I have read that there is still a US law on the books that would permit
confiscation of personally owned gold bullion in the event of a national
emergency (as was done by Roosevelt in the 1930s), but that the
collectible gold coins we collectors own are exempt from this law. I've
never bought a gold bullion coin (as opposed to a collectible coin), but
am curious to know if the government actually requires people to
register the bullion they buy. I suppose I could just go out and buy a
bullion coin to find out the answer, but that's an expensive way to
satisfy my curiosity. :) What is to prevent a person from "collecting"
Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, etc., and claim they are for a collection
rather than for bullion investing? And one might be able to claim this
honestly: surely one might want to make a numismatic collection of
bullion coins of different dates from different countries.
(Apologies if this is a faq; I'll gladly accept a pointer to a faq file
with the answer if one exists.)
Bob O'Hara