If you have recently perused any sort of online auction website lately in the hopes of snagging an incredible deal on solid gold coins, you should be more careful. It is very easy to fool bidders and buyers with pictures of gold coins and not pictures of the actual coins themselves. Worse still are the gold coins for sale that the seller states have never been touched by human hands, but then shows the coins out of their protective cases with gloved hands. Even though the hands are gloved, it still exposes the coin to the air, which immediately begins to corrode the coin from humidity. If you want to buy gold and gold coins from an auction site, here is how you can without being taken for all you have.

Buy from Well-Known Auction Houses

Well-known auction houses in New York and London often have lots of gold bullion and gold coins come up for auction from estate sales. They buy and sell gold as easily as a grocer sells apples. What is more, these auction houses allow bidders to make online bids and keep track of how high the bidding goes. You can be as much a part of the live auction as the bidders who are in the auction house and holding up paddles every few seconds. The best part is that you know these auction houses have fully assessed the purity and value of all of the gold that goes up on the auction block so that you are getting your money's worth.

Ask to See a Certificate of Authenticity

Most gold coins will have a certificate of authenticity. While these certificates can also be faked, the fakes will list the name of the business that supposedly certified the gold as real. You can then call this business and ask them to check their records in regards to a specific gold item with their stamp of approval. If their records show that they certified the coins or bars as real and pure, you can then place your bid on the online auction site with confidence and security.

Be Careful of Bids That Are Too Low or Too High

Before you place a bid on a gold coin, learn something about it to validate its minting and circulation. What are the years in which the coin was produced? Which mint or mints made the coins? Were the coins recalled for flaws at all? All of these things affect the value of the coins.

Also, keep abreast of the current market value of a single gold ounce. That way, when you see a gold coin you would like to bid on, you will know by the starting price if it is much too high or much too low. For example, a pure gold coin of one full ounce in weight should not have a starting bid of just a few dollars. It should also not have a starting bid of tens of thousands of dollars unless the seller can provide (on demand) proof that the coin is very rare and is worth exactly what the starting price says it is. Cash for gold is a quick profit, but you should receive exactly what you expect to be buying from the seller.

For more information about buying and selling gold, talk to a store like Sol's Jewelry and Pawn.