Buying and storing physical metal.

Bars are cheapest per gram; coins are more divisible and easier to sell internationally. Stick to LBMA-certified bars and well-known bullion coins — exotic products sell slower and cheaper.

Compare the dealer's buy-back price, not just the sale price: that spread is your true entry cost. Always keep the invoice with weight, purity and serial number, and verify with weight, callipers and a magnet test, or buy sealed with a certificate.

Home storage is free but home insurance usually caps metal cover at a few thousand euro. Bank boxes are discreet but rarely insured. Professional allocated vaulting costs 0.3 to 1 per cent a year and keeps numbered bars outside the custodian's balance sheet.

Dealers fall under anti-money-laundering rules and must identify you above set thresholds; cash limits apply (3,000 euro in Belgium, 10,000 euro EU-wide). When selling, request several quotes the same day and never ship metal without insured transport and a locked-in price.