Either are safer than physical gold, ask Kerry Packer when you...

Either are safer than physical gold, ask Kerry Packer when you get to the other side. I prefer gold mining shares when gold is rising, cash when it is falling.

There are lots of risks owning physical gold aside from the risk of it being stolen. Higher transaction costs than paper assets, for one thing. You can't sell it instantly as you can with a paper asset. You don't get the leverage you get with gold shares. No dividends, etc, etc.