Gold Vending Machines? Go Germany and Europe

Forget buying Coke (NYSE:KO) or Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) from vending machines, now there's something better, how about Gold!  That's right, the 1st prototype gold-dispenser has been installed in Frankfurt airport and today.

The one-gramme bar was available for €30 (£25). Other options — rather like a high-end coffee machine it has five selections — included a Maple Leaf Five Canadian dollar coin and a Kangaroo Fifteen Australian dollar coin. Both represent about one tenth of an ounce of gold and the price on today was hovering around €80.

"The price is updated every 15 minutes," Ms Erhardt explained. "The vending machine is linked to the computer which we use for our online gold outlet."

The margins are lower than those offered by banks but fluctuate at about 20 per cent higher than market prices. That is the price of being able to pick up your gold before boarding an aircraft and having it packaged in a metal case labelled "My Golden Treasure".

A less sophisticated version of this Gold to Go machine was installed in Frankfurt's main railway station last month and has been doing well. The company hopes to put 500 of the machines throughout Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

A quick video on the company behing the gold vending machine: