The New York gold rush

The last few months have been some of the best for Isaac Kahan's business.

The 57-year-old has been in the gold industry for 33 years, selling bullion out of his small store in the heart of New York City's Diamond District.

With gold prices smashing record after record in 2025, Business Insider paid a visit to the district to do some window shopping (emphasis on window).

The New York gold rush

Bullion Trading LLC, which Kahan owns, is located in the basement of a building on 47th Street. It's quiet and insulated from the noise of the street above, where enthusiastic salespeople wear big signs advertising gold and jewelry and aggressively solicit passersby.

The hustle and bustle on the street is a testament to the strength of the gold market. People are calling up the store to learn more about gold after hearing about it on the news, Kahan said.

But they aren't just buying — they're also selling at the strong prices.

"We're seeing significant activity, particularly in our scrap gold buying business, which has experienced enormous growth as gold prices hover near all-time highs. Many individuals are taking advantage of the strong market by selling their jewelry, coins, and other gold items to access liquidity or realize profits," Eric Gonzeput, the CEO of Bullion Exchanges, told BI over email.

People are also buying silver, which Kahan jokingly calls "the poor man's gold."

Investors buy silver for similar reasons they do gold, though silver is typically more volatile in the short term — and significantly more affordable.

"If you have $3,300, you're getting one little bar of gold … Psychologically, it might feel less risky for beginner investors to buy a silver coin for just $33 instead," Kahan said.

How the physical gold market works

Unlike stocks or bonds, which can be purchased on standardized exchanges with little to no transaction costs, trading physical gold comes with more complications.

Gold investors primarily trade two types of the metal: bars, which are privately produced, or coins, which are typically issued by the US Mint, Kahan said. You can start small by buying just a few grams, or go all the way up to a kilogram of gold.

If you're looking to buy gold, expect to pay above the spot price of the raw metal, which hovered around $3,250 an ounce as of May 2. The opposite is true if you're selling.

"If I'm buying from somebody, I'm buying below spot. I'm selling, I'm selling above spot. What I pay or sell for depends on supply and demand, and how much of that item I have in stock at that time," Kahan said.

The first order of business when buying or selling gold? Verifying the authenticity of the metal. Kahan uses a precious-metals verifier, which looks like a small electronic scale. The machine measures the resistivity of a sample to detect whether it's real or counterfeit.

When it comes to closing the transaction, Bullion Trading LLC takes credit cards for transactions up to $7,000, which means you can put up to two bars on plastic. Anything above that, and you'll need to wire the money through your bank account.

Why are people snatching up gold now?

When market volatility increases and geopolitical tensions spike, investors run to safe-haven physical assets. Kahan's clients often cite concerns about the strength of the US dollar or the overall economy as a reason why they're buying gold.

Gonzeput had similar observations: "Many of our clients are concerned about inflation, currency devaluation, or overall market volatility, and see bullion as a stable, long-term store of value."

Some people have been loyal gold buyers for reasons outside of recent economic developments. Gold can be a good way to store generational wealth.

"We have a lot of high-net-worth people that actually place order for several hundred thousand dollars," Kahan told BI.

"A lot of people tell us they're buying for it for their children," he added.

It's not so easy to get your hands on the yellow metal, though. In addition to concerned investors rushing to diversify their portfolios, Trump's tariffs are also restraining the supply of gold bars. Pamp and Valcambi, two prominent Swiss precious metal refineries, have stopped shipping gold bars the the US due to tariffs, Kahan said.

Actual Trump coins

People also buy gold as a hobby, albeit an expensive one. Kahan carries Lunar New Year and Diwali-themed gold and silver coins, among other unique collector designs. These themed coins come at a premium to regular bullion.

There are some particularly eye-catching products in Bullion Trading LLC's display case: gold and silver coins with President Donald Trump