Choices

• ETF ..?
• gold futures on Oanda .. daily costs eroding the position, so probably not designed for holding 60Y.
  • Around 1~1.5% pa daily cost. 11 Dec 2020 email has illustration.
• coin .. default choice
• bar — minimum 50g
• jewelry — has some practical value if you wear it safely
• gold certificate .. erosion : monthly costs

— mark-up for physical gold
Smaller amounts seem to have worse mark-up.

You can ignore the spread and focus on the ask price. You can always sell your gold somewhere else 🙂

Actually, for 1% – 10% mark-up, over the long term it doesn’t matter.

— bid/ask spread for in-house products (can’t be sold on the street)

— safe storage:
Physical gold is a challenge. See current income<0 i.e. rent

Non-physical gold products always involve some carry cost … inevitably.