A couple things at work here. If you are thinking of putting a small (<5% of investment funds) into gold as a hedge against the world falling apart, buy gold coins. I haven't heard what Cowboy Ram said about dealers requiring you to sell back to them. If they do, don't buy there.
You buy gold coins or bullion for protection, as a store of value, as a hedge against the grid going down and the world going to hell. Buffett is right - gold doesn't reproduce itself or grow and is generally a bad investment. It just lays there. In fact, given that it costs money to store, like fine art, it has a negative interest rate. You can avoid that by digging a hole somewhere but it better be a safe hole. If you want medium to long term investment, buy diversified stocks. But if you want a small amount as insurance then buy some coins.
I don't recommend putting them in a safe deposit box. Our branch with our safe deposit box was closed for 3 weeks in MArch 20 due to covid. I could get cash from ATM's and other branches, but several like mine were closed for the pandemic. Just when you want access. And if the grid goes down or some other widespread panic you may not be able to access your safe deposit box.
You can buy gold coins, or small bars from any dealer. I bot some online from Golden Eagle coins online and it worked fine. The insured them and sent them fedex. Try to find a dealer who won't charge you sales tax, which likely means buying out of state.
Watch the premium, which is the price you will pay for coins, over the quoted price for bullion. It can range from 3% when gold demand is low, to over 10% when gold demand is high. There will always be a premium. The mints who make these have costs of molds, storage etc.
When you go to sell any dealer will have easy tests to assure they are real. Expect to see a dealer spread (price to buy from you vs price to sell to you of 2-4%). That's how they make money.
One of the challenges with gold coins, or bars, is that if the world goes to hell and gold is valuable, you need smaller than 1 oz coins to efficiently do small transactions (<$2000). For this you need to buy smaller gold coins. Challenge there is the smaller the coin, the bigger the premium. Some years ago I bot some coins when the price of bullion was 1500/oz. 1oz gold coins (American Eagles, Krugerands etc) were priced at a 3.5% premium, and smaller coins at an 8% premium.
Today gold bullion is $1938/oz. Amer Eagle 1oz coins are $2,041. That is $103 premium over bullion, which is 5.3%. Sounds about right given Ukraine.
1/4 oz Canadian Gold coins cost $547 today. Four of those equal 1 oz, so you are paying $2188/oz which is 12.9% premium to bullion. That is getting pretty stiff, although they will always hold their gold value that premium will fall to 5-6% on the low side when gold demand is low.
In short, gold is bad long term investment. But it is reasonable long term insurance. Plus every once in awhile play Scrooge McDuck and just run them through your fingers.
