Gold as gifts

My Dad used to buy gold coins for us for our birthdays when we outgrew toys.  I think he got it right.  It was so much more practical than some useless novelty gift. 

If and when my kids become old enough to appreciate their value, I'd probably do the same thing.  Gold never gets out of value.  It's easier to carry around.  It's easier to pass around (you can just give it to somebody else as a gift or an informal inheritance with hopefully less of the inheritance tax issues).  It's not difficult to convert to cash, unlike real estate.

And, unlike before when my Dad had to go to Hong Kong to buy the gold coins from the banks that carry them in order to ensure that those were legit coins, it's now much easier to purchase such coins. Now there are online merchants.  Of course, you still have to practice due diligence in researching for the best and most reliable merchant around, but with the easy accessibility of the net, it's not as difficult in doing research.  (Look up the US Gold Bureau, it looks legit.  Tell me what you think.)

While I also believe somehow in cash gifts, cash does have a tendency to immediately get spent.  I would like my kids to somehow "pass the marshmallow test".  After all, gold tends to increase in value over time, so keeping them around is a good idea for some future time that you need money, you'll get more than what you paid for it right now.