NOW is the time to invest in gold coins, according to coin dealers.
They have tipped gold prices to bottom out and demand for existing collections to surge as a result of recent moves to abandon the Queen's figure in future coin and note issues.
The Government had stopped issuing gold coins since 1987 but it is expected that future issues will adopt the new de-colonised designs.
Mr Anthony Lee Hon-man at coin dealers New Century Collections said the risk of gold prices falling was limited after the sharp fall since mid-1980s.
He added change in designs would make existing issues rare commodities.
But he warned key distinction must be made between coins and medals in view of big disparity in values.
Gold coins are much more valuable because they were government issues and are, therefore, legal tender.