The uncertainty surrounding the fate of the dollar has led to a flood of questions recently about where you can physically buy gold bullion 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.

We posted this originally back in November 2008 and got so much interest that as of March 2009 we decided to update it. There is obviously a huge pent up demand to buy gold bullion in Latin America’s premier financial center, but precious few sellers of the metal! This has led to high premiums for purchasing real physical gold coins such as bars, ingots and gold coins. Here below is the original post from last November which goes some small way to explaining how to buy gold in Panama City, together with a 2009 update that does not specifically refer to Panama City, but nonetheless explains some secure and unique ways to purchase gold bullion in a secure offshore environment.

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. PanaCambios speak perfect English, by the way.

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.

“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 offshore investing 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.

Update March 2009: our friend Peter Macfarlane has just recently released The Gold Report, aka How to Buy and Hide Physical Gold Bullion Offshore. It’s all about how you can legally, privately and confidentially buy gold bullion somewhere offshore – outside your home country – and the various safe storage options both in Europe and the Caribbean region. There’s also an interesting section on How to Buy Gold Bullion Direct from the Producer thereby cutting out the middlemen, or – as Peter calls them – The Gold Cartel. Peter points out that there is absolutely no obligation to report gold holdings on your tax return, unlike bank accounts or gold  ETFs investments etc. The Gold Report is available free just for being a member of The Q Wealth Report.