The uncertainty surrounding the fate of the dollar has led to a flood of questions recently about where you can physically buy gold in Panama. Many experts are now no longer recommending investment in gold certificates through ETFs and the like, with bank and underwriter collapses making electronic gold risky. And that’s not even mentioning the criminal lawsuits in the USA against e-gold, and the burgeoning but risky “electronic money” business here in Panama.

So let’s say you have a small amount of cash and you want to buy gold. In Panama City you can buy gold coins in a number of cambios (in Spanish: casas de cambio). One, for example, is PanaCambios on Via España in the financial heart of Panama City. They are located next to Plaza Concordia, behind the big Adams clothing store. They are conveniently situated just a short walk from business hotels like the Riande Continental, El Panama, the Marriott and The Executive Hotel.

You’ll find, however, that the spreads (difference between buying and selling prices) are quite high. You can usually negotiate a better price for larger quantities, but remember if you enter or leave the country with more than $10,000 you are obliged to fill out a customs declaration. This applies equally to gold coins.

What gold coins can you actually buy? Typically Maple Leafs, Gold Eagles, Krugerrands or Mexican Centenarios. Through the 1970s and 1980s however, Panama produced its own Gold Balboa coins in denominations of $500 and $100.  These are also sometimes available, as are Silver Balboas, now a collectors’ item.

If you are interested in buying more serious quantities of gold bullion in Panama, contact us for a referral to reputable and licensed gold dealers. We can also arrange transactions in many other worldwide! Please use our contact form to reach us.

By the way, if you are interested in further reading on this subject, there’s an interesting commentary called “The Trial of Gold” by David Galland of “Big Gold” experts Casey Research, recently submitted to the Free Articles area at Q Wealth Report.

“Just today we’ve seen the dollar dipping once again into its downward spiral,” says the Q Wealth offshore banking guru Peter Macfarlane, who is in Panama just this week at the Recipes for Success event in Panama City. “Don’t be misled by short term booms!” Peter also offers up further evidence on his blog that the big government’s conspiracy to control money is breaking. It makes interesting reading for those of us who want to study international currencies, particularly Latin American ones, and their relationship to the price of gold.