74BRONC said:
If you wanted to get cash for the gold that you melted down yourself how would you go about it without getting the government involved and having them take a huge chunk of it?
I would be worried about some back alley deal that could get you killed real easy.
And just walking into a coin store with a hundred pounds of gold to sell would surely raise some eyebrows on some authorities somewhere.
Not to mention how many coin stores have the kind of cash to pay you for the gold?
I definitely wouldn't go the back alley route. Granted, *hundreds* of pounds would be far more complicated than 20-30lbs., but most large cities have several coin shops and exchanges. I think I would make the rounds over several months and sell to all of them. Another option would be to arrange the sale in smaller amounts prior to walking in with the gold. And if I was going to recast it I would consider pouring it into molds that could be sold as "art" or make my own collector coins. Reproductions of ancient objects would be a nice way, and you might be able to get more than if you sold it as ingots. If you had hundreds of pounds of gold, buying the equipment to melt and cast it would be a small investment considering the return. I don't have the talent to make jewelry, so I probably wouldn't even try. But I've done some metal casting, so I would be far more comfortable doing it that way. Let's face it. It doesn't matter if you are trying to liquidate large quantities of gold, diamonds or incorporate (launder is such a harsh term) a large stash of cash you found; you will have to put significant effort into the effort to do it right. It will require a lot of patience, planning and execution to do it without negative consequences.
And as long as I was sure that the federales weren't going to confiscate it I would be less concerned about paying taxes on it. Paying taxes on hundreds of pounds of gold might be worth it to get it converted into cash that can be invested and returning 10% every year. The stock market has averaged about 14% growth a year over the last century, and that includes crashes, recessions and everything else. Gold, on the other hand is a relatively poor investment in terms of returns. Just look at how stable the price has been since the 1980s. The key is to use the "Rule of 72". Divide the interest rate or the time period into 72 to determine the time it will take or interest rate needed for the value to double. A return of 10% will double every 7.2 years. The problem is that I don't trust the government to be happy with their cut in taxes, and would worry that they might have designs on thefting the whole thing. But if you are comfortable with the government settling for taxes, it might be worth it. $1,000,000 of gold, minus 40% in taxes nets you $600,000 that is free and clear. That's $60,000/year at 10%. In 7 years you have covered your tax bill and you don't have to worry about being robbed or hiding it. It also seems to me that it would be easier for a relatively wealthy person to liquidate that second $1,000,000 in gold you didn't tell the government about than had you tried to liquidate all $2,000,000 on the sly while working a $30,000-$50,000/year job. Personally, I wouldn't want to be sitting on a $2,000,000 cache of gold for years and years when I could be enjoying it.
