As economic uncertainty roils the US, the price of gold has roared to record highs amid investors seeking a place to shield their cash from Donald Trump’s scattergun trade wars.
A single ounce of gold cost $3,051.99 on Wednesday, compared with $2,160 in 2024, and gold has historically been seen as the safest place to invest in financially turbulent times.
But the buying, and potentially hoarding, of gold need not be restricted to the Scrooge McDucks of this world. In 2025, gold can be bought from Walmart and Amazon – although experts say more established gold dealers are a better source.
Once a person has bought the gold, they can do whatever they like with it: there are whole Reddit threads devoted to the best way to bury gold underground. (Dig a deep hole, dump your vacuum-sealed gold in the hole, put a layer of rocks on top of the gold so it can’t be discovered by a thief with a metal detector, then try not to forget where the gold is buried.)
Related: Americans increasingly worried about tariffs despite Trump’s assurances, new poll shows
Experts suggest not burying the gold, however.
“Gold is one of the few elements on the periodic table that does not decay or oxidize over time, so there’s no need to worry about deterioration,” said Alex Deluce, the host of the Gold Telegraph Show, and an expert in gold investment.
“However, for safekeeping, store it in a secure location, ideally in a safety deposit box or a well-protected home safe. Keep it away from direct sunlight and heat sources to maintain its condition and security.”
Deluce said gold should be purchased “from reputable suppliers who insure all deliveries”, and financial magazines including Forbes have lists devoted to gold-selling companies.
To the uninitiated, an equally important question is: what kind of gold should people buy?
Taylor Kenney, an economic journalist who works for ITM Trading, a gold and silver dealer based in Arizona, said most gold purchases are of bullion: gold that has been refined and shaped into coins or bars.
Some of those bars are the big heavy type that is frequently stolen from banks in heist movies, but those tend to be very heavy, which means they are very expensive. Instead, many gold purchasers will be buying much smaller bars.
A handy example was seen in the recent case of Bob Menendez, the now former Democratic senator who in January was sentenced to 11 years in prison for receiving bribes.
Photos shared by the FBI showed that Menendez had an amazing a hoard of gold bullion in a variety of sizes: he had a couple of gold bars that weighed just one ounce.