Imagine two savers in 2006, each with £100,000. One bought gold. The other left the money in the bank and got on with life. Twenty years later, the difference is hard to believe.
The gold route
In 2006, gold traded at roughly £330 an ounce. Today it trades above £3,100. That £100,000 would have bought around 300 ounces, worth in the region of £940,000 at today's prices, roughly nine times the original stake. Held in UK legal tender coins such as Britannias or Sovereigns, every pound of that gain would also be free of Capital Gains Tax.
The cash route
The second saver still has £100,000 on the screen, plus modest interest. But the Bank of England's inflation calculator shows prices have risen so far since 2006 that the money now buys only around half of what it did then. In real terms, doing nothing cost that saver tens of thousands of pounds of purchasing power. The account balance never fell. The value quietly did.
The honest caveats
Twenty years is a long holding period, gold's path was not a straight line, and nobody should expect the next twenty years to copy the last. But the comparison makes one thing unmistakable: cash and gold are not both safe. They are exposed to different risks, and inflation is the one cash can never escape.
Speak to us
This is information, not a sales pitch. If you would like to talk anything through, book a call with the team or phone 0208 064 0076, Monday to Saturday, 8:30am to 6:30pm. When you are ready, our range of tax-free UK gold coins is available to browse at any time.
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Sources
- GoldPrice.org, 20 year gold price history in UK pounds
- Bank of England, Inflation Calculator
- HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG12602 (currency exemption)
Figures are approximate, based on historical market prices, and past performance is not a guide to future returns. Gold Tier Advisory does not provide regulated financial advice.
