Is this the start for Gold Standard ?

German firm plans gold ATMs to meet growing demand

By Peter Starck FRANKFURT, May 19 (Reuters) - Private investors should hold up to 15 percent of their wealth in physical gold, according to a German asset management company which plans to set up 500 'Gold-To-Go' ATMs in Germany, Switzerland and Austria this year.
A gold-dispensing automatic teller machine (ATM) was on display at Frankfurt's main railway station for a one-day marketing test on Tuesday.

A one-gram (0.0353 ounce) piece of gold, the size of a child's little fingernail and about as thin, cost 31 euros ($42.25) -- a 30 percent premium to the spot market price .

The flat rectangular piece, bearing the imprint of Belgian metals and speciality materials firm Umicore (Brussels: UMI.BR - news) , came out of the cash-only ATM in a tin box, including a certificate of authenticity.

'This is more than a marketing gimmick,' said Thomas Geissler, chief executive of TG-Gold-Super-Markt.de, the company planning to set up the 500 gold ATMs at a cost of 20,000 euros apiece.

'It is an appetizer for a strategic investment in precious metals. Gold is an asset everyone should have, between 5 and 15 percent of your liquid assets in physical gold,' he told Reuters in an interview. Full Story