Joel D. Perlin of Gold Endures is celebrating a company milestone: 60 years of doing business dealing in the increasingly precious metal.
“It has always been our belief, and our advocacy, that gold has a safe haven and financial-insurance quality should there be times of uncertainty or disaster,” said Joel Perlin, an investment advisor and president of Gold Endures, formerly H.S. Perlin Co., Inc., at 1110 Silverado St. in La Jolla. “Today, more than ever, having (investment) diversification is still the soundest approach. I advise people to seriously consider an allocation, anywhere from 5% to 10%, of one’s total financial assets to this (gold) protection. A little protection is justifiable today.”
Noting the price of gold has been “unchanged for well over a year now selling in the $1,800 per-ounce range,” Perlin pointed out that, back in 2007-08 “gold was selling at around $600 per ounce. Gold’s portable. It’s private wealth. And those factors are still very attractive for today’s financially savvy public.”
Gold Endures has been open by appointment only at its present location since 1988. “I’m blessed at this point that we’re handling second-and third-generation families,” said Perlin. “We’re now beginning our 61st year.”
Perlin noted Gold Endures has an eBay store now that “showcases ancient and rare American and European coins, all certified. We provide rare coins at fixed prices. This is our seventh year doing this.”
Coins used as currency have been around since about 600 B.C., said Perlin pointing out that, just like other antiques, coins increase in value over time.
“This past week an ancient, small gold coin from Bactria in 235 B.C. sold for $8,000,” noted Perlin. He cited another example of the escalating price of gold. “After Vietnam, in 1969, the price of gold was $35 an ounce. Ten years later, the price of gold was $500 an ounce.”
Joel took over the company started by his dad, Herbert, in 1961. “He would go to New York and bring back wonderful rare coins and stamps,” said Joel of the origin of their family business. “My father had previously been a diamond salesman. He always wanted to retire to La Jolla. We came to La Jolla because of my father selling diamonds to Bowers Jewelers in La Jolla in the 1950s.”
Perlin characterizes Gold Endures as a “relationship business” that he noted “appeals to buying and selling and possessing and estate planning and the like. So I have relationship clients. That’s been very satisfying.”
But being a numismatist, a collector of coins, was actually not Joel Perlin’s first career choice. “I grew up playing the violin in an orchestra,” he said. “But I came to the realization that you couldn’t make a really decent living in California in orchestra in the 1960s. You were playing in the philharmonic – and pumping gas. I made this choice as a career move.”
Of being a modern-day gold dealer, Perlin noted: “Gold has endured. And while we’re alive, we have the opportunity to touch and to have that as part of our personal wealth, the preservation of our financial insurance, our portfolio management, our diversification, and our enjoyment. That’s a lot you can have with a fiscal asset. I don’t think you have that in just about anything else, other than real estate.”
Dealing in precious metals turned out to be the gold standard for Perlin. “The benefits of doing something you feel is a value, and people support you by reinforcing that, is special,” he said. “I never expected I would get to this stage of life and be this happy doing this.”
GOLD ENDURES
Where: 1110 Silverado St.
Info: GoldEndures.com, 858-459-7803.
