Four limited edition gold bullion coins were issued yesterday to mark the 2010 World Expo. The coins have been minted by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and the China Gold Coin Inc.

The coins are in four different sizes weighing 500 grams, 100 grams, 50 grams and 20 grams.
Only 100 of the 500 gram coins have been minted making it rare limited edition which will be desirable to collectors who buy gold.

The coins feature the Expo mascot, Haibao on the front and on the back there is an illustration of Beijing's Tian'anmen building, and Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower and the China Pavilion.

The International Monetary Fund has given the go ahead to the sale of 403 metric tonnes of gold reserves. This action is likely to raise $13 billion of cash to restock its reserves for lending to low-income countries who have been hit be the global recession.

The sale totals approximately an eighth of the IMF’s stockpile and the decision to sell comes at a time when the price of gold has hit record highs, because investors are seeking a safe haven away from the volatile currency markets and increasingly buy gold.

The IMF has stressed that the sale will be conducted in a “responsible and transparent manner that avoids disruption to the gold market”.

Potential buyers for the gold include markets in China, Russia and India all of whom are keen to reduce their holdings of US dollars.

The UK’s most significant and largest haul of Anglo Saxon gold has been unearthed from beneath a Staffordshire field and are on display. The haul is thought to contain over 1,500 artifacts which have lain undiscovered since the 7th Century.

The gold was discovered recently by a man using a metal detector and a spokesperson for the British Museum has stressed that the find is of huge archeological significance.

The remarkable collection is being kept under secure storage at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. A selection of the items from the collection will be on display from tomorrow until 13th October.

The gold collection illustrates the historical importance of gold. It has always been a desired and sought after commodity because of its inherent beauty and value. During the current global economic crisis the price of gold has continued to steadily climb as investors buy gold as a hedge against the recession. It continues to be a valued commodity

The continued rise in the price of gold, as more investors buy gold, is having a knock on effect on the price of gold mining companies’ shares.

According to various articles in the media the leading international gold mining companies shares have raised in value sharply since gold broke through the $1,000 per ounce mark earlier in September. Companies reporting increased share value include Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd, Zhongjin Gold Corp and Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd.

The increase in the price of gold is being fuelled by worries about economic instability and the falling value of the dollar.

Many analysts are predicting that the price of gold will rise further.

Gold led trading this week with the price of bullion moving closer and closer to the record high of $1,030.80 a troy ounce which was set in March 2008. Prices reached $1,023.85 last Thursday but then dropped back again to $1,012 on Friday. This means that overall the price of gold is up 0.7% on the week. The price is gaining in strength as investors buy gold because of concerns about inflation and because the dollar price continues to fall.

China is emerging as a rapidly growing market for gold and coupled with the move to buy gold by investors who see it as a recession proof investment gold hit a historic high last week topping $1,000 an ounce.

Adverts are appearing everywhere, on the television, in newspapers and on leaflets pushed through the letter box, encouraging people to take advantage of the high price of gold by selling their gold jewellery for scrap.

Forecasters predict a continued rise in the price of gold making it a good time to buy gold, as well as to sell gold.

Today marks the first anniversary of the collapse of the once esteemed investment bank Lehman Brothers. The resulting financial panic threatened to destroy the global economy and sent us spinning into a massive global recession.

The lesson to be learnt for investors is that our complex financial systems can be very unstable.

This is why financial experts, commentators and prudent investors are turning to gold. Gold futures have gained 31% since the demise of Lehman Brothers as investors have bought precious metals to protect their wealth as we entered the first global recession since World War II.

It is now suggested that investors large or small should buy gold and make it at least 40% of their investment portfolio.

For the first time in six months, the gold price has reached $1,000 an ounce. Some experts are suggesting that the rise could be due to investors believing we are moving out of global recession and we may shortly enter a period of inflation.

However, others are arguing that it’s not an indication of global recovery but points to investors continuing to buy gold because it is a reliable investment in times of economical uncertainty.

Gold has risen in value by 13.6% this year and, as would be expected, the price of the dollar has declined throughout the same period. The general trend indicates that gold has risen in price continuously for eight years.

Remember that money you save in a bank will only be insured up to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) saver protection limits.

Therefore, if an FSA authorised bank or building society is unable to pay back deposits held with it the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) will only pay back the first £50,000. If your savings are greater than this amount you will lose your savings over £50,000 even if your savings are held in different accounts.

In the case of joint accounts, FSCS work on the assumption that the money in the account is split equally between the joint account holders thus meaning that each can claim a maximum of £50,000 in compensation.

Many financial experts therefore believe that, it is safer if you have more than £50,000 to invest to buy gold because it is a tangible asset which you actually own outright.

Records show that September has historically always seen a rise in the demand for gold. This is explained by the fact that it is the start of the holiday season in many of the countries which have the greatest demand for gold like India and the United Arab Emirates.

It is the time of year when preparations are made for many religious festivals like Ramadan. The end of Ramadan is celebrated with the giving of gifts like gold.

Likewise, jewellery manufacturers will buy gold in preparation for the start of Diwili and September also heralds the beginning of the wedding season in India.

In fact, the figures show that gold made gains in 16 out of the past 20 Septembers. Additonally, figures show that since 1988 the price of gold has gained an average of 3.4% during September and as much as 5% in at least 7 of the last 20 years.

However conversely, this trend is not reflected in other markets and September has historically always been a bad month for stocks and share.