therefore, many women would like to use Krugerrands as material for jewelry. But melting investment coins that can be used as currencies in issuer countries is illegal.

You can order jewelry made of the same materials from your friend or any other jeweler, it will surely have exactly the same color. To do this you need 22k gold with no ligature except copper and a purity of at least 99.9. Here are the required proportions: gold - 90.51%, copper - 9.49%. In this way you will get the same reddish color of a Krugerrand. If you prefer a more yellowish color of the old Krugerrands, then you have to use triple ligature. The proportions are: gold - 91.38%, copper - 8.39%, silver - 0.23%.

The above mentioned data hasn`t been taken from booklets or handbooks, we got it after X-ray spectroscopy of 1 oz. Krugerrands, released in 2012 and 1985 respectively.


- I was told that you can buy coins from you below market prices, is that true?

Before we answer YES, we should clarify the terminology, especially the term "market price". (Reference: http://kdggoldcoin.com/ru/information/market-average-price-for-gold). Now, when we have figured the terminology out, we can give an affirmative answer: yes, you can buy coins below their market prices at the time of purchase. That is, toy can buy certain coins for a lower price at certain moments, but of course it can`t be lower than the market price of gold. The coins we repurchase often return to our stock with minor defects such as scuffs and micro scratches. But at the same time, they are still coins, containing a particular amount of gold. Coin Dealers describe these coins generally with the phrases «Mixed years» and «2nd QUALITY». At the same time, old coins in a pristine condition are usually labeled as «BU» - «BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED». (Reference: http://www.ebay.com/gds/Uncirculated-Coins-Vs-BU-coins-Vs-MS-coins-/10000000004340147/g.html).

According to the inner regulations of our company, all the repurchased coins can be bought within a three day period with a minimum trading margin. This is possible due to the fact that we repurchase coins from our customers without paying any additional transaction fees and the cost of insured shipping and storage. It allows us to sell these coins to our customers at a price below the market level.

If we fail to sell the repurchased coins within three days, they will be evaluated by our experts, after that the price increases. Nevertheless, it happens very rarely, as usual we sell repurchased coins out immediately, according to the waiting list. If you want to be able to buy such coins, then the best option is submitting an application in order to be added to the waiting list. You need to get in touch with us via e-mail or by phone. Please, keep in mind: when you purchase old gold coins, which have already been in the circulation, such as the British Sovereigns, produced in 1900s, you buy a little less gold than when you purchase modern Sovereigns. This is due to the fact that the coins that had already been in use, wear-off gradually, this is absolutely natural. On this account, gold and silver coins that were supposed to be in the circulation, have never made of pure silver and gold. In such cases ligature was always added in order to harden the coins.


- Do you purchase scrap gold and silver?

No, it's not our business. In the office KDG Gold & Silver Coin Partners company and on our Web-site you can:

- Buy gold coins in Cyprus

- Sell gold coins in Cyprus

- Buy silver coins in Cyprus

- Sell silver coins in Cyprus

- Buy gold and silver bullions in Cyprus

- Sell gold and silver bullions in Cyprus

- Make an order online and have your coins and bars delivered to the EU with insurance.

- Conduct a full or partial non-destructive analysis of any objects made of gold and silver.

- Clean your precious metal objects, using a professional ultrasonic cleaner, thereby restoring their original condition. Products, encrusted with precious stones, cannot be cleaned using the ultrasonic method, because after this procedure the stones can drop out at any time and the customer might lose them.

KDG Gold e-Brochure in PDF file.


- Why is the price of investment coins and bars always a bit higher than the price of gold on the Stock Market?

Gold price on the stock market (Spot Price) is the so-called spot price, it also represents the price of a bank gold bullion. According to the LBMA standards, a bank bullions must weigh 400 ounces (12,441 kg) and have a purity of 995%. In order to be able to buy gold from in bank bullions for exchange market prices, you must become an official bidder. You have to pay for that. Only banks and the biggest players on the gold market can afford it. If you decide to purchase a gold bar, you will buy it for a bit higher price than the registered bidders. It is completely natural, because the seller will add a take-off to the stock price. In order to make investment coins or bars out of bank gold bars, the manufacturer has to refine the gold and increase its fineness from 995% to 999% or higher. Then he needs to develop and manufacture moulds for coins or bars, it also requires certain financial expenses. Then you need to anneal the metal and, finally, conduct the coinage. Light investment bars are usually manufactured rather by stamping than by casting. It allows to make investment gold bars smooth, flat and attractive. Of course it is more expensive to mint a coin than to stamp a gold bar. But we must also remember that investment bars from leading manufacturers receive unique numbers after stamping and the numbered package acts as a certificate, however it also implies additional expenses. For all these reasons the price of investment coins and bars is approximately equal, and it is always a little higher than the price of gold on the exchange market. The difference in price per gram only comes up when you buy bars and coins, weighing 100 grams or more. In this case buying bars is more profitable. But selling gold bars is more complicated than selling coins.

In addition, if you transfer gold coins, it doesn`t usually attract so much attention at the customs comparing with the import and export of gold bars. Every option has its pros and cons.


- Can I pay my order and ask one of my friends to pick my order up and send it to me from Cyprus?

Yes, of course. But for this you should call us beforehand and send us a request with instructions via e-mail or fax, so that we`ll be able to prepare your order and send it to your representative. He will be able to receive it after presenting his passport.


- Can I make a payment in advance in order to book specific items and buy them for a fixed price?
No, sorry. But we will consider your offer. Due to technical difficulties, to making such an order in our system isn`t possible, but we provide our customers with similar, but a little different services. When the price of any product reaches the desired level, the customer can call us and make a reservation after paying in advance. For such prepaid orders we use a separate bank account. However if we use a different mechanism, there will be a risk that we won`t have enough items you have pre-ordered when their prices reach the desired level.

- Do you accept payments in Bitcoins?

No, at the moment, we only accept payments such such currencies as Euros and US Dollars. We strongly believe that Bitcoin is not a currency. From our point of view, Bitcoin is just a technology that generates derivative financial instruments - derivatives. Moreover, the underlying asset in the case of Bitcoin is a zero, just nothing. We simply cannot accept «nothing» asa payment for real physical gold and silver, even if this "nothing" it is embodied in a computer algorithm.


- Do you accept payment via PayPal?

No, sorry. But perhaps we will revise our decision in the future.


- Do you accept credit card payments?

Yes, we accept all kinds of credit cards excepting American Express. But if you pay by card, we have to assign to the buyer the commission cost held by payment systems on each card transaction. However payment systems usually add 2-3% take-offs to the total transaction amount, depending on the type of the card. The retail sales of clothing or products involve a trading margin of 40% or more. Under such circumstances the sellers are ready to accept payments by VISA or MasterCard and to pay an additional fee for it themselves, without the participation of the buyers. However, taking into account that an average retail margin for gold coins ranges 0.8 to 1.4%, vendors cannot afford paying an additional 2-3% fee per transaction, so they assign these additional fees to the owner of the card. That's the way all coin stores operate in the United States and in Europe. It`s always 2-4% cheaper to purchase coins using cash or a bank transfer than a plastic card.


- What’s the difference between limited edition coins and limited (small) circulation coins?

One cartoon hero said: "Every herring is a fish, but not every fish is a herring!". The situation here is quite the same: every limited circulation coin is a limited edition coin, but not every limited edition coin has limited circulation.

For example, a Canadian Wolf with the purity of five nines (99999) is a limited edition coin as it was only produced until the end of the year 2014. But it is not a short circulation coin, because up to that moment this coin had been produced by the Royal Canadian Mint, in accordance with consumer demand. But Vancouver gold coins, produced in 2010, are short circulation ones as only 50 000 Vancouvers were produced. Silver coins can be short circulation ones as well. 1 oz. Silver Australian Koala with Berlin Privy coins, produced in 2012, makes another perfect example, as only 50 000 such coins were released.


- How can I find the coin’s reverse and obverse?

- Obverse has the sovereign or the national symbols (for example, the coat of arms) coined on it.

Reverse is the flip side of the coin. Usually the reverse is the coin`s most beautiful and plain side.


- What is the point of buying limited edition coins?

Canadian Maple Leafs and American Eagles which that released 10 years ago today are evaluated in exactly the same way as before: the price of metal + a small additional bonus of 3-5% for coinage. But Australian Kangaroos and especially Somalian Elephants, which were also released 10 years ago, today are evaluated like this: the price of metal + 40-200% extra charge due to their rarity. And this is not surprising, because the reverse design of the coin changes every year and it’s never repeated. When these coins are released, their price is the same or slightly higher than the average price of any other investment coins. But with the course of time these coins get more expensive abnormally fast. They seem to have two sources of overall value: the cost of precious metal and an additional charge for rarity, growing over time. However, you must bear in mind that in case of an economic collapse or a military conflict, the additional charge for the coins` rarity will be cancelled. They will only be sold for the price of precious metal. And on the contrary, in case of stability and economic growth the price these rare coins will grow rapidly significantly outpacing the growth of price of the precious metal they consist of. Therefore, we recommend our clients to invest in both types of coins, adjusting the proportions in accordance with their investment portfolio and the economic goals they want to achieve in the future. Ordinary investment coins will help you to go through hard times. But when the hard times come to an end and the stability is restored, the limited edition coins you`ve will bring you an incomparably higher profit than the standard coins.


- Why can I only buy certain kinds of coins in your office instead of ordering them online with insured shipping?

Mints and our vendors sell coins in bulk. There is often such a situation when the prime vendor runs out of certain types of coins, especially of limited edition coins. But these coins can remain available in our stock for some more time. We only such coins sell in our office. We also only sell the coins we`ve bought back from our customers in our office. If you would like to purchase such a rare coin, you can pay for it via a bank remittance and then pick it up personally. Alternatively, your representative can receive the coins for you.


- Is it true that buying coins online is always cheaper than in coin stores?

Of course it’s not. The profitability of such purchases, made both online and in coins stores, depends on many different factors. First of all it depends on the amount of coins or bullion bars you are planning to buy. The lower the amount is, the less profitable gets to make an order online.

The prices that you see on the Web-site do not represent the ultimate price of the items you have selected. The cost of transferring your gold to the seller and the insured delivery of your order is always added to the price you see on the Internet.

If you order 20 silver coins or a ¼ oz. golden coin, you`ll be additionally charged for 50-70 Euros. Therefore, making such an order is less profitable than buying the same products personally in a coin store. However if your order is large, it becomes more reasonable to make it online.

However when you order coins online, you take a number of additional risks, which can be excluded if you purchase precious metal investment goods personally. In addition, if you order a large number of coins from a store, you will probably also get a discount.

For these reasons, if you want to choose most profitable way of making a particular order, it will require an individual approach.

You just have to compare prices for your specific order if you make it online and if you purchase the coins directly in the store. After that you will be able to compare all the possible pros and cons of both options and make a right investment decision.


- What is the point of paying for the shipping of gold to Cyprus and then to another country?

In Europe there are two main gold trading centers: London and Frankfurt.

If you make your order from Greece, it will be cheaper to ship your gold from Cyprus. But if you are making an order from Poland, the delivery will be made from our warehouse in Frankfurt.

Our logistics system automatically finds the most suitable delivery options, depending on the country of delivery and the stock availability of sufficient quantities of certain trading items. In other words, if you order 100 gold coins from Greece, but only 98 coins will be available in Cyprus at that moment, then the delivery of your order will be carried out from Frankfurt.


- Are you a branch office of "*******************"?

No, we`re not somebody`s branch office or sister company.  We have no branches and subsidiaries neither in Greece, nor in England, Russia or any other country in the world as well.


- What languages can you speak on the phone and in your office?

We speak Greek, Russian and of course we speak English!


- It’s your company an offshore company?

No. KDG Gold & Silver Coin Partners it’s a common European company that is not an offshore and pays all taxes and fees according with EU regulations and Cyprus Law.


- Is there any shipping insurance?

Yes, of course. There is also an optional additional insurance that costs 0.6% of the order amount.


- Do you conduct buybacks?

Yes, of course. We not only buy the coins and bullions that had been purchased from us back, we also buy other gold and silver products that meet the investment criteria and are in satisfactory condition.


- How can I store my gold safely?

If you somehow managed to keep your paper money before the purchase of the gold, what's stopping from storing your gold in exactly the same way?

There are some companies who specify on storing large amounts of gold for private citizens, such as ViaMat and Brink's Global.

ViaMat have been present in the logistics and custody market for 60 years, while Brink's Global have been operating for 150 years so far. In addition, since 2012 you can store your valuables in a secure vault in the open area of the Singapore airport - Singapore Freeport – this vault is owned by the Swiss company Malca-Amit, which has been storing the values of its customers for 40 years.

If you want to custodian and manage of your valuables personally, and not just via any agent acting on your behalf, for the opening of such an option, your physical presence it’s required.


- Do you store the gold of your customers?

We are sorry, but NO, we don`t. We do not store the valuables, which belong to our customers. It conflicts with our vision. Storing gold receipts means that your gold isn`t tangible. In this matter we agree with Mike Maloney, who said the following:

«If you cannot touch your gold, then you have no control over it».

On the market today there are a lot of proposals to invest in the so-called "paper gold."

This type of investment is characterized by the fact that you do not buy physical gold, but only a receipt saying that you own this gold. Before buying a "paper gold" contract, you have to   understand that every gold bullion bar in the world has already been sold «on paper» at least 68 times.

Gold and some ink inscription about some gold on paper - is different things with varying degrees of risk.

That is, in itself, gold, does not carry the risks of third parties. Risks of third parties do not depend on your will and desires. Any paper about gold, it's always all risks from counterparty, which gives you this a paper about gold.
But the burden of all these risks - that's always only your personally problem.

That actually means that each of the 68 people who bought the gold receipt instead of a realand tangible piece of gold sincerely believes that he is the sole owner of the gold, which is stored by someone on his behalf. That`s why we hear the phrase "paper gold is the fools` gold» very often.


- How can I check the authenticity of coins or bullions at home?

Never use acid and (or) the touchstone or electrochemical testers. All these checking methods can damage the surface of the coin and reduce its value significantly. A touchstone can even turn coins into useless scrap. But checking the authenticity of coins at home is still possible.

A comprehensive approach is required. First, we recommend that you get a powerful neodymium magnet as genuine bullion bars and coins can’t be magnetized.

Second, we recommend our clients to purchase and use inexpensive, but very effective equipment for the authentication of coins.

Also scales, accurate within thousandths of a gram, won`t be out of place at all. But unfortunately a non-destructive analysis and an accurate authentication of gold and silver bullions are impossible at home environment.

On this account, cases of forgery gold bars create a higher risk of becoming a fraud victim.


- How can you guarantee the authenticity of your products?

We usually answer this question like this: We get our products directly from mints and reliable suppliers with an impeccable and proven reputation.

These principles describe our company KDG Gold & Silver Coin Partners pretty well. But we not only guarantee the authenticity of our products by dealing with reliable suppliers. We also have our own laboratory. We use the latest technologies and high-tech equipment for non-destructive analysis of precious metal products. All the our products come through a three-stage examination.

This examination consists of X- Ray spectroscopy, densimetry and ultrasonic testing.

For example:

- A piece of wolfram inside an gold bar which is hidden under a thick layer of gold can easily «deceive» X-Ray spectroscopy and densitometry. But wolfram cannot deceive the ultrasonic tester, as the speed of sound broadcast in wolfram, comparing with gold, differs by 1.5 times.

- Ceramic foam placed in a special way in the middle of silver bullion and hidden under a thick layer of silver can «deceive» X-Ray and block the Ultrasonic test. Ultrasound simply cannot go through the ceramic foam, it already is a clear sign of forgery. But it cannot «deceive» the densimeter, as the physical density of the ceramic foam is significantly different from the physical density of silver.

- The presence of additional impurities in the ligature can «deceive» thedensimeter and the ultrasonic test. But the presence of impurities exceeding the manufacturer's standards cannot deceive X-Ray.

We are members of the Cyprus Numismatics Association and we often assist various organizations and private collectors in testing the authenticity of coins.

Checking all purchased from us goods of precious metals in the presence of the Client is our obligatory and integral part of our work.

We recommend you when you visit our office, carry some articles of precious metals, cleanliness and ligature which, you know in advance. On the example of this test of your own products, you can make sure that the objectivity and accuracy of our equipment.


- Why should I buy Silver?

In contrast to gold, silver is widely used in industry. Approximately half of the silver that had been mined in human history has been consumed by industry irretrievably. Due to the competition that had arisen between the monetary and the industrial demand, silver was gradually withdrawn from money circulation in the 60s. The industrial consumption of silver is constantly growing. According to the USGS, by the year 2020 the humankind will be lack of silver, not even of oil. The ratio of gold and silver suitable for mining in the earth's crust is 1:15. This ratio used to be actual for many thousands of years, that was the way silver was evaluated against gold. Our ancestors could exchange one gold coin for 15 equally weighing pieces of silver. Today the value of gold against silver is 1 to 70. This is an artificial and completely unnatural ratio. Whoever goes against nature always loses eventually. It`s just a matter of time. We will inevitably restore the natural proportions. And after that silver will rise in price comparing to gold, 4 times.

Probably the people who have decided to artificially reduce the value of silver are well aware of this. Therefore, silver investments are subject to VAT while investments in gold are exempt from VAT. But even with VAT investments in silver are beneficial for two reasons:

The first reason is the gold to silver ratio, which is called «Gold Silver Ratio» or abbreviated as “GSR Index”.

So, if today instead of buying a single gold coin you can purchase 50 silver coins subject to VAT, then sooner or later there will be a day when you will be able to sell 50 pieces of silver for 3 or 4 gold coins.

The second reason for investment in silver lies in the dynamics of its value. Whenever the price of gold increases by 10%, the price of silver increases by 20%. However, whenever there the price of gold decreases by 10%, the price of silver decreases twice more as well (by 20%).

Some sayings describing the silver market have passed into proverbs:

1. Gold is a "Mercedes” and silver is a "Ferrari".

2. If you expect the price of gold to grow, buy silver to double your profits.

3. Investors in gold are like passengers in a comfortable Boeing. Investors in silver are like fighter pilots.

Over the last 10 years silver has increased in value against the US Dollar by more than 300%. It suggests that at the moment silver is being underrated significantly.


- Why should I Buy Gold?

Gold it’s a Currency and a Commodity at the same time. Many experts are arguing whether or not gold can be considered as an "investment" or simply as an "insurance" against inflation. This question has neither right nor wrong answers. Gold is primarily “money", with deflationary nature originally put into it.

The value of gold is growing not only comparing with paper currencies, but also with goods, labour and services. The growth of the world`s population not only generates a constant increase of money supply, but also increases the total volume of goods and services in the world. On the other hand, the growth of the world`s gold reserves due to gold production is approximately 1.7% per year.

The overall production of goods and services in the world, it’s growing at a higher rate. Therefore, the value of gold (its purchasing power) increases not only comparing with paper currencies due to inflation, but also comparing with all goods, labour and services.

The deflationary nature of money (gold) is a basic principle of the Austrian School of Economics. Gold is free of all kinds of counterparty risks. Possession of gold symbolizes freedom and independence. Even after the record decrease for the past 35 years that has been taken place since 2011, during the last 10 years gold has increased in value against the U.S. Dollar by more than 300%.

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