There’s hundreds of coins to choose from when investing in gold, so which one do you choose? It depends on your investment objectives. First determine the type of investor you are: Investor or Collector.

Susan Headley, a writer for About.com suggests to investors, “If your main purpose is to buy gold bullion as an investment, my recommendation is that you don’t buy these coins at all, but buy generic gold bullion ingots and bars that are sold for a couple of percentage points over spot price.”

While other investment advisers suggest choosing one coin and only one coin. The number one coin most all agree, The American Gold Eagle. This is the international investor standard because of number bought and sold every year, and of course the guarantee from the government, the standard weight and purity of gold, and the beautiful design. Others, however, advise investing in the South African Krugerrand because of the lower premium above the spot price of gold.

If you are buying gold just to store bullion, then buy the types that have the lowest premium while at the same time have international appeal. Think Gold Eagle, Maple Leaf, and the Krugerrand.

If however you are the collector type, buy classic U.S. gold coins, such as the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles, which trade at bullion value plus about 8%-10% premium for most dates and grades, which is low compared to other rare coins. Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles have the benefit of double potential, first the gold content will always be worth bullion value, no matter what, but second the bullion is “stored in a 100-plus year old American coin also adds the possibility that it will increase in value for its rarity,” says Headley.

Goldprice.org gives another opinion, saying that “in fact, if the quality of the coins are up to par then it is really a matter of personal taste what coins one collects. American Eagles appeal to some people, Sovereigns to others. One simply picks those coins that appeals to one’s taste and collects those.”