Last updated: 20 January 2022. Gold and silver are the most desirable and alluring of the precious metals. There's something very magical about holding a gold bar in your hand - even a small 1 oz bar.
The best books featured below are all beginner friendly and don't assume much prior knowledge. With prices ranging from £5 - £25, stocking up on a few of the best gold and silver investment books can deliver the same value as an expensive seminar for only a fraction of the cost. They can even be read for free with Amazon's Kindle Unlimited free trial.
Click on any title below to see the latest price from Amazon, you'll be shocked at how affordable the most popular titles are. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps to support this site. This does not impact how I compile the list. Happy reading!
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Gold and silver investment books for beginners
Simple guides to introduce gold and silver to new investorsBooks about the history of gold
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- There's no obligation to continue with a paid subscription.
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If you're cost-savvy, you'll already be calculating the savings you could unlock and the knowledge you could gain by downloading 5 books over the next 30 days.
My Top 5 Gold and Silver Investment Books for 2021
Click covers to see latest reviews and prices1. Guide to Investing in Gold & Silver - Michael Maloney
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Michael Maloney is widely recognized as a leading expert on monetary history, economics, economic cycles investing, and precious metals.
He is CEO and founder of GoldSilver.com, one of the world's largest gold and silver bullion dealers, CEO and founder of WealthCycles.com, an educational website, and host of the most popular video series on the topics of monetary history, economics and economic cycles, The Hidden Secrets of Money."
Who this book is for:
Guide to Investing in Gold & Silver is, simply put, the bestselling, best rated and most popular beginners guide to precious metal investments.
Pick up this paperback and let Michael Maloney, a bullion dealer by trade, teach you everything you need to know from square one about investing in gold and silver.
Currently rated 4.7/5 on Amazon with 500+ reviews.
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Discover the money secret understood by virtually every rich person in history. Turn hundreds into millions through the power of compound interest.
How to Own the World shows you that:
- No one is better placed than you to make the most of your money.
- You can do better than many finance professionals.
- Making money from your money is easier than you think.
- It's easier today than ever.
- It's time to start now."
Who this book is for:
How to Invest in Gold & Silver is my second favourite gold and silver book - also aimed at beginners.
What I particularly love about this book is the author's background. In sharp contrast to Michael above, Don is a passionate amateur who has been investing in gold bullion for years.
This helps to create a reading experience where you feel like the author is on your level, tackling the knowledge gaps or concerns that you may have about investing in gold. He's been where you've been and can therefore easily put himself in the shoes of new investors.
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Written in an easy-to-follow, no-jargon style by CFP and bestselling author, Paul Mladjenovic, Investing in Gold & Silver For Dummies explains the different complex processes and vehicles for buying gold and silver. You’ll find out the best ways to add these to your portfolio, how to balance risk and reward, and how to adapt time-tested investing plans and strategies to your goals.
- Identify your goals and form a plan
- Buy gold and silver safely to diversify your portfolio
- Use ETFs and options to profit from market ups and downs
- Understand when a gold and silver investment is legitimate
- Use technical analysis to time your market entries"
Who this book is for:
A hotly anticipated release for January 2021, Investing in Gold & Silver For Dummies is filling a gold coloured gap in the '... for dummies' investing series.
I'm a massive fan of the '...for dummies' series of books, and respect the publishers' selection of authors to bring their topics to life.
It's a dummies book, so expect easy-to-read layouts - no tense blocks of text, and plenty of charts and diagrams.
This will appeal to the visual learners who are turned off by impenetrable blocks of academic prose!
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"The best-selling index investing bible offers new information and is updated to reflect the latest market data The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is the classic guide to getting smart about the market.
Bogle describes the simplest and most effective investment strategy for building wealth over the long term."
Who this book is for:
At #4 I've included a gold which steps back from the immediate process of gold investment and asks the big questions like...
Why gold?
What's so special about this material? What makes it so unique that humans have particularly worshipped it for centuries.
This is not only incredible exciting, but it's essential knowledge for any gold bug because these questions (and their revealing answers), help to underpin the investment case for gold. over the long term.
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"In their quest for trading commodities profitably, beginning traders spend a substantial amount of time studying market theory, various types of market analysis, and paper-trading in the futures and options markets. Yet, almost all of them fail to take the necessary steps to ensure their trading environment is conducive for the profits they seek.
A Trader’s First Book on Commodities aims to fill the void in trading literature that overlooks the importance in making the right decisions before ever placing a commodity trade such as fully understanding market mechanics and logistics, choosing a proper trading platform, understanding order types, being aware of market data fees and policies, how to quote and calculate profit or loss in each of the commodity markets, preparing for margin calls, and the only magic in trading–humility."
Who this book is for:
To round off this list, it made sense to cherry pick one of my favourite titles from the best commodities books page, which feature excellent titles covering all commodities including gold.
A Trader's First Book on Commodities is, as the title suggests, a beginners guide.
One of the first things that beginners will learn is the amount of overlap between commodities and derivatives.
Owing to their impractical physical form, traders prefer paper contracts such as forwards, futures and options to gain exposure to commodities without needing to physically take possession.
Carley Garner pops the lid off that complex world with clear and concise explanation.
I would recommend this book for any novice to trading, or novice to commodities trading. Due to the significant differences between equity trading and commodity trading, it's helpful to be humble and consider yourself a commodity newbie even if you've traded on the stock market extensively.
The Financial Expert™ Best Gold and Silver Investment Book Challenge
I challenge you to read one gold or silver book per month and see if it revolutionises your investing style!
The Financial Expert™ Best Gold and Silver Book Challenge is a well-loved feature of this website.
The very essence of the challenge is that I want to prod and poke you into agreeing to read more, and read more widely about gold and silver.
The rules of the challenge are simple:
I challenge you to read one gold, silver or commodity investment book per month for the next year, and find your new favourite!
If you've already covered the topic of gold bullion extensively, why not learn about gold coins, or learn more about silver and other precious metals such as platinum and palladium.
If you've already become a precious metals master, they why not pick up titles about the commodities markets in general. If you enjoy the physical possession of gold and silver, then you may find other commodities attractive investments too.
Once you've completed the challenge, I urge you to not stay quiet about it.
Write reviews - leave them on Amazon or wherever you picked up your book.
Share the gold and silver investing books with friends and family - they won't be helping you sat on a shelf collecting dust for the next few years will they?
Pass on the challenge - whether about gold investment books or another pastime. Reading can become addictive in it's own right, so encourage other people to take up this productive, insightful and positive hobby today!
Some guidance
- I found it helpful to stock up on books for the next few months, so that when a new month rolls around, my next book was my bed-side table asking to be opened!
- Pick a variety of styles. This will keep the challenge fresh and increase the diversity of opinion.
- Pick at least one book that you don't think you would enjoy, this book might be the one that surprises you the most!
- If you're time-starved, audio books are absolutely fine!
Where to begin?
My list of the 5 best gold and silver investment books above is as good as any place to start, as I have consciously included a mix of different writing and investing styles to ensure that it caters to a wide audience.
Good luck!
The best gold and silver books
Gold bullion and silver bullion form part of many investment portfolios, for a number of reasons:
- Some investors like the inflation-beating properties of the precious metals
- Others want a component of their portfolio to have low correlation with the stock market.
- Some investors have a strong conviction that gold is currently undervalued
- Finally, others just love collecting the beautiful gold & silver bars and coins for their numismatic value.
Gold and silver are just two commodities that are traded in the wider commodities market. What makes gold and silver quite different to other commodities is their storability. Unlike oil and timber, investors can feasibly buy gold bullion, store it in a household safe and hold onto the real physical asset.
Most other commodities are traded using derivatives, which are only a paper contracts between two parties. There's a tangible appeal of owning and being able to touch a substantial investment in gold & silver.
I've picked out my 5 favourite books about investing in gold and silver below, along with other shortlists of gold, silver and commodity-related titles which I'm also sure you'll find useful.
What to look for in a gold and silver investment book
1) What is the most efficient way to invest in gold and silver bullion
Are gold bars more efficient than coins, and which is the easiest to buy? How should you source gold to get the best price, without taking risks on the providence of the precious metal you are buying?
2) The best practices for secure storage and insurance
An investment in real gold should give you peace of mind, not worry. Therefore I suggest that you read up on the tips that these books have to offer. How much you spend on storage represents a trade-off between security and efficiency, so it's about finding the right balance for your circumstances.
3) Alternative ways to invest in gold
In my guide on how to invest in gold, I suggest several different ways you can benefit financially from an increase in the gold price. Only a few of these options involve looking after a hoard yourself. It might be worth learning about other options such as third party external storage, or gold exchange-traded funds. Once you understand their pros and cons, they may appeal more than holding gold & other metals in your house.
The best gold and silver investment books
The best books featured below are all beginner friendly and don't assume much prior knowledge. With prices ranging from £5 - £25, stocking up on a few of the best gold and silver investment books can deliver the same value as an expensive seminar for only a fraction of the cost. They can even be read for free with Amazon's Kindle Unlimited free trial.
Click on any title below to see the latest price from Amazon, you'll be shocked at how affordable the most popular titles are. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps to support this site. This does not impact how I compile the list. Happy reading!