A gold futures contract is a contract for the sale or purchase of gold at a certain price on a specific date in the future. For example, gold futures will trade for several months of the year going out many years. If one were to purchase a December 2019 gold futures contract, then he or she has purchased the right to take delivery of 100 troy ounces of gold in December 2019. The price of the futures contract can fluctuate, however, between now and then.

Technically, the answer is yes. One could purchase a gold futures contract and eventually take delivery on that contract. This is not common practice, however, due to the fact that there are only certain types of gold bullion products that are considered "good delivery" by the exchange and therefore one's choices are very limited. In addition, there are numerous fees and costs associated with taking delivery on a futures contract.

Although one can buy gold ETFs, they are not the same as buying physical gold that you can hold in your hand. ETFs are paper assets, and although they may be backed by physical gold bullion, they trade based on different factors and are priced differently.

Gold is traded all over the globe through all different time zones. In addition, with today's markets running nearly around the clock, the need for constant price discovery has increased. Gold trades virtually around the clock to allow for banks, financial institutions and retail investors to access the gold market when they choose.

If one is just trying to acquire as much gold as possible, both gold bars and standard gold bullion coins are a viable option. If one is simply looking to purchase gold for the lowest price possible, gold bars will often be the most cost-efficient way to buy gold bullion. Bars carry lower premiums than coins because they have no face value, are not backed by government mints, and most gold bars are easier to make than gold coins.

For example, today a 1oz Perth mint Gold Kangaroo coin may be bought from a dealer for $xxxx. That same dealer is also offering a 1 oz Perth mint gold bar for $xxxx. That's about a $xxxx difference per ounce of gold bullion! Both bars and coins can be purchased in fractional sizes such as 1 gram, 2 gram, 5 gram, 20 gram, and more. The fractional sizes, however, will typically carry larger premiums than a standard 1 ounce or 1 kilo bar due to higher manufacturing costs associated with producing smaller bullion items.

The gold/silver ratio represents the price relationship between gold and silver. Some investors will analyse historical gold/silver ratios to see if the current ratio means gold or silver are under or overpriced relative to each other.