Gold and Silver Buyer’s Guide – United Arab Emirates

338 Responses to Gold and Silver Buyer’s Guide – United Arab Emirates

1. Howard O'Connell says:

   June 6, 2011 at 1:12 pm

   How much a 8 grams 22 K Saudi Arabian gold coin will be worth?

   Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     June 6, 2011 at 4:30 pm

     At today’s gold price of AED 174.50 per gram and a 5 dirham making charge it would be – ( 174.50 X 8 ) + 5 = AED 1,401

     Reply
2. Muhammad says:

   June 11, 2011 at 4:34 pm

   Assalam Alikum brother,
   Your vast knowledge about all the types of gold sold in all the different shops in UAE is quite impressive and therefore I would like to ask for your help. I am really curious as to where do these gold sellers get their gold originally from. Are they importing it from the gold mines internationally or are they buying it from some authorized government body within UAE? In a conversation once, my friend told me that these sellers such as lakhoo, anjali jewellers and the like actually get their gold from a bank which actually surprised me because I don’t think there are any banks in dubai that sell physical gold to people. Could you clarify this doubt once and for all. I am also interested in investing in gold and your articles have been very helpful.
   Thanking you in advance for your help,
   Muhammad.

   Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     June 12, 2011 at 5:16 am

     When it comes to swiss gold and silver brands like PAMP and Valcambi, those will be sold through their local representative/exclusive agents. I’ve heard that around 70% of gold coming through Dubai is swiss gold. The local mints like Emirates Gold will mint their stamped bars for you if you give them the gold grains, so I presume many local shops import their own grains and have the mints mint it into bars for them. No, none of the sellers would be getting it from the banks. Glad that the article was helpful and its better not to consider gold as an investment, but more like converting (like what you normally do at a money exchange) your paper money into sound/sunnah money.

     Reply
3. fang lim says:

   June 24, 2011 at 6:52 am

   Does anyone know where I can purchase scottsdale silver stackers in Dubai??

   Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     June 24, 2011 at 9:54 am

     You wont find foreign silver bars in Dubai other than the PAMP Suisse, IAR, and some indian minted silver bars.

     Reply
4. Bumzi says:

   June 24, 2011 at 10:25 am

   A very informative article…Which 1kg silver bar (Al Gaith, Emirates Gold or anyother) would you recommend to buy and from where in Dubai? and how is the premium over international price calculated in Dubai market for 1 kg silver ?

   Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     June 25, 2011 at 3:17 am

     All of them are priced the same, so I dont have any preference myself, but I have purchased more Emirates Gold silver bars as they are more widely available. The premium on the bars is calculated using an algorithm that I dont really understand, as it can very in percent depending on whether silver is going up or down on that particular day.

     Reply
5. fang lim says:

   June 25, 2011 at 10:25 pm

   what are the current premiums over spot in dubai for 100 oz of silver?

   Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     June 27, 2011 at 3:56 pm

     I havent seen any silver bars over 1 kilo as that is the standard here and the premiums are between 2.5 and 6 percent over spot, as it can very from day to day depending on the direction silver is heading.

     Reply
6. George says:

   June 27, 2011 at 7:10 am

   Dear Yusuf,

   Thank you for the amazing breath and depth of information. I have a couple of questions, if I may.

   I am interested in purchasing 1 kilo gold bars, that are 999.9 and not 995 which are common in this part of the world. Where could I get 999.9 1 kilo gold bars. Swiss gold better since it is easily recognized worldwide. Of course, the lower the premium the better.

   The second question is where should I store them? ViatMat, Brinks, Bank Safe Deposit? Any suggestions?

   I am also interested in kilo bars of platinum and palladium?

   Last question are there taxes on bringing or taking out of the country (UAE) for gold, platinum, palladium? Do I need a trading license, even if its for personal not business or trading purposes?

   Thank you,
   George

   Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     June 27, 2011 at 3:47 pm

     Hi George,

     You will find most of the local refineries (Emirates, Al Etihad, Al Ghaith, etc) will mint both 995 and 999.9 (or 999) bars. If you want the swiss brands, you can check the PAMP Gold office at 04-2261998 or Anjali and if you want Valcambi then check Lakhoos. There are no premiums on the ten tola and 1 kilo bars.

     About storage, as mentioned in the buyer’s guide, you can store it in your safety deposit box or in a home safe. If you want to store it in a vault facility, then you should check with Gold Standard DMCC [04-2291959] if they offer the facility for individuals.

     You wont find 1 kilo platinum and palladium bars, but Lakhoo will have 1 ounce bars.

     UAE is a tax free country, so I would assume they wouldnt charge you anything for bringing it in or taking it out when its for personal use, as its also available in the airport for all those doing some last minute shopping at the duty free.

     Reply
7. Chandan says:

   July 17, 2011 at 7:45 am

   Hi,I bought 5 kilo Silver bar @AEd 4520/kg and now the current price is AED 4800/kg.When I go to sell it people are saying the selling price is AED 4525/Kg,how come.Means Silver prices have increased but for me no gains–need to have a better understanding on this please,urgently.

   Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     July 17, 2011 at 9:39 am

     Well all the places I buy silver from, will charge 200 to 300 dhs under the current kilo spot price to buy it back. Lakhoo gave me 4,566 and Ceetees gave me 4,635 (if you have an emirates gold bar) when i called them today, with today’s silver price at 4,766. I’m assuming you bought 1 five kilo silver bar, and wondered where you did so and which mint is it from.

     Reply
8. fang lim says:

   July 18, 2011 at 6:47 pm

   Is there any good online shops in UAE that I can buy silver kilos from? I am looking for about 5kg . Regards.

   Reply
   • Chandan says:

     July 20, 2011 at 7:50 am

     Are you still looking for Silver

     kilo bars

     Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     July 21, 2011 at 9:27 am

     The only online shop i have found in the uae was shop.gold.ae. I havent used them as their prices are higher than the market.

     Reply
9. Chandan says:

   July 19, 2011 at 6:38 am

   Hi UF,
   MAny Thanks for the update.A good news for you also I’ve found a shop which charges only 1$/per oz.(silver) on buying and selling,equivalent to AED 129/Kg
   I tried many a numbers given above and off those 100 or 50 gram IAR silver bars can be found at Fine Gold [04-2256611] @AED 129/Kg instead of AED 200-300

   Yes I’ve 3pcs of 5 kilo bar,really mint and all is confusing.

   Reply
   • fang lim says:

     July 20, 2011 at 7:00 pm

     what brand silver kilos do you have? I am waiting to see if we fall back to 36.50 to buy. FL

     Reply
     • Chandan says:

       July 21, 2011 at 12:16 pm

       I have 3 pcs of 5 kilo bars–99.99–Switzerland made

       Reply
   • Yousuf says:

     July 21, 2011 at 9:39 am

     Everytime i’ve called Fine Gold for their 1kg silver bar, they have never had any, so i never bothered asking them what their buy price was for silver. So where did you find these 5 kilo bars and what mint are they?

     Reply
     • Chandan says:

       July 21, 2011 at 12:20 pm

       I do not know why but the moment I told him I’ve 5kilo bars he said he would buy it but a dollar less than the bid price,which,definitely sounded to be fair enough a deal.I’ll be visiting fine gold on firday and will post the outcome.

       I’m a novice in this trade so do not what mint it is and what difference does this mint makes in buying and selling.
       To me it’s 9999 Silver bar–But would like to learn what is mint and it’s value addition.

       Reply
       • Yousuf says:

         July 22, 2011 at 1:53 pm

         Well as i had replied above, Ceetees had offer AED 131 that day which is close to the 129 that you found at Fine Gold. Most of the places charge AED 200 below spot for a 1 kilo bar, which is $1.7 per oz. Its possible they gave you a better price because it was it was 5kg bars.

         Well the mint’s name would normally be stamped on it and easily visible.

         Reply
10. George says:

    July 21, 2011 at 9:34 am

    Where in the UAE can you get the best deal(lowest spread/premium/commission) buy 1 kilo 999.9 Gold Bars?

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      July 22, 2011 at 1:05 pm

      As state above, there are no premiums on the gold ten tola and 1 kilo bars, so any dealership selling it should have the same price. I personally would go for Anjali or Lakhoos for an Emirates Gold minted bar.

      Reply
11. ligendren says:

    July 22, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    can u guys tell me price of swiss gold for 1kg in market…….reply me as fast as possible… thx.

    Reply
12. Zorze says:

    August 10, 2011 at 7:41 am

    Dear Yousuf!
    Great blog. I’m following it closely. I have a pending question to ask:
    I’m from India and with to buy silver grains from Dubai souk. My brother is there who can get it physically here. 1) Is it good to buy silver grains? 2) How reliable is it to get it from Dubai? 3) What are the charges that I may incur in bringing it physically to India? 4) Or you always suggest to buy it from one’s home country?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 10, 2011 at 2:19 pm

      Hi Zorze,
      1) I havent seen a benefit in buying gold grains, other than they not having any making charges.
      2) I cant vouch for how reliable it is, but believe it to be safe, but i feel safer having it in bar for with a minters stamp on it.
      3) You’d have to check the import taxes india may charge you to bring it in, but there wouldnt be any taxes when taking it from here.
      4) Its always best to buy locally so you dont have to worry about import/export taxes if the price is reasonable to the global market price and i’ve seen quite abit of silver bars being imported into dubai from india which are below 1/2 kg.

      Reply
      • Zorze says:

        August 11, 2011 at 4:08 am

        Dear Yousuf!
        1) You meant ‘silver’ grains right?
        2) Hmm… with the minters stamp. So you suggest picking it up from the banks itself or a good gold/silver jeweller?
        3) Yes I checked that. Thanks for that.
        4) I checked the silver rates in Dubai – ~58,200/- INR (Indian Rupees); And the price in India is 59,100/-. I guess by-the-time I pay the taxes for importing it may turn out ot be costlier rather. Would the purity be any different? Its like people saying that buying gold from Dubai is better even thou the rates are similar because the ‘quality’ of gold is much better. Does is hold true even for silver? So you suggest picking up 1/2 kg silver bars from India itself?
        Thanks,
        -Z

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          August 11, 2011 at 8:30 am

          Hi Zorze,
          1) Yes i meant silver.
          2) Well you have to find out what are the more popular/recognized refiners in india and find out what if it would be cheaper to get it from a bank or jeweller.
          4) Most silver bars are the same quality (999) and i wouldnt buy one that was lower than that. Well most of the gold sold here is swiss gold, so if you can find PAMP or Valcambi branded gold their, there wouldnt be a difference in quality getting them in india. Locally refined silver is the most popular here. Yes i’d suggest you get 1/2 kilo silver bars in india from a popular mint, as i’m assuming you’d want to sell it in india, and the more popular the mint is, the easier it would be to sell.

          Reply
          • Zorze says:

            August 11, 2011 at 9:11 am

            Thank you Yousuf! Glad to be at this blog. I’ll be closly waiting for more from you.
            God bless you!
13. ashrul says:

    August 12, 2011 at 12:14 pm

    Hi Yousuf!
    I’m from indonesia and just got my second 100g gold bar from gold souq and still planning to buy my 3rd one in the next few hours. And i just surprised(no…., shocked) now that the price of the gold keep going up, and exceed 210dhs per gram as per yesterday rate. But, after several days, i shocked (again) as i realized that in my 100g valcambi suisse, there is no serial number printed on the front side of the gold (not like my 1st PAMP suisse, there’s serial # printed on the front side, correspond with serial# on the certificate). This time, i only found it’s serial# on the certificate only. i asked grampa google and he couldn’t find me the explanation for this yet i found out that all images of the 100g valcambi suisse always has the serial# stamped on it’s front side. Is this normal for valcambi suisse that they put “24 karat” in the front side instead of put it’s serial #?? did somebody sold the fake 100g valcambi gold to me??

    btw, i like ur article….it’s helpful.
    ashrul

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 12, 2011 at 3:46 pm

      Hi ashrul,
      Yes the price has been skyrocketing since S&P downgraded the US and it nearly touched $1,800 per ounce. Yes the serial number should be minted on the bar, but there shouldnt be anything to worry about if the valcambi name is on it. What you can do is go back to the shop you bought it from and ask them why there isnt serial number on the bar and if they’d swap that one for one with a serial number. Then if you keep the same one and still feel unsure of it, simply take it to a couple of shops and see if they question it not being authentic by attempting to sell it to them. If they do question it, then i’d suggest calling the police about the shop. I personally only buy from the more well known shops, all that i have recommended above, as 1) i wouldnt be questioning the products they sell me, 2) shop is unlikely to close down, 3) i build a relationship with the shop and its staff, 4) i wouldnt questioning their price. Let me know what happens.

      Reply
      • ashrul says:

        August 13, 2011 at 4:05 am

        thanks for the quick reply. for now, i’ll keep my valcambi gold, and i’ll bring to a couple of shop when the price is good. i’m gonna wait for a few moment and will come back to you for sure.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          August 22, 2011 at 4:07 pm

          Hi ashrul, I just checked the valcambi bars in Abyad (sharjah) and non of them had the serial number minted on the bars. When i said earlier that the serial number should be on the bar, i was checking bar images on google and just assumed it was the same. So there is no problem with the one you have.

          Reply
          • ashrul says:

            August 23, 2011 at 1:04 am

            Thanks, Yousuf. That’s quite a relieve thing to know. You know, I did some research whether other people have the same gold i had in my possession(in terms of look), and i found this :

            http://goldcopyright.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/valcambisuisse1ouncegoldbarobv4001.jpg
            http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/images/valcambisuisse3tolagoldbarobv400.jpg

            Those both gold above has the same loooks as mine, no serial number minted and replaced by “24 karat” and have the same flower images on the other side. The only difference is the fact that mine is 100gram gold bar. I think from the start you were right, there shouldnt be anything to worry about if the valcambi name is on it.

            i also recall that one said “If you can fake a gold bar, you certainly can just as easily fake stamping some numbers on the bar – and even easier: you can fake a piece of paper or some bogus “certificate of authenticity” even easier than the bar itself.

            There’s no need to worry if you can’t find serial# minted on it. Gold self authenticates due to its density.
            A serial number doesn’t make it authentic. A piece of paper doesn’t make it authentic.

            ashrul
          • Yousuf says:

            August 23, 2011 at 2:52 pm

            Your welcome, Ashrul. It was just a coincidence that i actually did the check, but glad that i noticed. I believe that the local market is quite secure as you have major PAMP and Valcambi wholesalers in the market, but i prefer to stick with the larger dealers as an extra step of security. PAMP bars had the same serial number on the bar as on the certificate, but does it really matter to have it also on the bar if you never take it out of the plastic package.
14. Chandan says:

    August 14, 2011 at 7:03 am

    Hi Yousuf,
    Need your urgent help on this.Shopekeepers in Dubai say we follow Reuters rate–How to read this rate?I copied the rate as given in Reuters site but it says 5000oz.–Kindly,explain to help.

    US@SI.1 – Silver, 5000 Oz. COMEX
    Net Change
    45.6 Days High
    3923.5 Days Low
    3821.5 Last/Bid
    3,912 Ask
    3912.0
    Prev. Settlement 3866.9
    Last Close 3866.9

    http://www.reuters.com/finance/commodity?symbol=US@SI.1

    Regards,
    Chadnan

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 15, 2011 at 3:07 pm

      Hi Chandan,
      The link you provided was for silver futures, so i wouldnt know how to read those rates, but i’d assume that you simply divide them by 100. I only follow Kitco charts and all the shops that I have been to always tell me to check kitco, and I just called and confirmed that at Ceetees and Jewel Trading. They use the bid price of silver (shown at kitcosilver.com) and have their own calculation to calculate the price of the kilo bar. Ceetees said you take the bid price and multiply it by 118.123 (which is a oz to kilo and USD to AED value) and add 150 as a premium. Jewel Trading said you take the bid price add 1 dollar to that value (premium), then convert it to dirhams by multiplying it by 3.674 and then multiply it by 32.15 to convert it from troy ounces to kilogram and then add a 10 or 20 dirham extra premium to that.

      Reply
15. Tariq says:

    August 16, 2011 at 8:19 pm

    Dear Brother Yousuf , Thanks a ton for sharing such deep knowledge and information with all of us , Just wanted to share my experience of buying gold first time in my life and then ask you few questions , since last thrusday i am trying to but 1 kilo bar from gold souk dubai , it started with goggling about gold and its sellers and then a physical visit to gold souq , the whole gold souq didn’t have any swiss gold bar (although local bar were available) and i finally ended up in PAMP gold office at 3rd floor , there they said they don’t stock right now and come on saturday , saturday their shop was closed but staff working inside , they pasted a paper on the glass door saying ” stock taking ” which i found little strange , they asked me to call by sunday , i called them on sunday and they said no stock call monday , i called monday and they said sorry no stock come tuesday , here i started feeling fishy so i asked one my Arab friend ( i am from Pakistan) to call and inquire about stock and he was told to come and collect (un believable) so he went on my behalf and then purchased 3 kilo bars , i got so upset and entered their office and confronted them but it ended up in a nasty argument with some foul language used by their manager.. i left and then called PAMP Geneva office but the lady who answered from the head office simply said they cant help on this issue and pls try to find some other dealer in dubai , this is really surprising as if am asking gold for free , any how my question to you is can you suggest any other swiss gold brand which i can find in dubai/ Sharjah and where i can find it , secondly emirates gold is local brand , is it acceptable internationally ? will appreciate in taking out some of your time and reply , thanks in advance

    Reply
    • George says:

      August 17, 2011 at 7:03 am

      Dear Tariq,

      I am sorry to hear that happened to you. I had a while back, like a year or so ago, have a kind of similar experience with PAMP office. They don’t seem to like to sell. So did your Arab friend buy 1 kilo pamp gold bars?

      Best,
      George

      Reply
      • Tariq says:

        August 17, 2011 at 2:26 pm

        Thanks George , yes my friend bought it already before i entered in their office ( which was for me only) and then i showed them their receipt and gold bar.. this is when they started arguing..

        Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 17, 2011 at 7:31 am

      Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience, as i’d expected PAMP Gold to have better customer service, but to my knowledge they are the main dealership and their priority would be retailers/shops and not consumers. I just gave them a call and they said they didnt have supply due to problems from their swiss head office. I remember hearing recently that due to the crazy fluctuations in gold, that shops were rationing their gold, which could possibly explain the current situation. Well the only swiss brands you will find here is PAMP and Valcambi (to my knowledge), but you will only find PAMP 1 kg bars, and the shops i know that have it include Anjali in Dubai or Abyad in Sharjah. Any local brand will be acceptable internationally, but as they are not internationally recognized brands, the shop your selling it to may want to do a testing of the bar to confirm its quality, but you will likely be able to sell it at spot or alittle bit below spot. If i had to choose one local brand to take abroad, I’d stick with Emirates Gold, as it’s Dubai’s first gold refinery started in 1992 by a swiss national, its the most well known local brand, it has a good presence in Europe, its sold on APMEX in the US, and they are applying for LBMA status.

      Reply
16. Tariq says:

    August 17, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    Dear Yousuf , Thank your for the reply , I already called Abyad this afternoon they told me that yes they gave swiss bars (not PAMP but some other brand) available with 999.9 purity but they will not give any certificate , also they have emirates gold bars , any how i am going to visit them today evening and then let me share my experience later on..

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 17, 2011 at 11:32 pm

      Hi Tariq, look forward to hearing what happened. I called Lakhoo to see if they had valcambi bars, but they sold Argor swiss gold 1 kg bars and that i should call back in the morning for confirmation. When i called Abyad today they said they had PAMP, Johnson Matthey [JM] and Etihad 1 kg bars. After I gather all this info about the gold kg bars and do the physical checking myself at the shops, will have to add another section to the guide for this.

      Reply
      • Tariq says:

        August 18, 2011 at 9:47 am

        Dear Yousuf , i called Lakhoo , although they mentioned that they have swiss kilo bar but delivery will be next day so i choose not to go , last night i wend to Abyad and they didn’t have PAMP bar and it was subject to availabilty , they were not confirming me delivery , they also didn’t have vacambi bar, from there i purchased National commercial bank switzerland 1 K bar , 500gm-Emirtaes gold bar and few credit swiss TTbar , it was an instant purchased as i just want to make mix of different size and brand .. not sure i made the right decsion specailly about NCB 1k bar , i did’t get any certificate but i get a proper stamped invoice with all the details on it.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          August 18, 2011 at 11:50 am

          Glad that you were able to get such a variety from them. Didnt get what you meant by you not getting certificate, as the bar should be stamped with a serial number, thats all you really need.

          Reply
17. sanah says:

    August 20, 2011 at 6:42 am

    Dear Yousuf,
    I really appreciate you for giving us with such a detailed info about metals in UAE.
    I am looking for copper bullion bars-1kg , where can i get them?Even pennies , coins would do, i just love investing in metals, kindly help…
    regards
    sanah

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 20, 2011 at 4:08 pm

      Dear Sanah,
      I calling up my favourite jewellery shops, but none had copper bars and i highly doubt you’d find bars here. If you want copper, i guess you can buy copper pipes or wire, but if your looking to protect your wealth from inflation by converting it to real money and dont have alot of money to spend, silver is always there for you.

      Reply
18. sanah says:

    August 20, 2011 at 6:37 pm

    thanks yousuf for the prompt reply.
    I already have investments in silver, but the future of copper looks extremely bright, this could climb from current levels, tried to get the bar price in ebay but have to pay for an ounce 6$ and shipping charges 2.9$ –expensive deal, as copper is only 4$ roughly per ounce, how abt getting scrap (which hardware would sell this?) and is there any smith who can help us cast bars in UAE! copper wires (storage?)

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 20, 2011 at 9:32 pm

      always glad to help sanah. yes i remember copper looking like a good investment some time ago, as its rise was looking good, but you have to remember that copper’s price is heavily weighted in its usage in home building and as the economy still continues to slow down, i think the price of copper will likely go down. If anything, I’d go for the american or canadian pennies that are worth more than their face value and i think you can buy them in bag form. One of the shops i called said you can likely find copper grains, and if you can, i guess you could check with the various local mints, if they would be able to mint it into bar form.

      Reply
19. Greg says:

    August 21, 2011 at 5:56 am

    Hi Yousuf.

    Thought you would be interested to read this article.
    http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Gold-bars-coins-sold-at-750-premium-on-buying-frenzy-in-Dubai-41695-3-1.html
    It claims a supply shortage and increasing margins for Gold in Dubai due to high demand.
    Are you also seeing this from your dealers?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 21, 2011 at 11:41 am

      Hi Greg,
      I heard about such things from the below links.
      http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/gold-coins-bars-in-short-supply-in-dubai-2011-08-10-1.412387
      http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/gold_bullion_dubai_081620118
      Well basically there was a lot of buying after the S&P downgrade and shops decided to up their prices with the frenzy going on and limit their supply to justify the price rise. About the supply shortage, there may have been for a few days, even from the wholesalers, but doubt there are any real shortages. Will be buying some today and check if there was.

      Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 22, 2011 at 3:58 pm

      Well i checked out sharjah and dubai and there seems to be a shortage in gold and silver. Abyad in sharjah mentioned their was a shortage in gold as they didnt have any kg bars and they were looking for more 50 and 100 gram PAMP bars. Ceetees in dubai mentioned the shortage in silver and also mentioned that one european customer came in and made an order for 200 kilo bars (thats over a million dirhams worth), and the mint still hadnt delivered the order.

      Reply
20. Nadeem Ansari says:

    August 25, 2011 at 3:46 am

    Hi, Yousuf.

    Can you recommend any shop where one can purchase Platinum bars/coins in Dubai?

    Do you have any advise on investment in Gold vs Silver vs Platinum? Just a general nudge in any direction would be very welcome.

    Thanks, Yousuf sahib.

    Nadeem

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 27, 2011 at 5:00 am

      Hi Nadeem,
      You should be able to find 1 oz platinum bars at Lakhoo or G.B. Jewellers in Dubai. I havent seen platinum coins anywhere.
      About advice, I personally dont invest in platinum as its not a precious metal and hasnt been used as money in the past. Regarding gold and silver, I believe people should have a firm foundation in both gold and silver and if possible, add onto their holdings when they get paid each month. If you live paycheck to paycheck and have little or no savings, stick with buying the gold sovereign 1/2 to 8 gram 22k coins whenever possible. If you have savings, then i’d advice you to put more into gold than into silver because gold is more stable in price, possibly 70 percent. If you are okay with the volatility risk of silver, maybe you would like to buy an equal amount of gold and silver. I believe silver will rise percentage wise more than gold, and as such, i am weighted more in silver than in gold, but plan to convert some of my silver to gold once the gold to silver ratio reaches around 25 or so.

      Reply
21. Safwan says:

    August 25, 2011 at 8:19 am

    Salaams Brother,

    Very nice article. i am interested in buying and selling gold tt bars to make profit from the fluctuations. what is your recomendations for the same?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 27, 2011 at 5:07 am

      Salams Safwan,
      If your intent is to make profits on the volatility, then there isnt a benefit of taking possession of the metal, so you should look into electronic metal services listed in the article. I wouldnt advice you to do this unless you already have a firm foundation already in physical form.

      Reply
22. Beran says:

    August 26, 2011 at 7:07 am

    Dear Yousuf,
    I find your blog very informative. Thank you in advance for taking the time to inform us about PM market in Dubai. I am planning to fly to Dubai to purchase approximately
    22 kg of sliver bars.

    I have the following questions and I was hoping you would be able to assist me.

    1. Would I be able to purchase gold/silver in Dubai using American Express credit card?
    2. Would there be additional charges made by the shop in addition of the norm due to method of payment which in this case is American Express Credit Card?
    3. I am interested to purchase the largest silver bars available in Dubai. I have noticed you mentioned about 1 and half kilo Emirates Gold silver bars sold at Ceetees. Do you think they can facilitate – say 15 bars of 1.5 kg Emirates Gold silver bars at once If I went to their shop in any given day? or you think it would be prudent to arrange for such order in advance?

    I will look forward to your kind response.

    Best regards,
    B

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 27, 2011 at 5:17 am

      Dear Beran,
      1. You wont be able to purchase bullion with credit cards, only cash.
      3. None of the shops i’ve been to have silver bars above 1 kilo. If you wanted bars above this size, you should try contacting the mints directly, else have Ceetees or Al Bahrain Jewellery request the order for you. I’ve read that Al Etihad Gold mints large silver bars from approximately 23 kg to 34 kilos.

      Reply
23. RK Pillai says:

    August 27, 2011 at 8:16 pm

    Dear Mr Yusuf ,

    Thank you for this very very informative blog , thank you.

    Actually I am a bit confused.
    I have read your blogs , watched videos of Mr Robert Kiyosaki & Mr Mike Maloney and all, all are saying to invest in Silver and Gold , as the value of the currencies are falling in a drastic manner.
    But How long should I keep this ? When should I sell this ? ( As I wish to do this to generate some passive income )
    Its true the value of the currency is going down , but we need currency also for our day to day activities.

    If the economy collapses nobody is going to buy gold and silver from you?
    So kindly advise me a way to use this metals for income generation.

    Kindly enlighten me with your views.
    You may find the questions as childish , my apologies for the ingnorance…
    Thank you once again.

    Best Regards
    RK Pillai

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 28, 2011 at 12:07 am

      Dear RK Pillai,
      I personally dont consider that i’m invest in gold and silver, I’m converting my inflation prone paper currency into precious metal money. Once I learned how the banking system works, I have chosen not to keep the fruits of my labor in paper currency, atleast as much as i can. I convert savings that would be lying in the bank into precious metal and will leave what i use on a day to day basis in paper currency. I plan to keep precious metals until there is a return to a stable currency like the gold standard or until there is a precious metal bubble in the stock market like in 1980, which then i would likely use the precious metals to buy tangle assets like a house, car, etc. If the economy collapses, you would be able to trade your gold or silver for the things that you would need like water, food, etc, as money is a medium of exchange. Regarding making income out of metals, maybe you should open a bullion shop or if thats not possible, trade metals on the listed stocks, securities and electronic metal services. I hope that this helps and there is never anything childish about asking questions.

      Reply
      • RK Pillai says:

        August 30, 2011 at 4:54 pm

        Thank you so much Mr Yousuf.

        Reply
        • RK Pillai says:

          August 30, 2011 at 5:14 pm

          Also one more thing Mr Yousuf , I am planning to invest in Silver , I am in Sharjah, Kindly let me know the best place to buy , Silver (Bars, Coins).Which are the best brands? And do you also know the quantiy that we can take to India without any Tax.

          Also whats your views on Platinum , Palladium and Rhodium. Is it available here or in India?How about investing in those too?

          Hope to hear from you soon.

          Reply
          • Yousuf says:

            August 30, 2011 at 6:34 pm

            The best place for silver in sharjah is at Abyad. I recommend getting the silver 1/2 and 1 kg bars which are locally minted. They also have small PAMP bars but the premiums arent good. All the silver coins in the market are over priced, so i would stay away from them. You will need to check in india what their import laws are for it.

            I dont purchase anything but gold and silver as they are the only metals that have been used as money for 5 thousand years. You will find platinum and palladium here as 1 oz bars (PAMP or Valcambi), but i would believe that you should be able to find them in india as well.
24. sheikfathima says:

    August 29, 2011 at 9:53 am

    assalamu allaikum brother yousuf.↲masha allah very good article to guide every one who is looking to buy gold. Brother, i am in dubai, basically from india. I try to save for the past 5 years but in vein. I was trying to generate extra savings through online trading but i am hesistant thinking that it is not as per our sunnah. I was trying to get into bullion trading to start saving as well as to earn profit from it. I am a beginner in this and i want few guidance from you. 1. Is it the right time to buy or should i wait for the price to go down (probably after eid, marriage season and diwali) 2. What should i buy 22 kt or 24 kt? Coin or bar? I will be investing little by little. 3. Can i sell to the same person from where i am buying from? Will u help me by choosing a sellar i want a reliable person as i do not have experience. 4. What i take care or be concerned before buying gold. 5. How much should be charges or premium for certificates? Thanking you in advance. Eid mubarak and salams to you and your family.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      August 29, 2011 at 5:40 pm

      Salams and eid mubarak to you and your family. Well as a muslim, i’d stay away from online trading as most islamic scholars would say that it is haram. I personally dont believe in bullion day trading as i dont see it any different than the regular online trading.
      1) Its always a good time to buy as you can never catch the lowest point, and if you keep waiting for it to come as gold continues to climb, you may never buy. If you purchase on regular intervals, like once a month, then it doesnt matter what the price is as you will get an average price over time. I personally bought small amounts (4 grams) last week and yesterday as the price isnt fluctuating on saturdays and sundays.
      2) Well if you can afford 1 oz of gold or more with the little by little you wanted to invest, then buy the 24k PAMP bars, if not, stick with 21 or 22k coins.
      3) Yes you’ll be able to sell it back to the shop you bought it from or any other shop. If you live in Sharjah then i’d choose abyad (speak to Baskaram or Jafar), if your living in Dubai i’d choose Vijaya (speak to Rajesh).
      4) You shouldnt have to worry about anything when buying gold from any of the shops i’ve listed on this page, but if you want to know more information, then you should read the general guide.
      5) If you’re refering to gold certificates, i have listed what Emirates NBD charges for the certificates.
      I hope these answers were helpful.

      Reply
      • sheikfathima says:

        August 29, 2011 at 7:37 pm

        thank u brother. Thanks for your guidance. Insha allah i will not get into online trading as you have mentioned it is haram. I am residing in dubai and i will try contacting vijaya jewellers for pamp 24 kt. But can u let me know how much gms is 1 oz. If u can give me the contact number of vijaya jewellers it would be very much appreciated.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          August 30, 2011 at 12:44 am

          your welcome. 1 oz is 31.1 grams and if you purchased the 24 kt pamp bar, you should pay around 70 dhs premium. You can call vijaya at 04-2264635, and when you speak to Rajesh, tell him Yousuf told you to contact him as i’ve purchased 22 kt coins through him many times, including last week.

          Reply
25. sheik fathima says:

    August 31, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    Assalamu Allaikum Brother,

    In Khaleej times in gold rates session they have given 24kt; 22kt; 18kt and they have also mentioned TT Bar. what is TT?

    Is there a place where you buy 24 kt Bars in Ajman?

    Brother you have advised me to buy PAMP Bars. What is the difference between PAMP; Swiss and Emirates gold. Will there be a difference while selling with the category of the gold (PAMP / SWISS / Emirates)

    Salams,
    Fathima

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 1, 2011 at 7:52 pm

      Salams Sister,

      The TT bar or Ten Tola bar is a 116.6gram bar that can be bought without premiums.

      I have listed in the guide above a few shops in ajman that sell 24 kt bars, which are all located in the ajman gold souq. The premiums would be higher in ajman, which is why i normally buy in sharjah.

      PAMP is the most well know private minter of gold worldwide and is based in switzerland. There isnt any brand called Swiss, but Swiss is normally used as a secondary word after PAMP, Credit or Valcambi to identify that they are a swiss brand. Emirates Gold is the first and most popular local mint in the UAE. The costs of selling any of the bars will not differ if you are selling them locally, but if you plan to sell them when your abroad, then i’d stick with purchasing swiss brands.

      Reply
26. Amjad Saleh says:

    September 3, 2011 at 10:30 am

    Al Salamo Alaykom ,
    thank you very much , I have found a real helpful information’s in this article , I am interested in buying a 1k of silver , do you know any place in Al Ain city .
    Thank you again and have a great day
    Amjad

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 3, 2011 at 8:20 pm

      Salams Amjad, I’m sorry but i havent done the running around outside of Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman. All you need to do is find out where the gold souq/market in Al Ain is, and then ask the shops if they have the silver kilo bar. Before you buy the bar, do take a note of the price found on the khaleej times page, so you dont get ripped off.

      From a little searching online, its possible that the gold souq has been relocated to the Al Bawadi Mall or is still located in an area that houses Al Badia Jewellery [03-7667177], Al Nakhada Jewellery [03-7666997], and Jasmin Jewellers [03-7655006]. You can also call Malabar Gold [03-7218916 / 03-7640916] or Pure Gold [03-7655788] to see what they have to offer and if they can tell you were the gold souk is. Please let me know whatever information you gather, so that it can be added to the guide.

      Reply
      • Amjad Saleh says:

        September 7, 2011 at 8:39 am

        Thank you Mr.Yousuf for your prompt reply , I searched almost all Al Ain, the only one who had 1k Silver Bar was Jasmin Jewellers [03-7655006], he had on from Emirates Gold , and the other one Etihad Gold , he was asking AED 5250.00 Per kilo .
        The strange thing About Al Ain , I was asking the gold shops as if talking something strange that they do not understand or never heard of.
        I even doughted that people do buy Silver, it seems I have to pay a visit to Dubai or Sharjah Market to get a better understanding for the market.
        All in All and from your very good experience, do you recommend buying silver nowadays?
        I am really thankful to you for all the help you are giving to newly started people.
        Have a great day
        Amjad

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          September 7, 2011 at 5:52 pm

          Your welcome Amjad. So was the gold souq in Al Bawadi Mall or in the Jasmin Jewellers area? Which district/zone and street was Jasmin Jewellers in? Did you find any other gold souq areas in Al Ain? Did you find any shops selling gold bars and coins?

          Glad that you did find a place that had the silver bar, but with a 200 dirham premium, it may be worth coming to Dubai to buy it. I felt the same way as you did when i was in qatar, as i wasnt able to find any silver bullion there. Silver bullion will always be available if there is a market demand for it from silver jewellery makers. More people go for gold over silver as gold is more popular as a storage of wealth, but now with gold’s rise in price, many people wont be able to afford gold, so they will go for silver. This will be easily seen when silver jewellery becomes more popular. Yes i do recommend people to buy silver, as i am of the belief that silver will rise more than gold in percentage, but i believe that everyone should store both precious metals.

          Reply
27. Malek says:

    September 4, 2011 at 8:02 pm

    Assalamo Alikom,
    I would like to thank you very much for all the information mentioned here .. I have been looking for this for long time as I bought a 1 kilo of Gold Etihad gold 995 in a hurry and I still have it now for more than a month.
    I have some questions to you that I still don’t have answers for them:

    1- What is the best price I would get in either Dubai or Sharjah for a 1 kilo of gold? Before reading this article all people guided me to Swiss Gold shop in Gold Center in Deira but I still think they are charging higher price .. today for example I called them and they said they are selling kg for 222000 and buying it from me for 220500 AED .. is this a good price .. I think they are selling 995 etihad gold .. would I get better prices from the shops you mentioned here? Can you tell me where to go next time to buy 1 kg of gold for a better price than this?

    2- last week I went to many shops looking for TTbar .. I wanted to buy 4 bars .. the best rate was 25550 dirhams in one small shop in gold center building ground floor .. other shops they asked 25650 .. in Qatar my brother got it from gulf exchange for 25200 Q ryals so where is the best place to buy TT Bars better than the prices I got which where too high in comparison with gulf exchange in qatar? of course all that prices were last week when market was closed last sunday.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 5, 2011 at 8:12 pm

      Salams Malek,
      1 – Well as its a 995 bar, shops would buy it from you at about 5-7 dirhams below the 24k price per gram. Whenever i buy or sell, i always check with all the shops i’ve listed here for the best price and recommend you do the same. If i were to be getting a kilo bar, i’d check with Anjali, Lakhoo and Al Bahrain. Swiss Gold is a good shop if you dont want to leave the Gold Center building and i bought my first silver kilo bar from them.
      2 – Try doing it this weekend (saturday or sunday) for the ten tola bar with the shops i’ve listed and let me know what happens. Its possible the way they calculate the gold rate in qatar makes it cheaper, but dont forget about the exchange rate, as 25,200 qatar riyals is over 25,400 uae dirhams and possibly the cost to send the money to qatar. I will do some checking myself to see if i can find a shop which sells the TT bar below the market price.

      Reply
    • Malek says:

      September 8, 2011 at 9:52 am

      Thank you very much Yusuf .. yesterday I went to Al Abyad in Sharjah .. a very nice place .. they told me the best to buy is either the one kilo bar or the TT bar as they don’t have extra charges .. but I didn’t understand this issue .. how come TT Bar which is less in amount is better for buying and selling than half a kilo as they said which is bigger .. what I always understood is that the bigger the bar the better the deal is .. can you please explain it to me.
      Also another question .. they used this way for calculation for the 995 bar I have 1810 – 25 = 1785 x 118.123 = 210850 .. that’s how they gave me the price to buy the kilo but what is the meaning of this number 118.123 ??

      You seem to be knowing all the extra charges added to the value of the bar when buying can you explain them to me .. when I want to buy a 1 kilo emirates gold or papm or valcambi how do they calculate the price from the price of the ounce in Dollers which I always can find on Kitco web site .. hwo to know the price myself by calculating the same way they calculate .. Yesterday Al Abyad explained to me they add to the price on screen of the TT bar extra 75 Dirhams .. my question if the price 1825 $ what will the price of TT bar be after they add their extra charges? How can I know it myself?

      Reply
      • Yousuf says:

        September 8, 2011 at 8:26 pm

        Hi Malek, hope you told them that Yousuf Patan sent you.
        To my knowledge, anything over a TT bar has no premiums, so that would include a half kilo bar.
        I assume the – $25 would be because its a 995 and not 999, and the 118 would be troy ounces to kilos (~32.15) multipled by dollars to dirhams (~3.67).
        Well the TT bar cost is published everyday in the newspaper, so I personally have never tried to calculate it and wouldnt waste my time doing so, as i could easily call up Abyad and they can give me its current price. But if i wanted to know the kilo price from the TT bar price, just multiply it by 8.5714. Didnt know they were charging an additional 75 dirhams over the TT bar price, as there isnt supposed to be any premiums on it.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          September 10, 2011 at 9:16 pm

          Hi Malek, just checked Abyad and they said there wasnt any premium on the TT or kilo bar, but they charge a premium of around 600 dirhams on the half kilo bar. I asked why and they said it is not a regular investment size and as such, they charge an extra premium. I thought maybe it was just because they were in sharjah, but found out that Anjalee doesnt sell half kilo bars, which likely means that they are personally asking the mint to make the 1/2 kilogram bar and as such they are charged an extra premium to do so. I had also called Lakhoos about selling them a bar and they said they would only buy a bar that they sold.

          Reply
          • Malek says:

            September 11, 2011 at 3:19 pm

            Salam Yousuf,
            I just came from gold souq in Dubai .. I have a paper full of prices for mainly 1 kilo bar, half kilo bar, and TT bar, I have been to most of the shops you mentioned in this blog.

            Just I’ll take some time to re-write all the information for each shop name then I’ll be posting it soon insha’Allah here in my next reply.
28. JAy says:

    September 6, 2011 at 8:54 pm

    hi yousuf,
    thanx a lot for the info, like you mentioned i did contact Al abyad and they did not have PAMP SILVER BAR as really want them. Could you pls tell where esle I could find pamp siver bars and do you have any information scotsdayle silver bars available in uae.
    thanx

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 7, 2011 at 7:02 pm

      Hi Jay,
      Abyad had the PAMP bar last week and assume they would get more soon, but they were the only place i found them at, but i never purchased it as they had a 100 dirham over the local mints. Other than PAMP, you will only find locally minted silver bars in UAE.

      Reply
      • JAY says:

        September 9, 2011 at 8:50 am

        hi yousuf
        i did get the pamp silver bars from al abyad when i call them the next day, i aslo bought localy minted 5gms silver coin which charged 5dhs for the making they say its 999 silver but i was not able to find any 999 halmark on them as the same coin in gold which you get in vijaya jew have the 22k stamp. are the coin pure 999 silver or not?

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          September 10, 2011 at 11:21 am

          hi jay,
          glad to hear that you got the pamp silver bars. I bought the same 5 gram british sovereign silver coins from them and they dont have imprint on them for its purity. They told me its pure silver and i believe them, but i doubt it would be easy to sell in the local market.

          Reply
29. Syed says:

    September 7, 2011 at 10:34 am

    Hey Yousuf,

    Any idea about gold in muscat/Oman? Is it costlier here or cheaper and any good reliable shops to buy coins or bars?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 7, 2011 at 7:05 pm

      Sorry Syed, havent been down to Muscat or Oman, so dont have any idea about the gold market there, but please let us know if you get any info on it.

      Reply
      • Syed says:

        September 12, 2011 at 5:28 am

        Hey Yousuf,

        I cheked the price at Malabar Gold in Muscat who had 8gm coins (Dubai Mint), 20gm bars (PAMP) and 5 Tola (PAMP). The guy at the counter told the 8 gm coins they charge 2.5 R.O, for 20 gm PAMP bar he told 12 R.O and for 5 Tola they charge 14 R.O.

        He said there is no fixed calculation.

        They did not have Ten Tola bars but he told they charge 5 R.O.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          September 12, 2011 at 9:44 pm

          Hi Syed,
          Glad you were able to find Malabar Gold [+968-24782916], but as they are a jewellery shop, their premiums will likely be more expensive than in the shops in the gold souq area of Muttrah and Ruwi high street. You should try calling Damas Jewellery [City Center +968-24558445, +968-24810547], Joyalukkas Jewellery [Ruwi +968-24797212, Muscat City Center +968-24558034], Devji Jewellers [+968 24835879] (Ruwi), Elite Jewellery [+968 24832414] and Sky Jewellery [+968 2 4832548] (Ruwi) to compare their prices. Though Malabar didnt have TT bars, you should be able to find them somewhere in muscat and also try money exchange outlets like Lakhoos and Purushottam Kanji.

          Reply
30. Malek says:

    September 11, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    Dear Yousuf,

    As I mentioned above I went today to Dubai gold souq because the market is closed and you really can tell which shop will give you the best prices, so here is what I got:

    Al Anjali:
    218,755 Dirhams for (995) 1 Kilo Bar Etihad Gold or Al Ghaith Gold.
    25,620 Dirhams for TT Bar.

    Lakhoo:
    218,696 Dirhams for (995) 1 Kilo Bar Emirates Gold.
    219,795 Dirhams for (999.9) 1 Kilo Bar Emirates Gold.
    25,616 Dirhams for TT Bar.

    Al Bahrain:
    218,549 Dirhams for (995) 1 Kilo Bar Etihad Gold.
    219,648 Dirhams for (999.9) 1 Kilo Bar Etihad Gold.
    25,608 Dirhams for TT Bar.

    Al Abyad:
    218,696 Dirhams for (995) 1 Kilo Bar Emirates Gold.
    111,500 Dirhams for (995) 1/2 Kilo Bar Emirates Gold.
    25,850 Dirhams for TT Bar.

    Pamp office:
    219,080 Dirhams for (995) 1 Kilo Bar Etihad Gold.
    220,175 Dirhams for (999.9) 1 Kilo Bar Kaloti Gold.
    109,600 Dirhams for (995) 1/2 Kilo Bar Emirates Gold.

    Kitco price for gold is $ 1858.6 – $ 1859.6 for ounce.

    Khaleej Times prices are:
    222 Dirhams for 24 Carat.
    25,650 Dirhams for TT Bar.

    So from all this I have a conclusion that all the mentioned above shops have a very close price for TT Bar except Al Abyad that is really charging more price as I told you before .. actually I didn’t get the chance to go to Al Abyad but I called them and got that prices.
    Also Al Abyad are charging more for the 1/2 kilo bar and compared to Pamp office.

    As a conclusion .. Al Bahrain is giving the best rates for both 1 Kilo Bar of Gold 995 or 999.9 they have Etihad gold bars .. they also had the best rate for TT Bar.

    I hope that you and others would find this study useful when they need to buy gold bars anytime during the week because it is not easy to compare the prices like this if the market is not closed.

    Al Bahrain bullion division is located in the forth floor in the Gold Center building and they close at 6:00 pm.

    One thing was confusing for me that Pamp office didn’t have Pamp bars and they told me they have only local bars Etihad and Kaloti !!! I thought they are the main dealer for Pamp bars so how come they are selling local bars??

    Not all shops have 1/2 Kilo Bars but you may find it rarely in the market but it is not a special order as I checked the internet and found many pictures for 1/2 Kilo Bars with stamps from both Swiss and local gold bars.

    Thank you,

    Malek

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 12, 2011 at 10:20 pm

      Thanks Malek for doing the run around. I was planning to do it myself after so many people were asking about the larger bars and add it as a section to the guide.

      Yes its not surprising that Al Abyad would be charging more, as they are a main distributor for Sharjah and Ajman. About their TT bar, its possible that they have a different means of calculating it, but the number looks completely wrong in any calculation i have made, as it should have been around 110,000, so i will be double checking that this weekend. About the 1/2 kilo, yes i assumed the price was higher in Abyad as none of the other shops had it, which likely means that it does move as fast as the kilo or TT bars, but glad to know now that PAMP’s office does. The half kilo is likely not as common locally because only Emirates Gold mints it, or else all the other shops that had kilo and TT bars would also have it.

      Well as Emirates Gold bars are more popular than Al Etihad Gold bars, its not surprising that their prices would be cheaper, but its sad that they dont so do 1/2 kilo bars. Well Al Bahrain is located on the 1st floor of the Gold Centre building and i’d assume that you could get the bars from them as well.

      Yes its funny that the PAMP office only distributes PAMP kilo bars, it was even funnier to me that they dont distribute silver bars. I just assume that they have official distribution rights for PAMP’s gold products and are not necessarily a division of the main PAMP company.

      Reply
    • mostafa ouseh says:

      September 14, 2011 at 7:40 am

      let me thank yousuf for this informative blog….
      HI all living in dubai been purchase gold and silver from many dealers in gold souq after one year research for the best price quote is Al Bahrain jewellers is giving the best rates
      it located in gold center 4th floor. contact Mr. salah khalaf on 2269514.

      Reply
      • Yousuf says:

        September 16, 2011 at 12:13 pm

        Hi Mostafa. Will definitely check them out the next time i’m in the area, as everytime i’ve been down there, i’ve always tried to visit their retail shop on the 1st or mezzanine floor but they were always closed.

        Reply
        • Amjad Saleh says:

          September 16, 2011 at 6:37 pm

          Al Salamo 3alaykom Yousuf ,
          The one you are talking about is a different Bahrain Jewelry, the one with good prices and sells Etihad silver located at the 4th floor on the first elevator to your right when interring the gold center , they are charging a fair premium.

          I have a question Mr.Yousuf , I am looking to buy silver coins , like the Canadian Mable leaf or the silver eagle , or the u.a.e silver coins , were I can find a good dealer for this coins , thank you in advance .
          Best regards
          Amjad

          Reply
          • Yousuf says:

            September 17, 2011 at 8:16 am

            Will definitely check them both out in the next week or so. Well you wont find silver bullion coins anywhere, but you can find silver coins with high premiums at Abyad. The last time I was there, I met with the owners as one of the visitors of this guide went and bought 1.5 kilos of gold from them and mentioned i sent them, so they visited the site. Well as i said just now, they have silver coins but with high premiums, and the owners even showed me the Australian Lunar Series and Chinese Lunar Series sets, each with 12 coins bought were 6 to 9 thousand dirhams. I personally just got a batch of maple leafs that i bought earlier on in the year delivered to me just in time for Eid, so I’m willing to sell 5 of them to those who are interested. I’m hoping that a friend will be travelling back and forth from canada regularly soon, so if people are interested in the coins (silver maples, eagles, philharmonics or gold, platinum or palladium maples), it should be easy to purchase and have them delivered here. Those interested can just comment that they are interested and once its possible, i’ll be able to take orders.
31. Amjad Saleh says:

    September 17, 2011 at 9:21 am

    How much you are asking for your silver maple leafs , if the price is good I will take the 5 pieces

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 19, 2011 at 5:58 am

      I am willing to sell them for 200 dirhams each, but unfortunately i only 2 remaining now, but i have 3 johnson mathhew [JM] 1 oz bars if your interested.

      Reply
      • Amjad Saleh says:

        September 19, 2011 at 11:46 am

        Okay deal , how can contact you to complete the deal for all the mentioned.
        Thank you and have a nice day
        Amjad

        Reply
32. sheik fathima says:

    September 23, 2011 at 6:57 am

    Assalamu Allaikum Brother,

    Today the gold rate is 210.50 for 24 carat. I am willing to buy 24 kt 20 gms bar. Are you interested in selling any of your collections? if so, i will start my collections from you.

    Salams,
    Fathima

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 25, 2011 at 6:59 am

      Assalum Alaykum Sister,

      All i had for sale was canadian silver coins, which Amjad bought. If your looking to buy gold bars, stop by at any of the dealers mentioned in the guide, as i rarely ever sell from my collection.

      Reply
33. reynard says:

    September 23, 2011 at 7:58 am

    Hi yousuf,

    Nice blog. I’m planning to buy my first gold bar within few days, but there still some doubts in my mind. I’m thinking to buy 10 tolas but after some research in internet, I’ve found that 10 tolas only available for 999 purity, not like minted gold 999,9 purity. How this purity affecting the gold price? Should I just stick for 999,9 purity?Does it matter for it’s value if I want to sell it back?

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 25, 2011 at 7:05 am

      Hi reynard,

      The price of the ten tola bar are published everyday and you will see that the 999.0 purity bar is priced cheaper than the daily 24k gram price, as its an investment grade bar and doesnt have a making charge attached to it. Investment grade gold bars, normally any bar above 100 grams that do not come in assay/plastic covering, will normally be 995.0 or more in purity and as long as its minted by a reputable mint, there isnt much you need to worry about, so go for it.

      Reply
34. sheik fathima says:

    September 23, 2011 at 8:01 am

    Brother,

    i want a suggestion. i enquired in 2 places for 24 kt 1 oz Bar. In joy alukkas they sell joy alukkas brand. the price is same but the difference is only the certificate charges. They say the brand is alukkas brand. Is there any difference from their bars and PAMP. Can you please let me know so that i can get it today as it is FRIDAY.

    Salams,
    Fathima

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 25, 2011 at 7:10 am

      Sister,

      Some of the popular jewellery shops have bars minted with their logo on it by mints like PAMP, Valcambi or Emirates Gold. If you think that you would ever sell the bar outside of the UAE, then i’d suggest that you stick with PAMP marked bars. Personally, i’d stick with buying PAMP bars from non jewellery shops, as jewellery shops will likely charge a higher premium.

      Reply
35. Mohamed says:

    September 24, 2011 at 12:45 am

    Hello Brother,

    With the gold price going down further by the day where do you think the buttom will be?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 25, 2011 at 7:15 am

      Well since the FED announced its ‘operation twist’ program on the 20th, the market has been going down and gold and silver have gone down as well with the market. I dont know how much it will drop, but as a general run that i follow, when gold goes down more than 10 percent, its a good time to buy. Right now its around 9 percent down. So if your interested in buying, maybe buy half what you want now, and if the price goes down or up after the market opens tomorrow, buy the other half and in this way you have bought cost average. I use this technique when i think the price may go down after a week or so, but still dont want to loose if the future price was higher.

      Reply
      • Mohamed says:

        September 25, 2011 at 12:44 pm

        Thank you, of course dividing the risk is a reasonable strategy but do you think we will see the gold at $ 1200 like last year or no way considering the expectations for another wave of recession?

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          September 26, 2011 at 7:54 am

          I doubt we will see those levels unless deflation takes place and if so, everything will be falling in value, even our wages, which still means that gold is a winner. I’m expecting another recession/depression and anything can trigger it, europe’s debt issue, US debt issues, US interest rates rises, etc. So as long as things are not stable, i’ll be accumulating gold and silver.

          Reply
36. Nibal says:

    September 24, 2011 at 8:57 am

    Thanks a lot brother Yousuf for this great guide,
    it’s true the premium (or what’s so called commission and manufacturing ) fees are considerably high in the market but through searching i managed to find some good bargains with sellers to lower this premium cost. if you’re interested or any other member/reader is interested you might contact me (after your permission brother yousuf if it’s allowed to add my contact details) and i’ll show you guys step by step how you can save yourself some money and buy more gold/silver with that difference in cost.
    by the way; the sellers are from the listed and recommended list by brother yousuf but what makes difference for them is how much they sell in each shot that’s how much they will lower the premium. this is just a clarification so no one thinks this is a scam or a kind of stealing your money

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 25, 2011 at 7:57 am

      Your welcome Nibal,
      I dont think the premiums here are high, as the premium on a 1 oz PAMP bar (AED 100) is around 1.6% at today’s price of AED 198.25 per gram, when you compare that to how much sellers in the US or Canada charge of about 3 to 5 percent. If the market gets heated up, yes the premiums may double to quadruple, but that only because of the shortages due to the demand and sellers knowing they can get that extra cash. Please mention whatever information you have here in the comments so that we can all benefit from your knowledge.

      Reply
      • Nibal says:

        September 26, 2011 at 8:21 am

        Greetings Yousuf,
        Yes, you’re right brother from the point of comparison with US, UK and Canada. but in comparison among UAE dealers, the premium reached 10% and even 15% for silver, when silver was trading around 5000 dirham a kilo, in the market they were selling it between 5400 – 5525 which is 8-10% premium and this is considerably high. on the other hand, believe me don’t think that you got a good bargain if they only charged you 5-6% when you buy; because the selling commission is also considered high. the same 1 kilo of silver with price of 5525 if you offer to sell it on the same day they will buy it from you with 4700-4950 which makes you wonder why would they take 10% selling and another 10% buying . gold in our market is having the same issue of commission but not as high as silver. As mentioned by you brother, the premium on gold is 1.6% and when the proper time comes to sell it i am not sure how much will dealers slaughter the public in order to accept buying it (let’s just ignore this because this is a very long future that may not happen). Anyhow; if you’re interested in buying gold with as low as 0.2% or even lower you can contact me and we can have a chat about this whenever you prefer.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          September 28, 2011 at 2:38 pm

          Hi Nibal,
          The daily quoted 1 kilo silver price already has a premium attached to it, thats why when you sell it they take around 200 dirhams off the price, but havent seen them buying it back for 5 to 7 hundred cheaper. Well when the time comes to sell it, you can always sell it to others rather than selling it to the dealer, if you want a better price.

          Reply
37. Malek says:

    September 25, 2011 at 9:37 am

    Dear Yousuf,
    How are you?
    I did a very very big mistake last week .. I bought gold for the price 1813 $ and now the price is 1658 $ !!! I am so sad that the value of the gold I have dropped so much and also for loosing the chance to buy gold now for low price (

    Just I need you to tell me how long you think the prices will stay like this >> how long it will take gold to return back to 1800 $ .. any ideas?? Is it possible to see gold going lower and lower than this?? Is it possible to see it 1400 $ or even less?? I am so worried my friend .. please tell me what you think ..

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 25, 2011 at 10:56 am

      Dear Malek,
      I’m doing well and home you are as well.
      I bought gold last week as well when it was 1850ish, but dont look at it as being a mistake as i choose not to keep my wealth in paper. So i see the current drop as another opportunity to buy more, which i will be today, as nobody knows what the price will be tomorrow or next week. So what you should do is continuously buy in intervals (every 1, 3, 6, or 12 months, whatever suits your budget) and if gold goes down, you should buy more at that interval or simply save until gold goes down and buy then.

      Well the drop has been due to major drops in global stock markets, so once things stabilize, i presume the price will go back up. Nobody knows for sure how low gold can fall, but if it ever got back to $1400, i’d buy some more and then some. I believe that gold will be going up soon as Diwali and the Chinese new year is coming up in the next few months, and it always goes up at that time.

      Reply
38. Shuaib says:

    September 25, 2011 at 12:58 pm

    AsSalamualaikum. Yosuf, I am very glad to see your blog. Hope you have answers to my questions which is bugging me since long time.
    1. When I purchased 1oz Valcambi Bar few months back from Sky Jewelry, Abu dhabi, they charged me 150AED xtra. Now I buy 22k coins from Ajantha, which I get it for fixed price. Can you suggest me any other options?
    2. Which is the best place to sell the gold bar/coin- india or uae ? In Abu dhabi, jeweler shop purchase gold at 6 to 7 aed per gram below its fixed price. Do you know any shop which gives good price in Abudhabi?
    Even though we get a good price in India for pure gold, taking the gold to india is hassle (customs)!!! What is your opinion? Thanks

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 26, 2011 at 8:17 am

      Salams Shuaib,
      1. Didnt understand what you meant by the question. If you meant any options of other gold products to buy, there are only bars and coins if you want investment gold or jewellery if you want something that is wearable.
      2. Unfortunately, i havent done the run around in Abu Dhabi to give you suggestions, but see that they are charging around double the price of Dubai, so maybe you want to come down to Dubai if you want to sell it. I dont know about the prices in india regarding selling gold, so i can only suggest in the UAE and if you want the best price in UAE, Dubai would be the place.

      Reply
39. George says:

    September 26, 2011 at 8:53 am

    Anybody know where I can purchase platinum bullion with decent premiums?

    Reply
40. Payman says:

    September 26, 2011 at 9:37 am

    I have a question. If I carry several (say 4 to 5) 50g to 100g gold bars with myself when I leave Dubai, is there any problem in the airport? Is there any limitation? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 28, 2011 at 2:59 pm

      There wouldnt be any problems taking your gold with you outside of Dubai in the airport, it maybe a problem if your are bringing it into another country which may require you to pay taxes.

      Reply
41. Kumar says:

    September 26, 2011 at 10:15 am

    Dear Yousuf, please inform the following :
    1. In sharjah which is the best shop who is taking less extra money with respect to market rate for buying Gold 100 gram biscuit.
    2. Also in Sharjah which is teh best shop who is taking less extra money on 1 KG Silver bar.
    I tried Abyad but they are asking AEd 200 more.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 28, 2011 at 3:02 pm

      Hi Kumar,
      1. The best place is Abyad as they are a major dealer.
      2. You wont get 1 kilo silver cheaper than in Abyad in sharjah. If i find their price high, I go to Dubai and buy it there.

      Reply
      • mostafa ouseh says:

        September 29, 2011 at 7:41 am

        Hi,I purchased 2kg silver bar(2*1kg) from Bahrain jewelery i payed 32.15 usd(118 AED) premium for 2 kg! call them 04-2269515 to get more info

        Reply
        • Shuaib says:

          September 29, 2011 at 8:27 am

          Thanks Mustafa, for Info.

          Reply
42. Shuaib says:

    September 26, 2011 at 11:01 am

    Dear Yusuf, Thanks for your reply.
    In the blog, purchase of 24k gold bars (PAMP/valcambi etc.) is much discussed matter, though we need to pay premium. Any particular reason?
    Why can’t we go for the 22k coins where we don’t need to pay premium?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 28, 2011 at 3:07 pm

      Hi Shuaib,
      Its a matter of preference and a matter of budget. If one has limited funds, i encourage them to buy the coins which have 5-10 dirham premiums. If one has a reasonable amount and can purchase an ounce or more of gold, then i encourage them to get the bars. The bars are more recognizable world wide and as such come with a higher premium and of course they are being brought from switzerland, so shipping costs have to be taken into consideration, but the coins are minted locally.

      Reply
43. Shuaib says:

    September 28, 2011 at 8:42 am

    Al Hilal Bank launched the Middle East’s first-ever bank-installed gold dispensing machine. Located at Al Hilal Bank’s Mall Branch in Abu Dhabi (near Spinneys Khalidiya Br.).

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 28, 2011 at 7:27 pm

      Hi Shuaib,
      Gold dispensers will hopefully bring gold more to more people’s attention but i’ll only be surprised when a bank allows you to have a gold-backed bank account.

      Reply
44. Jam says:

    September 28, 2011 at 7:25 pm

    Thank you Yusuf for your Amazing Blog, your info is priceless. I am a new comer to the GoldBug Culture, and i seem to have become addicted. I have a question for you regarding premiums. In the states, the usual premium over 1oz Coins/Bars or even smaller fractions like 10 to 20G is no more than 3% . But Here in AbuDhabi & Dubai, i have noticed that the premiums on PAMP/Valcambi Bars (10G,20G & 1Oz) are usually 5% to 7% , i personally feel is very high…I’ve recently been buying them at 5% Premium over spot which is the lowest i found. Am i being ripped off? What do you think is the lowest premium i should be paying in the UAE on Gold bars ? Thanks ! Even Lakhoo sold me at 6% (maybe i suck at haggling ) or am i doing fine?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      September 29, 2011 at 11:50 am

      Your welcome Jam,
      At today’s price of 194 dirhams per gram, a 50 dirham premium on a 10g bar would be 2.5 percent and a 75 dirham premium on a 20g bar would be 1.9 percent. The premiums here are much cheaper than the states, as i had mentioned in an earlier reply. Of course the foreign coins will always have higher premium compared to bars. Maybe the premiums in abu dhabi are higher, but these are prices i’ve quoted are prices i was given in a shop in sharjah. There isnt a need to haggle, as the premiums shouldnt vary from shop to shop, unless the salesman is trying to take more profits because the market is hot.

      Reply
      • Jam says:

        September 29, 2011 at 12:26 pm

        Thanks so much for clarifying Yusuf ! I guess i was being ripped off so far, well atleast in Abu Dhabi, Most Jewelers here charge 5 6% The Cheapest in Abu DHabi was AlJazeera Jewelers and he still charged 4% to 5%…I guess I’m going to take a drive to Sharjah to the store you seem to go to and see how its like. Sorry to bother you further. But what premium would you suggest i should look for when buying Silver & Platinum Bars?

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          September 29, 2011 at 8:53 pm

          Yes i’ve heard the premiums in abu dhabi were high, which is why a friend of mine who lives in abu dhabi drives to dubai to buy it there, so go to any of the shops i mention in dubai instead of coming all the way to sharjah. With silver, i’d go for the half or one kilo of silver, which come with no premiums above the daily price, but of course the daily price has premium already attached to it of about 3 to 5 percent over spot. I havent bought platinum bars, so i cant suggest what premium you could get for it, but know that you would only find 1 oz bars of it.

          Reply
          • Jam says:

            September 30, 2011 at 4:38 pm

            Thanks again Yusuf, and keep it up your blog is awesome! Will start with the Dubai Stores i guess, Good to know i’m not alone, i have now given up entirely on Abu Dhabi Jewellers & Coin Shops.
          • Yousuf says:

            September 30, 2011 at 7:29 pm

            Hi Jam,
            Please dont give up checking in abu dhabi, as it would be great if someone from down there would their searches in the city, so it could be included in the guide, until i make my way down there.
45. Arshad says:

    September 30, 2011 at 10:36 pm

    I would like to comment for Jam, I checked platinum bar 1oz from one of the dealers mentioned in blogs and they are charging high premium around 150 dollars, but if you wish to buy there is a dealer in gold & diamond park, you can check in Yousuf guide here, and secondly you are right abu dhabi is quite expensive when buying coins and bars. I would like to thanks Yousuf for the details above, I prefer Anjali as they have very good rates, Lakhoo is always the cheapest but when prices drop significantly low on friday’s they don’t sell, so I personally prefer Anjali for buying, they have big difference as compared to abu dhabi.

    Yousuf, I have a question, although I don’t want to sell gol

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 1, 2011 at 6:38 pm

      Thanks for your recommendations Arshad. Would have loved to reply to your question but some of it is missing.

      Reply
46. Shuaib says:

    October 1, 2011 at 5:24 am

    Jam, I think they charge you more. Few months back when the gold rate was around 180AED, I took 1oz Valcambi bar for 5600aed from Sky Jewelry. They charge me 90AED (i.e. 1.6%)

    Reply
47. Mahi says:

    October 1, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Hi Yusuf,

    I really respect and appreciate the quality of information you have posted in this blog. I would be grateful for your feedback with the following. I am evaluating whether to purchase (a) 100 g PAMP bars or (b) ten tola PAM bars. My understanding is that there are no premiums on ten tola bars where are there are premiums of 1-3% on 100g bars in the Dubai market.

    1) I would like to understand why ten tola bars do not hold premiums?
    2) In the future when I want to sell these bars (in the West or locally), will the cost I will face for selling ten tola bars be greater than that of selling 100g bars?
    3) Do ten tolla bars have a lower brand value (and liquidity) perception in western markets vs in the UAE?

    Thanks and much appreciation for your guidance.
    Best,
    Mahi

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 1, 2011 at 6:58 pm

      Hi Mahi,
      Glad to be of help.
      1) ten tola have no premiums as they are investment grade bars and they dont come in plastic covering.
      2) Whether you sell the ten tola or the 100g, they will give you the same price of gold per gram, but as the ten tola has no premium, you would not loose the premium when you sell it.
      3) No the ten tola are globally known bars and can be sold anywhere. The popular brands that the guys in Abyad told me are Credit Suisse and Valcabmi.

      Reply
      • Mahi says:

        October 2, 2011 at 6:11 pm

        Great. Thanks so very much Yusuf. You are an incredible resource

        I learned today that there is now a significant premium on gold because of the shortage in the local market. Do you have any insight into how long this shortage is expected to last? and whether it is reflective of a global increase in demand for gold?

        Best Regards,
        Mahi

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          October 3, 2011 at 5:53 am

          Your welcome Mahi.

          Well when gold or silver goes down in price, the resulting action is that alot of people start buying it, which makes the available inventory scarce, and then shops know they can charge a higher premium because of the shortage in the market. Once more gold becomes available in the market or the price goes up enough, premiums will return to their usual prices.

          Reply
          • Mahi says:

            October 3, 2011 at 7:36 pm

            Thanks for clarifying Yusuf. Really appreciate it.

            Best,
            Mahi
48. Arshad says:

    October 1, 2011 at 2:10 pm

    I have been purchasing from abu dhabi only, but after reading Yousuf’s buyers guides and called lakhoo and anjali and ceetees, I found there is a big difference in prices between abu dhabi and dubai related to bars and coins.

    I missed my complete comments previously, Yousuf, I have a question for you, if you can help me, if I want to sell the gold bar to Anjali or any other dealer in dubai, which I bought from Abu dhabi, will it be difficult or they will buy normally, have you ever sold like that. I prefer not to sell like you said, but sometime you might need to sell, and selling is too much difference in abu dhabi.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 1, 2011 at 7:05 pm

      I have sold gold before without a problem and if you had to sell it anywhere, i’d say that Anjali would give you the best price. Yes there will always be a time when you may need to sell your gold, thats what savings are for.

      Reply
49. ashrul says:

    October 1, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    Hi Yousuf!
    Just a quick update for people who interested in silver. I just visited Anjali and bought 1 kilo of al ghaith silver bar. The price today is 3700 and they charge me AED50 for the premium.. I decided to go directly to Anjali after i found out that Ceetees would charge me AED95 for the premium. I also call al bahrain for the same and they said they run out of silver until upcoming tuesday. What do you think Lakhoo will charge me for the same as i called them but nobody answering? did i got a good deal in anjali?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 1, 2011 at 7:13 pm

      Hi Ashrul,
      One time that i checked anjali, ceetees and lakhoo, lakhoo had the cheapest price and anjali came in second. They used different algorithms to decide the price, which was why the price was different.

      Reply
      • ashrul says:

        October 8, 2011 at 10:24 am

        Thanks for all your quick reply, Yousuf !

        Do you have any smart way how can i buy 10 pieces of 100g silver bar in gold souq? will people in gold souq gave me a (premium) discount if i bought many pieces like that or maybe 20 pieces(of 50g silver bars)? what is the best shop in gold souq for such transaction?

        i once called Fine Gold for 100g IAR silver bar, and surprisingly, they said they only sell it for company only, not for sole buyer
        What is their problem anyway? do you have any idea regarding this issue?

        Appreciate for the replies,
        Ashrul

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          October 9, 2011 at 5:10 pm

          Well if you want to buy 1 kilo of silver, i’d buy 2 half kilo bars as they have no premiums. If you want the IAR silver bar, you can get them at Jewel Trading on the 3rd floor of the gold center building as thats the place i bought it. You will not find anything cheaper than the IAR as all others silver bars or coins i’ve found have had a premium of around 33 to 50 percent.

          Reply
50. Abdul says:

    October 2, 2011 at 1:25 pm

    Dear Yusuf & Sunnah Money,

    What is your opinion on Wearable 22Karat Jewellery for Investment purposes ? Do you think it is a good idea, i am thinking to buy 22Karat Jewellery for my wife, this way to preserve wealth, and follow the Sunnah. But i want to know if it is a good idea for investment or if it is a waste of money, because i heard when you sell back Jewellery, the vendors charge huge premiums, which end up in big loss, compared to Gold BARS. I would like to know your advise and experience.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 2, 2011 at 4:20 pm

      Dear Abdul,

      22k jewellery is a form of investment, but know that you are paying a higher premium for the molding of the jewellery than you would pay when you buy coins and bars. I convinced my sister to buy gold, but she doesnt like the idea of the gold just lying there, so she went out and bought 24k pendant from PAMP as well as bangles. I think simple bangles and chains may likely have the lowest premiums you would find in jewellery. Whatever you choose to buy, see the amount over the current value of the gold content it has and see how much of a premium it is. That would be the best way to decide which jewellery to get, as you wont get that premium back when you sell it.

      Reply
      • Abdul says:

        October 3, 2011 at 6:33 pm

        Thank you Yusuf for your reply, Yes my plan is to buy 22K Jewellery with no more than 4% Premium/Making Charge. I found good selection in JoyAlukkas of UAE made Gold jewellery Bangles with v low making charge (around 4 to 6 per gram). So i think i will proceed with this. Btw, PAMP Gold Pendant Premiums i found to be very high compared to PAMP Gold Bars. Although the pendant is just an oval shape i don’t understand why they charge so much premium over it!

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          October 4, 2011 at 9:29 pm

          Your welcome Abdul. Glad you were able to find the bangles for so low of premium. Yes the PAMP pendants are normally around double the premium the bars are, but as the bar is around 2 to 3 percent, the pendant being 5 or 6 percent isnt so bad. Well they have oval shaped and even heart shaped pendants. Well i think the premiums are higher because they move slower than the bars and they produce less quantity of them, but still have to make the dices for minting them. From the oval shaped ones, i’ve seen various designs like a rose, the kabbah, disney characters, etc.

          Reply
51. Kumar says:

    October 4, 2011 at 5:20 am

    Dear Yusuf,
    Above I understood Anjali is charging only AED – 50 for 1 KG silver bar , however on checking with Abyad Sharjah they are charging AED 150 to 200 on 1 Kg silver bar.
    Do you have any phone number of Anjali Sharjah.
    Or suggest who will take the least premium in sharjah..

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 5, 2011 at 6:32 pm

      Hi Kumar,
      Well maybe because of the huge fall in the price of silver recently, they are charging these premiums, but I have never paid premiums for silver since i began buying. In sharjah, the only place i’d go for silver is at Abyad as they are the major dealer for sharjah and ajman. If they are charging 150 to 200, i’d drive to dubai for the savings.

      Reply
      • ashrul says:

        October 6, 2011 at 12:16 pm

        Hi Yousuf,

        Yes i also surprised when i call Mikado Jewellers, they seem didn’t charge for the premium as well for 1 kg of silver.

        By the way, do you know how can i find Lakhoo in gold souk? They seem pretty busy as they didn’t wanna bother to answer my call….
        Thanks in advance
        Ashrul

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          October 6, 2011 at 1:13 pm

          Hi Ashrul,

          Well the only way to clearly compare their prices is on a saturday or sunday as the price of silver isnt moving, but i never go to Mikado as they are in bur dubai and i’m normally always on the deira side.

          Well if you click on the Lakhoo link, there is a map shown, but all you have to do is walk into the gold souq from the side road with gold center on your right, and take a right at the T intersection in the souq, then take the 4th right turn and the shop will be in that side lane on the right. If you get lost, ask anyone and they will tell you. Yes they are sometimes difficult to get on the phone.

          Reply
52. Mohamed says:

    October 4, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    Assalam Ulaykum Yusuf,

    Quick one: some shops in Dubai sell Gold Bars 250 gr from Commerzbank. What’s your opinion on that product? I only heard about PAMP and Valcambi in your web site as good Swiss product.

    thanks a lot for your response
    Mohamed

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm

      Alaykum Salam Mohamed,

      Well Commerzbank is the 2nd largest bank in Germany and they have bars minted with their logo from 1 gram to 1 kilo. To my knowledge, i havent seen any PAMP or Valcambi bars over 100 grams, so maybe this is a common quarter kilo bar. Please let us know which shops you found it at and how much the premiums were, though i believe there shouldnt be any as its over the ten tola bar size.

      Reply
      • Mohamed says:

        October 6, 2011 at 11:44 am

        Sorry don’t recall the name of the shot, it was in Dubai gold Souk, premium I calculated at that moment was around 2%

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          October 6, 2011 at 1:00 pm

          Well if you ever do find the place, please make a note of it. If the premium was around 2%, i’d stick with buying 2 TT bars which are cheaper with no premiums.

          Reply
    • Abdul says:

      October 5, 2011 at 8:11 pm

      Yes, recently most shops are Selling CommerzBank 1 ounce Bars, and they are hiding PAMP & Valcambi 1 ounce, they are only selling small fractions. I have noticed this trend since 2 days. Honestly i did not like the packing of CommerBank Bars, and i would definitely be careful from which shop i’m buying it, while it is largest bank in Germany, CommerBank bars are not very common in Dubai, so there is always that risk you never know.

      Reply
      • Yousuf says:

        October 6, 2011 at 12:52 pm

        Well 1 ounce of PAMP, Valcambi, Emirates Gold or Commerzbank are no different from each other, its just to popularity of the brand.

        Reply
        • Mohamed says:

          October 6, 2011 at 1:57 pm

          I do agree…
          by the way, just find out the accreditations for Commerzbank gold, look ok to me
          Accreditation
          1961 London Bullion Market Association
          1974 New York Mercantile Exchange, COMEX Division
          1982 Tokyo Commodity Exchange
          2005 Dubai Multi Commodities Centre

          Reply
          • Yousuf says:

            October 7, 2011 at 9:07 am

            Yep the accreditation looks good. Even emirates gold is still applying for LBMA approval.
53. Abdul says:

    October 5, 2011 at 8:32 pm

    Dear Yusuf,

    I have one more question regarding Coins. I have purchased today an Australian Kangaroo Coin, premium of AED350 over spot. Is that considered a good premium ? As i know in UAE foreign coins carry larger premium. Panda, AE & Maple leaf had even higher premium (aed 400 to 600)

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 6, 2011 at 12:58 pm

      Dear Abdul,

      Personally, I dont see any benefit of purchasing gold coins because of their high premiums, unless i lived in a country which was selling them, or atleast selling them at reasonable premiums. Well if we are normally spending around 1.5 to 2 percent on 1 ounce bars and a AED 350 is around 5 to 6 percent premium, i think that is way to high. If i had to get a coin, i’d go for the sheikh muhammad coins as its premiums are possibly half of that. I’m in talks with a shop i stumbled across in sharjah of possibly getting any gold coins for cheaper premiums, so if anyone is interested, please let me know.

      Reply
      • Abdul says:

        October 6, 2011 at 4:37 pm

        Thank you Yusuf, actually i am a new comer, but Thankfully due to your Blog & many other resources i have learnt and learning alot about gold investment, so i may end up paying more premium than required sometimes . Honestly i am buying the 1ounce coins for my collection purposes, otherwise i focus mainly on bars. I am definitely interested in gold coins with low premiums, i’m looking for AE, Maple, Kangaroo, Panda 1 ounces. Would be great if you can hook me up with a good authentic vendor with low premium. Thanks !

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          October 7, 2011 at 9:44 am

          Glad that that blog was beneficial to you. I will check up on the shop this week and see what prices they would be charging.

          Reply
54. Arshad says:

    October 6, 2011 at 11:15 pm

    250gms CommerzBank is around 200 dirhams premium, still I prefer to go with tt bar, you are correct Yousuf. I do personally prefer tt bars as no premium on them. Lakhoo, never had any availability, although they are cheapest, what I have found out, but looks like they are only dealing with jewellers and big merchants, so no stock left with them

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 7, 2011 at 2:23 pm

      So where have you seen the 250g bars Arshad?

      Reply
      • Mohamed says:

        October 9, 2011 at 1:59 am

        in Dubai I saw yesterday GB Jew. in Gold & Diamond park selling them

        Reply
55. Arshad says:

    October 8, 2011 at 11:33 pm

    Yusuf, I have seen them at Ajanta Jewellers in Abu Dhabi, they are charging 200 dirhams premium on it, there are 100 gms and less also, don’t know the premium.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 9, 2011 at 5:25 pm

      Is Ajanta in the madinat zayed gold center? Is there a gold souq area in Abu Dhabi like we have in Dubai?

      Reply
      • Shuaib says:

        October 10, 2011 at 9:53 am

        Ajanta is in Hamdan Str. where other bunch of jewelers exist.
        Madinat zayed gold center 1 km away from this place.
        Mostly people purchase from Hamdan str.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          October 10, 2011 at 2:10 pm

          Thanks for that Shuaib. I’ll be adding an abu dhabi section to the page, so all you abu dhabians please provide details of which shops you go to with their telephone numbers as well as their locations, and of course your opinions of the shops and their selection. So where on hamdan street are these jewellery shops as hamdan street stretches from Al Nahyan Street (Street 26) to Al Salam Street (Street 8 ) and abit further.

          Reply
          • Shuaib says:

            October 12, 2011 at 10:04 am

            Yusuf Bhai, Inshallah, I will try my level best to get details. Jewel shops are located in Liwa str-Hamdan Str intersection. (in front of DU office/ Ahlia Hospital).
56. David says:

    October 10, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    Yousuf,
    To express my gratitude before my question, your blog is truly one of a kind. Thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge for free. I recognize your contribution in this area as both a labor of love and as having a pure passion for precious metals. Thanks again.

    My question has to do with selling, I’m in a position to source gold — in significant quantities — from a couple of African countries. Could you kindly point me to a list of buyers in Dubai? Thank you in advance and God bless you.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 11, 2011 at 11:05 am

      Hi David,
      Its always a pleasure to share what little information i have gained and always great to hear others opinion on their thoughts of precious metals.

      There has been alot of suspicion about gold coming from african countries, so if you are interested in selling it here, it would have to be stamped by a reputable refinery there which is on the LBMA or NYEX approved list, else i would advice you to take it down to emirates gold, etihad gold or al ghaith and have them mint them into new bars, so that they can be easily sold here. You can sell them to any of the major gold dealers, which i believe to be Anjali (dubai) and Abyad (sharjah).

      Reply
57. Mohamed says:

    October 11, 2011 at 6:38 am

    Salam Yusuf,
    As you are into this topic much longer than me I wanted to have tour view on the following:
    I took a look at some of the videos you posted from Mike Malone, Ron Paul and others. What it tells me is that the US and the $ is are in a bad shape as the FED printed $ like never before some the $ will be devaluated one day or another and the Gold price in $ will soar. Fair enough.
    But what about the price of the Gold in Euro or even AED? Today AED is pegged to the $ so we think the price in AED will also soar, but what if UAE decide to stop the USD peg to the $? Did the UAE print dirhams in a huge quatity? Is the UAE in the same situation than the US? May be Europe seem to be closer to US in terms of money issues, but Europe didn’t lunch any Quatitave Easing so far (I may be wrong but haven’t heard about that, just a 700 Billion fund to rescue banks “in case”).
    So just wanted to have your view on that. Of course this is excluding the fact that paper money is debt and therefore not sharia compliant.

    Thanks

    Mohamed

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 11, 2011 at 11:25 am

      Salams Mohamed,
      Well the current situation is that the dollar is doing down in value and other currencies are following by devaluing their currency in order for their currency not to be to strong against the dollar. The dirham and about 80 or so other currencies are pegged to the dollar and as long as the USD is being devalued, these currencies will automatically be devalued to keep the pegged ratio. If the UAE decides to depeg from the dollar, then things would get cheaper here, but its highly unlikely for that to happen if saudi does take the first step. UAE was going to revalue the dirham against the dollar in 2008, but stated they would only do so if saudi did the same. The UAE does a number of different things to maintain the peg stable and i believe one of them is print more dirhams. No the UAE isnt in the same situation as the US as that UAE is a creditor nation. Well the situation in europe is a mess because all the euro currencies have the same currency and the poorer euro countries are heavily in debted to the richer euro countries and they are unable to pay those debts. Well the bank of england just came out with quantitative easing (aka printing money) last week, so things will only be get worse in europe. Yep paper money is haram as it has no link to gold and is a means of wealth being stolen from us whenever governments decide to devalue the currency. Of course the US is the worse with paper money, as they can print more up any time they like and buy real things with it like gold, land, and food and the people stuck with the US dollars when it crashes will learn, just like other nations in history, that paper money is worthless.

      Reply
58. David says:

    October 11, 2011 at 11:39 am

    Yusuf,
    Thank you for your time. While browsing this morning, I came across the same article you shared here. I didn’t even know anyone could fake gold… Annoying!

    It gets in the way of honest deals. I will now have to exercise extra care in the procurement process and I will explore the options you suggested. Thanks again.

    Reply
59. Rajan says:

    October 12, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    I want to purchase 1 kg silver bar, please advise which brand and from where should I purchase. If i need money latter can sale them back also?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 14, 2011 at 12:43 pm

      Full details of brands and shops you can get 1 kilo silver bars are listed above on this page. You will be able to sale it back to the same store if you need money later.

      Reply
60. Mohamed says:

    October 14, 2011 at 8:29 pm

    Dear Brother yousuf,

    Thank you very much for your efforts and may I compliment your patience and attentiveness to this blog…pretty soon you will be the authority on gold in UAE..lol…

    Anyway, I have a question I know you list many shops but a of now if I wish to buy few 100 g PAMP, or Valcambi bars where is the best shop with the loswest premuim and would you advice to get 100 g * 5 = 500 g or one bar of 500 g?

    Thank you

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 15, 2011 at 10:37 am

      Brother Mohamed,

      Your welcome and i’m glad that i’m able to share my thoughts with those who are interested in sunnah money. Well each shop in the list has its advantages and i have given my recommendation next to each shop of what i think you should by from them. If you want PAMP get it at Anjali, if you want Valcambi get it at Lakhoos. The disadvantage of the 100g bars is that they have a premium on them from PAMP or Valcambi, but if you added 17 grams to the bar and went for the TT bar, you’d have no premium on it. So if i had to compare, i’d compare the ten tola bars and the 500 gram bar, as they dont have premiums. Well the advantage of the multiple tt bars versus the half kilo bar is that you can buy them in increments as the price fluctuates and that you can sell them in increments incase you need money.

      Reply
      • Mohamed says:

        October 15, 2011 at 6:53 pm

        Thank you brother Yousf for the information, although I am wondering why the TT have no premium but the 100g has a premuim? does that reflect more value or just a preference? and do PAMP and Valcombi come as TT? also where would be the best place to get it?

        thanks

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          October 15, 2011 at 9:45 pm

          Well they used to make 100g roundish bars in a similar shape as the TT bar, but i heard it was easier to fake this size, so now the standard small investment grade gold bar is the TT bar. PAMP and Valcambi still produce 100g square bars, but they are sealed in plastic packaging and as such come with additional premiums. From what i’ve heard, the most common TT bars in the market are from Credit Suisse, but you will also find Valcambi bars. Well the best prices would likely be at Anjali and Lakhoo, but you can view Malek’s comment on September 11th for his price list findings.

          Reply
          • Mahamed says:

            October 16, 2011 at 1:59 pm

            Dear Yousuf and Arshad,

            Thank you for your contributions, so basically from a better investment point the TT is better since the premuim is paid only for packaging!!
          • Yousuf says:

            October 17, 2011 at 9:15 pm

            The TT is better as it has no packaging, so your not paying a packaging premium.
61. Arshad says:

    October 15, 2011 at 9:40 pm

    Dear Yousuf,

    With your permission, pamp and valacambi both comes in tt bar as well as 100 gms, there is a premium due to the design and packaging of 100 gms bar. TT bar is open without any packaging and design so there is no premium.

    Reply
62. Abdul says:

    October 16, 2011 at 5:45 pm

    Dear Yusuf,

    Did you find any update regarding that vendor is Sharjah who sells 1ounce coins (AE, Maple, panda, etc) at low premiums ? thanks !

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 19, 2011 at 7:38 pm

      Sorry Abdul, will try to remember to call them tomorrow.

      Reply
      • Yousuf says:

        October 24, 2011 at 10:53 am

        Okay, i’ve checked the place yesterday and they told me they have the 1 oz coins for a premium of 300 to 400.

        Reply
63. Shuaib says:

    October 24, 2011 at 4:48 am

    Commodity bets: Sell gold, Buy silver suggest experts…( http://bit.ly/ptmcBk )
    Dear Yousuf, what’s your opinion? Can I sell some Gold & buy Silver?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      October 24, 2011 at 10:56 am

      Personally, I buy gold for stability and silver for larger gains and plan to switch some of the silver for gold when the gold to silver ratio gets to around 30 to 1, so i could trade in my 1 kilo of silver for 1 ounce of gold.

      Reply
64. Yousuf says:

    October 24, 2011 at 11:12 am

    Well i went out yesterday in the Gold & Diamond Park and visited the shops i recommended above and am happy to say that GB Jewellers and Classic Diamonds both have 1 kilos of silver as well as TT bars. At GB Jewellers, i noticed that they had Commerzbank TT, 250g, 100g, 50g and 1oz bars and when i asked why they werent stocking as many PAMP bars like they use to, the guy mentioned that the market was low on PAMP and as such the premiums were very high. He mentioned they could get 100g PAMP bars for a premium of 60 dhs six months back and now they get it for 150-200. I asked who was dealing in the Commerzbank brand, and he said that its coming through banks like Mashreq bank, but they only sell it in bulk to dealers and not in small quantities for retail. For details about my recent gold experience in qatar and dubai airport, check out my latest blog post.

    Reply
65. Rene says:

    October 31, 2011 at 4:23 am

    Dear Yousuf,

    It’s nice to read your blog. It really brings me a new horizon of knowledge.
    This time I would like to ask you about 2 bars of platinum. This bar looks like as:
    1. There’s a JM logo and a horseshoe;
    2. Written as: John Matthew AZL 18 London, PLATINUM 9999, Assayers and Refiners 16 Ounces Troy, PT 4031
    Do you have idea about these bars?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 1, 2011 at 8:13 pm

      Hi Rene,

      John Matthew (JM) is one of the most well known private mints in the world based in the US, which is approved by all the major exchanges.

      Reply
      • Rene says:

        November 2, 2011 at 8:51 am

        Thank you, Yousuf!
        By the way, do you have idea where should I sell them and at what price they could be sold?

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          November 2, 2011 at 5:18 pm

          Wouldnt really know where you could sell it as its not popular in the market here, but i think you could sell it at Abyad in Sharjah or at GB Jewellers in Dubai.

          Reply
66. Asim says:

    November 3, 2011 at 6:37 am

    AOA
    Yousuf
    I m thinking to start bussiness in buy and sell 10 tola bars of gold in dubai is it profitable. Plz give me suggestion

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 3, 2011 at 4:42 pm

      Salams Asim,
      Well i think any gold and silver business would be profitable here, especially when more and more people are moving away from jewellery to bullion. Not sure that limiting yourself to only ten tola bars would be the best choice unless you were only wholesaling it to shops, but i’d assume that it would be your best bet to try to find a niche in the bullion market that you could easily fill, so you would have less competition.

      Reply
      • Asim says:

        November 4, 2011 at 2:59 pm

        AOA
        Brother Yousuf
        Thanks for your suggestions. I’ll planning to visit dubai week after eid for experience some real speculation in dubai. As i live in karachi most of people fimiliar the tt bars and trade into it also thats why i asked you about it.
        is there any possibility in dubai that we booked the rate of gold bars on phone and take/give delivery later whether buy or sale.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          November 5, 2011 at 8:52 pm

          Doubt you will be able to lock in a price if you dont have the cash in their hands at that exact moment. Its possible you might be able to do so if you had some type of deal with the shop/store, but i tried paying in cash when the shop was out of stock at today’s price and they said they wouldnt take the cash and that i should come back when they have stock and pay at that price.

          Reply
67. Chandan says:

    November 10, 2011 at 6:46 am

    Hi Yousuf,
    Long time back I took your vluabe advice regarding 5 kilo Siver bars(Swiss Made).
    Just wanted to ask you that how come ther’s a big difference in Silver Prices in India and Dubai.In India the rate in News Paper has quoted INR 68000/KG(silver) wher as in Dubai,if we covert to Indian Rupees it comes to only 41000INR.

    Is it possible I sell my 3 Bars of 5kg each in India,somehow if i get better rate there.

    I bought 999Silver Bars 5kg @ 4520AED/Kg and want to desperately sell it off.Kindly,advice.

    Reply
    • mostafa ouseh says:

      November 10, 2011 at 8:26 am

      Hi candan ,
      i am ready to buy 5kg if it good price!

      Reply
      • Chandan says:

        November 14, 2011 at 12:21 pm

        Hi Mostafa,

        What price are you looking for?I have the receipt and would have no problems furnishingit,while selling.
        Tel:0503509729

        Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 11, 2011 at 1:02 am

      Hi Chandan,
      I cant tell for sure how the silver market in india works as i havent done the ground work, but if you can sell them for 65% more there, you should definitely do so. You should consider not selling all of them or maybe trading in some of them for smaller bars. The guys at Ceetees will likely do that for you. By the way, where did you get the 5 kilo bars from?

      Reply
      • Chandan says:

        November 14, 2011 at 12:37 pm

        Hi Yousuf,
        Many Thanks for the usual brotherly advice.I did equire about selling it to India but the legal complexities are real constraint,will have to wait to sell it here itself.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          November 14, 2011 at 8:10 pm

          Hi Chandan,
          So where did you buy the 5 kilo bar from as i havent seen any here over 1 kilo and would like to add it to the guide.

          Reply
          • Chandan says:

            November 15, 2011 at 4:33 am

            Vrajlal mohanlal & sons,Sharjah,but would not recommend any body else to get befooled.This shop buys it from Mohan Lal & Sons,Dubai-Gold Souq and further sells it.

            This shop charges you 4$+- /Ounce.Kindly,guide all across.

            If you want to have a look at 5kilo bar silver you just provide me with your email id and i’ll mail you across.
          • Yousuf says:

            November 17, 2011 at 12:31 pm

            You have there telephone numbers so i could get exact location. Its sad that they would be charging such a high premium when your buying such large bars.
68. Shuaib says:

    November 10, 2011 at 9:30 am

    Dear Yousuf,
    I regularly check gold/silver prices. Prices keep fluctuating. I think, we can make profit out of fluctuation on daily basis, which will give us more profit. What is your opinion?

    Is there any easier way to trade in daily basis / online?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 11, 2011 at 1:38 am

      Dear Shuaib,
      I personally dont get involved in such things, as i trade in my paper currency for real money and that differs from electronic paper trades that dont have any real money behind them, because there will likely come a time when you cant trade back the gains you made in paper trades for real money.

      Reply
69. Chandan says:

    November 10, 2011 at 11:22 am

    Hi Mostafa,
    I’ll mail you the snaps of the bars,by evening.

    Reply
    • JAY says:

      November 12, 2011 at 8:44 am

      I AM INTRESET IN BUYING SWISS SILVER KILO BAR IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SELL

      Reply
      • Chandan says:

        November 14, 2011 at 12:18 pm

        Hi Jay,
        I would be interested inselling the 5kilo Silver Bar(Swiss)–999.99 Purity.

        We can save on the intermediary cost.
        00971 50 3509729

        Reply
70. Gary says:

    November 11, 2011 at 4:04 pm

    Dear Yousuf

    Just stumbled across this excellent blog and wondered if you could help?

    I am looking to buy an Australian 1kg silver kookaburra and 1kg silver koala coin for my kids, I know they will be well above spot price but I’m hoping they keep them as a long-ish term investment. Any idea where to buy them in Dubai if possible? Also given your wealth of knowledge is there a better investment for them for around the same price as the 1kg coin would cost? Gold coin?? Please be specific as I do. It know anything about silver or gold investing

    Many thanks

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 13, 2011 at 7:09 pm

      Dear Gary,

      I have only seen the 1kg silver australian coin in sharjah. Well personally i’d go for the 1 kilo bar instead of the coin as the premiums for the coins are way to high. It would be cheaper to buy it there (australia) and have it sent here i think. If you wanted a gold coin for a similar price of the 1 kg silver coin, you could find the 1 ounce american, australian, and south african gold coins at various shops and the gold atm machines.

      Reply
71. Ravi says:

    November 12, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    Hi,
    Anybody can help me how much is a todays 22k gold 1g price

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 13, 2011 at 7:10 pm

      Hi Ravi,

      You can always check khaleej times website or call up any of the gold shops and they can give you the daily price.

      Reply
72. charles says:

    November 15, 2011 at 4:41 pm

    i want to buy gold jewellery for wedding how many gold can take from dubai

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 17, 2011 at 12:26 pm

      I dont think there is a limit on the amount of gold you can take with you, but if you do take it with you, make sure to take the bill.

      Reply
73. Shuaib says:

    November 16, 2011 at 1:34 pm

    Dear Yosuf,
    Which is the best place/way to sell Gold/Silver in Market otherthan shops? Do you know any particulars website to sell online?

    Reply
74. Alhaleem says:

    November 19, 2011 at 11:52 am

    Dear Yosuf:

    I hope all is well with you. let me start by thanking you for this impressive, informative, and valuable blog. Second, I was wondering if you can help me decide how much silver I should buy? What’s the best allocation between Gold and Silver? As you mentioned on your blog you buy gold for stability and silver for bigger gains. So, If i have lets say $100,000 dollars I want to invest in Gold & Silver, how much of it should be invested in Gold Vs. Silver? Would you recommend 75% in Gold and 25% in Silver?
    Again, thank you very much for your valuable advice.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 19, 2011 at 6:12 pm

      Dear Alhaleem,

      Yes spending 75% on gold and 25% on silver is a good recommendation. If you are willing to stomach the huge swings in silver for the potential of higher gains, then you can possibly spend another 5 or 10 percent more and if you wish to be more safe/secure, you can spend 5 or 10 percent less. I’d recommend buying in intervals (possibly once a month), so that if the price goes down, you havent bought it all at a higher price, and if the price falls 10 or more percent in gold that you buy alot more at the moment.

      Reply
75. Alhaleem says:

    November 19, 2011 at 7:36 pm

    Thank you Yosuf for your prompt reply, I really appreciate it. I went to today to the Gold & Diamonds park and one of the shops there offered me a 100 grams PAMP Gold bar for 20,775 AED which is 206 AED/gram and 10 TT swiss made Gold bar for 24,027 which is 206 AED/gram. First, which one do you recommend the TT or the 100 gram PAMP for investment purposes? Second, is seems to me the price is a little bit below the global market rate which is around $1723/ ounces, am I right or wrong? (since, 100 grams= 3.5273 ounces, then 3.5273*$1723= $6077 which is around 22,200 AED) However, I’m buying it for 20,775 !!!. What’s going on here or what am I missing?
    Your valuable advice is greatly appreciated, thanks a lot.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 21, 2011 at 10:50 am

      Go for the TT bar, as its the smallest investment grade bar available and it will always be 2 dirhams cheaper per gram than the market price and doesnt have a making charge. If you have to get it in the gold and diamond park, goto GB Jewellers and speak to Gaurav and tell him Yousuf Patan sent you. I just called them and

      About the local price being cheaper, no its not cheaper unless you get quote the fixed daily price rather than the spot price. Also you should know that 100 grams is 3.2154 troy ounces (1 troy ounce is 31.1 grams), so your calculation was incorrect and the correct calculation would be 3.2154 ounces * US$ 1,723 = US$ 5,540 which is around AED 20,332.

      Reply
76. Abu Abdul says:

    November 20, 2011 at 8:56 am

    Dear Yousuf,
    Thank you for providing a very informative blog. A colleague of mine wants to buy a large qty of silver and doesn’t have enough place to store it what would you recommend?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 21, 2011 at 10:57 am

      Dear Abu Abdul,
      Well silver is going to take up alot of space if you buy a large quantity, which is why many people decide to buy silver certificates. I dont know of any place that will store silver for you here, though there are a number of places that will store gold. If it is a large quantity, then your colleague should consider speaking with the various mints and see if they would offer storage facilities for the metal.

      Reply
77. Abu Abdul says:

    November 21, 2011 at 12:05 pm

    Dear Yousuf,
    Thanks for the response. Where could he buy silver certificates, that are stored locally similar to the NBD gold certs?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 22, 2011 at 2:55 am

      Doubt there are any silver certificates locally, so i’d say go for the silver certificates from the perth mint through one of their dealers. Another alternative is GoldMoney.com, but you’ll need to verify your identity in order to use the account. The silver market locally is mainly focused on investors and jewellers, which is why you dont find any silver coins available here without huge premiums.

      Reply
      • Abu Abdul says:

        November 27, 2011 at 4:59 pm

        Dear Yousuf,
        There are some doubts about the Perth mint:
        Mainly the issues are that:
        1. Perth Mint sells paper gold (Paper gold refers to any investment in gold which can default). Certificates for unallocated gold (like those sold by Perth Mint) are a mint’s equivalent of a bank’s certificates of deposit (CDs), except they use gold instead of dollars (or paper other currencies) and they don’t pay interest. When a bank/mint goes under, the same thing happens to the holders of these certificates: they become general creditors, with no lien/claim upon any portion of mint/bank’s assets.

        2) Australian law already has a mechanism in place to confiscate gold, by requiring delivery of gold to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

        3) The Australian Government is running big deficits

        4) Australia’s gold reserves are in doubt

        Conclusion: Avoid Perth Mint gold certificates, especially for unallocated gold (allocated gold is much safer, but still risky).
        the info was from this link: http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/02/warning-about-perth-mint-gold.html
        Do you have any alternatives please that are backed by physical gold?

        Reply
        • Abu Abdul says:

          November 27, 2011 at 5:02 pm

          And do the above issues apply to silver as well, which was the original focus of the discussion?

          Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          November 27, 2011 at 10:14 pm

          Dear Abu Abdul,
          I have discussed the perth mint in more detail in the alternative to physical guide.
          You were asking about silver certificates, which was why I suggested the perth mint, as you wont find many mints offering silver certificates. About the issues you mentioned, my favourite economist/stock broker, Peter Schiff, is their certified dealer in the USA and believe that he must have vetted them thoroughly before allowing his customers to buy certificates. They sell gold, silver and platinum (or is it palladium) certificates which are insured, which means if the mint goes under, the insurance company has to pay up. I think the silver certificates now have storage fees since the middle of this year. As a general rule for individuals with large amount of metal, no storage place is 100% safe, so you should store your precious metals in multiple places. Like i mentioned before, silver storage is more difficult and the two places that i can recommend and trust for it are perth mint and goldmoney.

          Reply
78. partha says:

    November 23, 2011 at 6:55 am

    Yousuf,
    Thanks a lot for providing good informations. I am Residing in sharjah, I am planning to buy some 24k Gold Bar and Silver Bar. Please adivce th brand and shop

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 23, 2011 at 11:00 am

      Abyad is the only shop I recommend in sharjah and you can tell that Yousuf Patan sent you. For gold, get PAMP or Valcambi bars and for silver get Emirates or Al Ghaith bars.

      Reply
79. Partha says:

    November 25, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    Yousuf,

    Thanks for your valuable information. I checked with Anjali (Deira Gold ASouq), they are giving Dhs 1 less than curent market and No premium amount also. But they are giving only for cash. They dont have card payment.

    I checked with Al Abyad Jewellers in Sharjah, Abyad also giving same as Anjali Rate but here we can pay by card. But for card they are charging. Who are looking to buy with card can try with Al Abyad Jewellers in Sharjah.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 26, 2011 at 3:19 am

      Partha,

      The gold market is a cash market worldwide and dealers dont normally deal with cards, as wiping cards cost them extra fees and the money isnt instantly deposited in their account and you also have the problem of credit cards being stolen, etc. So its less hassle when dealing in cash, as you get your gold and they get your cash and the transaction is finalized at that exact moment.

      Reply
80. Mohammed says:

    November 26, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    Thanks for the informative article & comments Yousuf.

    I will raise a issue that wasn’t addressed by anyone yet: what about counterfeit gold bars and coins? There seems to be tungsten bars (tungsten has the almost the same density & thus weight as gold) mixed with an alloy to make it non-magnetic, and then coated with real pure gold sold by China with fake certificate numbers that is nearly indistinguishable from real gold bars even by experts.

    http://www.runtogold.com/images/fake-tungsten-gold-bar.jpg
    http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-03/how-make-convincing-fake-gold-bars
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fS1rcE_yCc
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inn8iVASxLY

    There is a chance that the gold dealers in Sharjah and elsewhere are intentionally or unintentionally selling fakes. The only way to find out if it is a fake is to take one random sample and saw/cut it in half (gold is soft) and checking the color of the interior. My question is: if it turns out to be real; will the cut bar lose it’s value, and if so how much do you think (eg. would you purchase a gold bar if it was cut in half)? I am almost certain no consumer or even shops in the UAE cut their bars.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 27, 2011 at 10:38 am

      We have touched on the issue of fake gold in these comments and there is a youtube video link about detecting fake gold and silver on the main buyer’s guide page.

      Well the likelihood of getting a fake gold or silver will always depend on where your buying it from and which mint’s brand is stamped on it. When you buy it from major dealers, who themselves buy directly from the mints, it is nearly impossible to get a fake that way. Even if you dont buy from a major dealer and the bar or coin has assay plastic covering it from popular private mints like PAMP or Valcambi (normal with bars and coins equal to or under 100 grams), it is highly unlikely that it could be fake. Most of the gold and silver sold in the UAE market (as stated above in the article) is privately minted swiss gold, locally minted gold and locally minted silver, so it is quite impossible to get fake gold or silver in this market. In the above article, I have stated my recommendations of where to get gold and silver from, as I personally trust the shops and have bought from them and know there reputation in the local market. If you wish to cut the bar in half to check how real it is, there shouldnt be a problem doing so as it wont loose its gold value, but it would be difficult for the shop you sell it to a customer, so they will likely send the cut bar to a mint to have them remint it, which means they will be spending money to do so, which means that you will likely loose that amount from the sale price. If you cut a kilo or half kilo gold bar, the costs would likely be minimum, in comparison to you cutting a 50 gram bar.

      From the links that you shared :-
      1) you can see that the tungsten issue is more common with investment grade bars (like the 500 gram gold bar in the picture),
      2) fake gold in/from africa is a thing to look out for,
      3) the hong kong fake gold only effected jewellers as they were buying the non-100% gold jewllery, scrap, and nuggets they were getting (not bars),
      4) chinese counterfeit gold and silver coins are becoming more prominent because people are buying them online or from other people.

      What you get from all the links is that companies (jewellery/coin shops) are buying alot of gold and silver and they are sometimes getting ripped off and have started checking alot more into the authenticity of the metal they are buying. You also get that people who are buying from individuals (whether online or in person) need to check when they are buying, so they dont get ripped off. So with this said, if you follow the rule i mentioned above, of only buying it from reputable shops, you can take a load off of yourself of wondering whether you have real or fake gold.

      I was introduced to the fake gold issue a year ago and have done enough reading on it to be at ease with what i purchase. I had come across those same images and videos, and have included below some of the other videos i watched on the subject.

      Tungsten Gold – The video of the tungsten picture
      The GoldMoney Standard – Ultrasound gold bar testing – How GoldMoney checks their bars
      Silver and gold bar testing – David Morgan discusses counterfeit metals
      Gold Plated Tungsten Bars – Bob Chapman discusses the tungsten issue
      Counterfeit coins from China turning up in Washington state

      CoinWeek.com (Chinese Counterfeit Coins)
      Threat of Counterfeit Coins from China
      How Chinese Counterfeit Coins are Traded
      Legislative Efforts to Stop Chinese Counterfeiting and Repeal 1099 Requirements
      Scams, Rip-offs, and Raw Deals to Avoid

      Some more reading for those interested -
      What about the Counterfeit Gold-Plated Tungsten Bar Stories?
      Fake gold bars out of tungsten a counterfeit story
      Millions Lost From Counterfeit Coins, Hobby Leaders Warn
      Counterfeit Coin Detection
      Inside a Chinese Coin Counterfeiting Ring – Photo Gallery

      And lastly, I came across this 25-minute Al Jazeera English video that is part of their Africa Investigates show, showing the gold fraud in Ghana entitled ‘Fool’s Gold‘.

      Reply
      • Mohammed says:

        November 27, 2011 at 12:34 pm

        Thank you for the very enlightening comment & links. I am trusting the UAE market more. However, I have one last query on this topic: did you ever see red/brown spots in your own gold bars? This video talks about bars having these spots as probably being fake:
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCg_3d3A5ZA

        Here are some examples of spots:
        http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rwOMiyBQiBc/Ss-eJqYF2JI/AAAAAAAABFU/O4_PWQtRMJk/s320/Red+spots+example.jpg
        http://i776.photobucket.com/albums/yy46/kcttck/MODERN%20GOLD%20with%20RED%20SPOTS/DSCF5362sm.jpg

        And all chemists say that nearly pure gold is non-reactive and does not rust. Also, the copper content inside a 24k gold bar should be minuscule and not enough to be visible as dots.

        However, there have been many reports in different forums about rust or dots forming on their PAMP gold purchases, but the PAMP’s explanation of it being residue from the factory is strange as one would think they would be careful. Also, they do not seem to be willing to replace these rusted ones in exchange for clean ones. Does it sound fishy to you, or are these red dots normal?
        http://www.goldclubasia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6195
        http://www.cointalk.com/t89390/
        https://www.kitcomm.com/showthread.php?t=76078
        http://lynncoins.com/brown-spotting-gold-coins.htm

        The usual recommendation is to do nothing as people claim is normal, but I can’t wrap my head around a 99.999% PAMP gold bar having visible impurities that cannot be removed by rubbing; it can’t be called 99.999% pure then?!

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          November 27, 2011 at 8:58 pm

          Glad it was helpful. The problem with the brown spots were caused by problems in the minting of them by the russian central bank, so you should check this follow up video about the issue. From the links, it seems that it sometimes happens to coins and bars due to the minting process, but its not something to worry about.

          Reply
81. ramesh says:

    November 27, 2011 at 7:53 pm

    yousuf im intrested in buying around 2-3 kg for a short term investment what and where would be the best place to buy gold bars in dubai thnks a lot

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      November 29, 2011 at 1:35 pm

      the list is present on this guide page for the shops to go, and if you prefer to not take possession of the gold, then go for the dubai gold securities or gbullion.com.

      Reply
82. Ely says:

    December 3, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    Dear Yousuf,
    Great blog. I am new to it and may start buying a 10 tola (TT) bar. But what is the purity of it? The KhaleejTimes’ price is without purity mentioned. Is there only one purity available? I am in Abu Dhabi.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 3, 2011 at 10:35 pm

      Hi Ely,
      To my knowledge there is only one purity and that 24 karat 999 (triple nine). If your living in Abu Dhabi, I would encourage you to check the prices there compared to Dubai, as i think if your buying a TT bar, it maybe worth the time and money to drive down to Dubai.

      Reply
      • Shuaib says:

        December 12, 2011 at 8:17 am

        Salams,
        Yes Mr.Yousuf, I too recommend the same. Dubai is the place to buy Gold compared to Abu Dhabi, as TT Bar also has premium here. As per my knowledge, the only Gold one can buy without any Premium in Abu Dhabi is –British Coins.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          December 12, 2011 at 2:13 pm

          Salams Shuaib Bhai. Still awaiting your feedback about details of the shops in Abu Dhabi, so I can add it to the guide, along with your preferences of which shops give the best prices for various products. Thanks.

          Reply
83. Mohammed says:

    December 10, 2011 at 7:26 pm

    I went to the Central Souq yesterday, but could not find Al Abyad jewellers! There are hundreds of shops, and no directory. It is supposed to be shop 33/34, but the other shops do not display their shop numbers and coerced me into buying gold from them instead of helping me find the place.

    Can you give a rough idea of the location inside the Souq?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 11, 2011 at 11:29 am

      Well, we include telephone numbers with each of the names of the companies so that you can always call them to find their location. Its sad that the other shops wouldnt tell you its location, as they never did that to me the first time I went. As stated above, “they are on the 1st floor of the south-east corner of the building”. If that wasnt clear then if you were standing between the two souq buildings and you walked into the gold shops souq, turn to the left and walk down until you reach the end of the building. Once your infront of the glass doors, their shop is the last shop on the 1st floor on your left hand side. To reach it, turn around and take the first staircase on your right handside. Once you get to the first floor and can see the ground floor, you should be able to see the signboard of the shop at the end on your left. They have two shops at the end, so enter the one on your left hand with gold and silver products in the window.

      Reply
84. SYed Sajid says:

    December 11, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    I WANT TO BUY 22K GOLD BISCUIT OF 30GRMS, WHICH IS THE BEST PLACE.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 12, 2011 at 2:02 pm

      I dont think you will find 22 karat gold biscuits anywhere as gold biscuits only come in 24 karats. You wont find a 30 gram biscuit, but you will find a 31.1 gm (1 troy ounce) biscuit. My preferences are Al Abyad in Sharjah and Anjali in Dubai.

      Reply
85. Shuaib says:

    December 14, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    Bro.Yosuf,
    Is it a good idea to buy physical gold/silver from gold. ae ? I got call from – GOLD. AE Mr.Jamal (04-4473635) he said they sell gold/silver in int. spot price !

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 18, 2011 at 2:47 pm

      Shuaib Bhai,
      I called Gold.ae and they said if your using their trading platform, then you can purchase gold and silver at spot price and then take delivery of it whenever you want to, either by visiting their office or having it delivered to you. But for those looking to purchase physical, they said you should purchase it from their eshop and their eshop prices seem to be reasonable. The main advantage of the eshop is that the precious metal is delivered to your door (for an extra fee) and you can purchase it sitting at home.

      Reply
86. Gayan says:

    December 14, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    Hello Yousuf, are you excited and/or surprised at the number of people who are reading & commenting on this post and referring your name to Al Abyad and others? Do you get a share of revenue if someone refers your name because of the hard work you did on all this information/research?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 16, 2011 at 8:13 pm

      Hi Gayan, yes it has been surprising and exciting that people have read the information since I first posted it some 6 or so months ago and it has been a pleasure communicating with those people. No I do not make any revenue from my recommendations, as I enjoy recommending companies that I personally deal with and believe they give the best deals, so that others dont have to go through the same running around that I went through to find them. Its always nice to hear others recommendations in the comments and its always fun for me when I walk into one of my shops I recommend and they tell me that one of my friends passed by and bought something. One of the rules of precious metal buying is to get to know your dealer, as they will always give you good deals and you can rely on them to give you meaningful information if you for it.

      Reply
87. qasim says:

    December 16, 2011 at 10:57 am

    Salaam Yusuf,
    I came across your blog and found it very very interesting and informative.

    I am very very new to this and would like to ask a question. How can we calculate the cost of a ttb bar from the current spot rate of gold. I just went and bought a ttb from abyad last week and bought my 1st ttb bar, and they charged me an amount. I want to lnow the formula to calculate the price of a ttb bar from the spot usd per ounce price that we see on kitco.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 16, 2011 at 8:46 pm

      Salams Qasim,
      Glad it was helpful. Well the current price of a TT bar should be 3.749 times the current kitco price and then multiply that US dollar amount by 3.674 to get the dirham equivalent. So in short, take the 1 oz kitco price and multiply that by 13.7745. I believe Abyad may charge you an extra 100 or 200 dirhams over that price, though they shouldnt as there isnt supposed to be a premium for TT bars, so if you dont get a good quote from them, then go for Anjali in Dubai.

      Reply
      • qasim says:

        December 18, 2011 at 6:01 pm

        Thanks Yusufbhai,
        I did buy from them and it turns out they took 200dhs more from me. I am a 1st timer and what’s done is done. But I am surely not going to abyad again.

        Thanks for your wonderful and highly informative site.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          December 19, 2011 at 9:41 pm

          Your welcome Qasim Bhai,
          Its always a learning experience, so dont worry to much about it. I personally know two products that I wont by from Abyad if they decide to charge me more than 50 dirhams over the market price – TT gold bar and 1/2 kilo of silver. But all in all, their prices are the same as Dubai, so I wont bother myself spending gas, time in traffic, and searching around for paid parking just to buy them in Dubai. One of the main reasons for writing this guide and giving my recommendations about where to go to get each type of product was to help those whose who are new or dont have the time to search around for the best deals.

          Reply
88. Natalia says:

    December 16, 2011 at 11:27 pm

    Hello, Yousuf! Can you help with advice please about NIDR gold bars 999.5 is it good investment? swiss gold? Thanks.

    NIBR sorry if to buy used unsealed bar from shop is it good investment? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 18, 2011 at 1:14 pm

      Hi Natalia,
      NIBR (National India Bullion Refinery) is a refinery in Mumbai, India. Unfortunately, I wasnt able to find a list of popular/recommended gold refiners in India, so I cant tell you how good their reputation is, and there are no indian refineries that are LBMA or DMCC good delivery approved. As long as the mint is popular in your area and you plan to sell it in your area, then its a fine investment. If you plan to sell it outside of your country, then swiss brands would be easier to sell. About unsealed bars, all investment grade bars like the TT bar and above will come unsealed.

      From a little bit of searching online, I did find the first precious metal refinery in india is the Shirpur Gold Refinery (also known as Agee Gold Refiners) which started in 2001. Also found out that PAMPs products are available in india through their rebranding by 10 private/government banks (ICICI Bank, Corporation Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, UTI Bank) as bars, coins, ovals and hearts from 2 to 100 grams. Valcambi products are also available in india through the ‘Reliance’ rebranding, with coins from 0.5 to 8 grams. The World Gold Council’s website provided a list of companies to purchase coins and small bars, which included ICICI Bank, MMTC, Riddisiddhi Bullions, and Tanishq.

      Reply
89. Nitin Sharma says:

    December 18, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    Many Thanks for this wonderful blog.

    I want to purchase gold for investment purpose only. Whatwillbe best Gold Certificate or physical gold?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 19, 2011 at 9:16 pm

      Physical gold is always the best. Gold certificates are paper promises for gold, which means that their is a possibility that the gold may not be available to you when you need it, but they are useful to those who wish not to take physical possession of the metal.

      Reply
90. Natalia says:

    December 19, 2011 at 8:46 am

    Hello, Yousuf!
    I am grateful to you for the answer. My plan was to sell it in UAE at Gold Souk in Deira. Best regards.

    Reply
91. Yousuf says:

    December 20, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    Well I have a friend who’s travelling to Canada soon, so if anyone wants some 1 oz silver coins (american, canadian, or australian) or 1 oz and 10 oz bars, please let me know within a week.

    Reply
    • mohamad rad says:

      December 25, 2011 at 7:42 pm

      yousef i would like to buy some maples and 10 once bars if you could call me . and ppl here if you would like to trade at spot price plz contact 055=6115544 rad

      Reply
92. Amir farooq says:

    December 24, 2011 at 11:06 am

    Dear yosuf,

    I WANT TO BUY 24K GOLD BISCUIT OF 50GRMS, WHICH IS THE BEST PLACE. i am SUDIA ,JEDDAH kindly show me the right place.

    Reply
93. Fahad says:

    December 26, 2011 at 3:05 am

    Assalam o alaikum,
    I came across your blog and found it very informative and helpful.

    I am living in Riyadh and very new into Gold & Silver. Recently I came across the reality of fiat currency and decided to gradually convert my saving into real money. Therefore I visited one of the gold market to buy silver coins but found out that there are only Saudi silver coins available in the market. There were no American eagles or Canadian maple leaf coins available. I did some research on Internet and found out that government issue Saudi coins are .917 fine silver. I want to start from small coins and then gradually moving into large size bars. What is your advice on Saudi .917 fine silver. Should I invest on these coins and are they going to pay me well when I sell them later in future? or I should strictly buy only 999 silver coins?

    Secondly, a dealer was selling 1kg Emirate silver bar at rate of 4900 Saudi Riyals. When I checked on Internet the price of 1gm is approx 3.50 riyals. Which means they are charging 1400 riyals as premium. Do you think that is normal on 1kg silver bar?

    Lastly, by any chance do you know any place in Riyadh where I can get eagle or maple leaf coins.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 26, 2011 at 4:58 pm

      Salams Fahad,
      Well you wont find american eagle or canadian maple leaf silver coins in Dubai, so dont feel bad that its also not available in Riyadh. You cant even find any government minted silver coins here, so if saudi is minting their own, buy it, but its sad that they are only 22k silver. I personally feel that people should stick with silver bars, if they can afford it, ideally ones that are 100 grams or more, but also having some silver coins, as silver coins will always have higher premiums. If you are buying the 22k coins, make sure you are paying 91.7% of the silver price of the weight. Please post some pictures of the coins (back and front), so we can see them.

      I think that you paying a 40% premium on a 1 kg silver bar is crazy. I’d advice you to check around to find any locally minted silver bars if you can or else look around for a better price at another dealer.

      Unfortunately, I dont know where you’d find eagles or maples in riyadh and dont believe it would be beneficial to you unless you plan to take them to the US or Canada, as the premiums would be high.

      If you dont mind, could you let me know where you are checking the saudi prices online and where in riyadh is the gold/silver souks.

      Reply
      • Fahad says:

        December 26, 2011 at 7:10 pm

        Dear Yousuf,

        Thanks for your reply.
        The Saudi silver coins I mentioned are not actually minted by Saudi government, they were minted by US during WWII for Saudi Arabia to pay oil bills. I get this information from following links:
        http://www.joelscoins.com/silver.htm
        http://www.coinquest.com/cgi-bin/cq/coins?main_coin=5706&main_ct_id=95

        The gold souk I visited is located in famous shopping area of Riyadh called Batha. There are few more souks like Deira gold souk or Tayeba souk (also called as Kuwaiti market). I might visit them in future.

        Normally I check prices of gold and silver on kitco but for quick reference I check on following website which provides rates on local currency.
        http://www.goldpricedata.com/en/gold-prices-in-saudi_arabia.php
        Can you please check on UAE price section and let me know if their prices are accurate as per local market.

        Reply
        • Yousuf says:

          December 26, 2011 at 8:44 pm

          Dear Fahad,
          I would stay away from older coins which are more geared towards coin collectors as they were uncirculated coins, so they are not like junk silver and will likely sell for a higher premium to spot compared to other coins.

          Thanks for info. It would be quite helpful if you could make a note of the gold and silver shops you visit in each souk and the products you find in them, so that i could use them in the guide I’m currently working on for saudi.

          Well the price on goldpricedata was off by a few dirhams from the official published price, but its not that bad of an indicator. I believe it should be a simple multiplication to find the price, as the USD to SAR doesnt change. I also believe that the gold price should be published in some of the daily saudi newspapers, so I encourage you to find out which ones have it.

          Reply
94. KZ says:

    December 28, 2011 at 7:49 am

    Emirates NBD is a RIBBA bank.

    You must remove it from this list otherwise you are endorsing transactions with a RIBBA bank under http://www.sunnahmoney.com

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 29, 2011 at 3:17 pm

      Salams KZ,
      Yes Emirates NBD is a interest bank and I wouldnt encourage muslims to open accounts with them, but I dont find it a problem of purchasing gold from an interest taking company, as i’m paying for the gold in cash and not on credit and paying for them to store it for me. The bank has another gold related service that I did not list in the guide as it deals in interest. I will check with some of the sheikhs I trust about this issue and will decide about it. Just for clarify, the friend I mentioned above who used the service is a non-muslim. It is unfortunate that islamic banks dont offer such a service.

      Reply
95. KZ says:

    December 29, 2011 at 6:05 am

    In rereading my comment, i feel that the way I wrote it is very harsh and not in the manner I intended.

    Your blog is great & I have gotten a lot o good information from it. You doubtlessly put in a lot of effort into helping us, jazak allah 5ayr.

    I will continue to frequent your blog and hopefully add my own information as I learn more. I’m still very new to real money. However may I ask that you please consider removing NBD from your page.

    Salam~

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      December 29, 2011 at 3:34 pm

      Salams KZ,
      You were expressing your views on the issue and its always good to hear different people’s point of view. Yes I’ve gathered and shared the information for the benefit of others and hope that more people can benefit from it and exchange their paper for real money. Look forward to reading the information you add in the future.

      Reply
96. Mohamed says:

    January 3, 2012 at 6:14 am

    Salam Yusuf,

    I hesitated before making the point below but I wanted to share it with you in total humility and looking for knowledge and not for polemic.
    I know everyone has a diffent approach to religion and Islam, so I wanted to know more about Sheikh Imran Hussein by watching some of his videos on Youtube. I understand the statment he is making on Sunna money. But some of his opinions, like the Dajjal, are a bit strange. He is saying that the Dajjal is already on Earth. I know this has no link to gold and silver (maybe it has I don’t know) but this is putting some doubts on his Aquida and his overall level of knowledge.

    Do you know other Imams or Sheikhs who spoke about gold and silver and the financial system?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      January 3, 2012 at 10:53 pm

      Hi Mohamed,

      Seeking knowledge is what makes the internet such a wonderful tool and has brought us together today.

      Well Sheikh Imran is a knowledgeable man like any other scholar and deserves atleast the opportunity to be heard by those of less knowledge and for them to decide whether what he says makes sense or not, as they continue their journey of knowledge. Sheikh Imran’s investigation of things have led him to the conclusions that he speaks of, and he encourages all those who listen to him to investigate what he says and not just accept it because he says it. His interpretation of things is based on the knowledge he has gained, which may be different to the interpretation of those same things by other scholars, but as we know only Allaah is all knowing.

      Muslim individuals that I have listened to about the financial system, banking system, and/or gold and silver include Mufti Taqi Usmani Muhammad Rafeeq, and Tarek El Diwany, but none in my opinion are as knowledgeable about the system as Sheikh Imran. I think you can find more individuals on the dinar and dirham page, as well as at websites like islamicfinance.com and islamic-finance.com.

      Reply
97. Ahmed says:

    January 6, 2012 at 1:53 pm

    I want to sell my TT Gold bar having weight 116.6 gm. The jewellers in abu dhabi are asking for 5-6 dirhams per gram when buying back. Can you advise me where I can sell the gold bar in the best possible price.

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      January 6, 2012 at 4:07 pm

      Whatever they are giving you is a rip off and you should try to find someone ready to buy it from you for around 200 dirhams below the market value. If you cant find a shop to do so in Abu Dhabi, take a trip to Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai and visit GB Jewellers in the Gold & Diamond park as they will sell it for 1 dirham below the spot price per gram, or if your ready to head into the gold souq in deira for a slightly better price, then visit lakhoo or anjalee.

      Reply
98. tipsy says:

    January 9, 2012 at 5:18 am

    I want to buy 24k Saudi Gold necklace, when is best time to buy? I saw that gold now is going down and little up…you think 24k will down to UAE 175/gram, if yes, i will wait if not, how much is the safest price in buying 24k?

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      January 9, 2012 at 7:45 pm

      No one knows the future of the gold price, but it is possible that the price will be going down in this month or next. Personally, I think the price has fallen enough for you to go straight a head and buy it without any concerns of the price.

      Reply
99. Yunus says:

    January 14, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    Hi ro Yusuf,
    Thank you very much for putting together this blog. For a person new to investing in gold&silver, this was very enlightening.

    I need your adivice please..
    Yesterday, I visited Abyad in Sharjah central market..I wanted to buy some silver, but I was surprised to find out that they charge $1.5 over spot for silver 1 Kg bars and for Swiss made, they charge $2.5 over spot. Is this normal? I thought that for 1Kg silver, they should sell at spot!!

    Also, I do not want to rely on one dealer only..Any other dealer you would recommend for silver?

    My last question is related to local vs. Swiss silver..I plan to invest in the long terms and maybe taking my silver to my country..This is whay I am planning to but Swiss only..I this the right approach?

    Thanks again for sharing and may Allah bkless you..

    Yunus

    Reply
    • Yousuf says:

      January 16, 2012 at 2:55 am

      Salams Yunus,
      Your welcome and i’m happy that it has been beneficial.

      No dealer sells at the spot price for 1 kilogram of silver, but they all normally sell for $1/ounce (approximately AED 120/kg) above the spot price, but this can increase when the market goes down. This $1 or more above spot is normally quoted daily in the newspaper, which I would call the AED kilo price for silver, which is a good indicator of what to expect when you visit dealers. I visited Abyad recently and they had swiss silver bars (Credit Suisse) for 100 dirhams over the AED kilo price, but I personally dont see any benefit in getting it.

      If you want a second dealer in Sharjah for silver, I just found them today and added them to the guide, Vrajlal Mohanlal & Sons.

      I have only found swiss silver bars in Abyad, which likely means that they are not in heavy demand in the Emirates. I would assume that if there was a high demand for swiss silver, then you would find it in Dubai and the premiums would be alot lower. I believe silver is silver no matter where you go, but it always easier to sell bars in other countries, if the mint is more popular in that country. If you want to take silver with you abroad and pay the market price, i’d stick with Emirates Gold from the local brands and Istanbul Gold Refinery/Istanbul Altin Rafinerisi [IAR] as a turkish brand (they are LBMA gold approved list).

      Reply
100. Yunus says:

     January 16, 2012 at 3:31 pm

     Thank you Brother for clarifying.

     One more question..I am thinking to buy also some Silver Coins like Maple leaf in order to diversify. I compared the prices from Gold.ae to prices from Goldsilver.com and it seems golsilver.com is still far less expansive even when adding shipping&insurance.

     The question is:
     First: what do you think of that approach?
     Second: if I order from goldsilver.com and they ship to me, do I have to pay customs/other fees when I receive the shipment?

     Thanks again and may Allah Bless you.
     Yunus

     Reply
     • Yousuf says:

       January 17, 2012 at 5:26 am

       Well I think one should have some smaller denominations of silver in their collection but dont think they should have high premiums like the international silver coins you find here, which is why I encourage individuals to get the 50 and 100 gram turkish silver bars as the premiums are low. According to the price on APMex.com, Gold.ae is selling it for a 60 dirham premium over that price, which turns out to be around 66.67% over spot. GoldSilver.com only lists monster boxes for maples and will likely only take orders over $1,500 if they would be shipping to UAE, but you should check to be certain. Also when you import orders over US$ 270, you will be charged a 5% import tax, plus another 100 dirham customs fee. If you do end up going to Vrajlal Mohanlal & Sons, ask for Bhavin, as I told him you would be coming to buy the silver bar from him as his price will be lower than Abyad.

       Reply
101. Louisa says:

     January 17, 2012 at 6:23 pm

     Hi Yousuf,

     We have been saving money for our son and its currently sitting in a bank account earning little interest, we were considering bonds but someone suggested we should invest it in gold, we have 12,000 AED to invest in it.

     Do you think this is a good idea?

     Thanks

     Reply
     • Yousuf says:

       January 17, 2012 at 9:39 pm

       Hi Louisa,

       Interest or profits offered by banks in this economic environment are very low, but along with that we are having high amounts of inflation (likely 3 to 5 percent), which means the purchasing power of the money you leave in the bank is being eaten away even with the additional interest/profit. I personally only keep the money that I need for my day to day living in paper currency, while the rest I keep in gold and silver and encourage people to do the same. I do this because i believe central banks will continue to prop up this crumbling monetary system by printing more currency, which results in things becoming more and more expensive. So I think you should definitely invest some portion of it in gold (maybe 70 to 80 percent) and some in UAE’s national bonds.

       Reply
       • Louisa says:

         January 18, 2012 at 2:56 am

         Thank you so much for your response. I have been reading this blog and your very helpful responses to other people.

         Its a very kind gesture to give your time and knowledge to others, so thank you for that.

         Louisa

         Reply
         • Yousuf says:

           January 18, 2012 at 7:27 pm

           It is my pleasure to help those looking for knowledge, as I was helped by many as I was seeking knowledge.

           Reply
102. Abdul says:

     January 21, 2012 at 2:22 pm

     Hi Mr.Yousuf

     I would like to invest 5,000 AED,inshallah.What would be a better option,gold or silver bars,at the moment?(considering an increase in either of them in a short period of time).Also as I am a complete beginner and have never invested before,if you could tell me,how is the buying and selling process carried on?Much appreciated.

     Thanks

     Reply
     • Yousuf says:

       January 22, 2012 at 12:23 am

       Hi Abdul,

       Well I believe both gold and silver will increase in value in the short term, but believe silver will outperform gold in percentage as the gold to silver ratio is around 1:50 now, when it was nearly 1:30 in the middle of 2011. I dont treat gold and silver as an investment, I treat it as a means of protecting myself from currency inflation, and as such I treat it just like keeping savings in the bank. If you would like to treat it as an investment, which I’m assuming that would mean that you want to make money on trading the metal, then you want to buy it when its low and sell it when its high. In this investment scenario, a good time to buy is when gold declines 10+ percent and when silver declines 25+ percent, and a good time to sell is when gold goes up 20+ percent from the price when you bought it and when silver goes up 35+ percent from the the price when you bought it. You can buy simply by visiting any of the shops listed on this page with the necessary cash to purchase what you want, and when you want to sell, go back to the same shop with the invoice and a piece of ID. With the 5k that you have, maybe you want to get 1/2 ounce PAMP gold bar (approx. 3,200) and a 1/2 kilo of silver (approx. 1,900).

       Reply
103. Abdul says:

     January 22, 2012 at 12:51 pm

     Thank you for your valuable advice.By buying at 10% and 25% less,you mean at the current price,yes?Would you suggest opening an account with Dubai Exchange(the one in deira) and buying from them?And if you could also suggest me a few online sites,where I could check the prices of gold and silver.
     Thank you very much,once again

     Abdul

     Reply
     • Yousuf says:

       January 22, 2012 at 3:09 pm

       Gold and silver are currently below the 10% and 25%, so now is an excellent time to buy, as gold was in the 1800s and silver was in the 40s. Not sure what you mean by Dubai Exchange. Well the sites for checking the gold and silver price are listed in the guide, which includes khaleejtimes.com, emiratesnbd.com, and dubaicityofgold.com (only gold).

       Reply
104. Hajar says:

     January 31, 2012 at 6:36 pm

     Assalamualaikum,

     I really interested with Pamp Suisse Pendant with Ayat Al-Kursi and would like to buy it in bulk. Where i can get this product?

     Thanks.

     Reply