-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
buying gold and silver?
- Thread starter SkinnyJoe
- Start date
Well, it's a lot like buying stocks. (In fact, you can buy stocks or bonds of gold and silver, iirc).
Also, keep in mind that I am no expert about buying gold. I own stocks, (apple is doing phenomenally well) but never have bought gold or silver.
Pros:
Gold doesn't inflate. (the government in its brilliance can't make more gold).
It's value increases, thought not as much a as it seems to. (taking into account inflation of cash money)
Pieces of gold and silver can be attractive, like jewelry or just a huge piece of gold in bar form.
Its easy to transfer gold bonds into another currency (if you are traveling overseas)
Cons:
Like stocks, its hard to keep track of. (Are you buying a bunch in gold form, and leaving it in a bank? or buying stocks though a broker? ect.)
You can't go to walmart and buy groceries with gold.
Selling gold can be a hassle, the cash to gold places usually give you horrible deals.
I don't know how you would go about buying gold in a large quantity.
So I guess I would suggest if you have a lot of cash sitting around that you wanted to invest in gold, to buy gold stocks. (or bonds, or whatever they're called.) The alternative is to buy actual gold bars, would would get very costly. (unless you're loaded, I wouldn't suggest this).
I hope this helps,
~Robert
Also, keep in mind that I am no expert about buying gold. I own stocks, (apple is doing phenomenally well) but never have bought gold or silver.
Pros:
Gold doesn't inflate. (the government in its brilliance can't make more gold).
It's value increases, thought not as much a as it seems to. (taking into account inflation of cash money)
Pieces of gold and silver can be attractive, like jewelry or just a huge piece of gold in bar form.
Its easy to transfer gold bonds into another currency (if you are traveling overseas)
Cons:
Like stocks, its hard to keep track of. (Are you buying a bunch in gold form, and leaving it in a bank? or buying stocks though a broker? ect.)
You can't go to walmart and buy groceries with gold.
Selling gold can be a hassle, the cash to gold places usually give you horrible deals.
I don't know how you would go about buying gold in a large quantity.
So I guess I would suggest if you have a lot of cash sitting around that you wanted to invest in gold, to buy gold stocks. (or bonds, or whatever they're called.) The alternative is to buy actual gold bars, would would get very costly. (unless you're loaded, I wouldn't suggest this).
I hope this helps,
~Robert
I am from the other school of thought - "Buy Physical". If you don't have it in your possession then you don't have it. I would buy Government minted silver and gold such as Eagles, Maples, etc. They are recognized world wide and generally are easier to sell if you have to sell. And, never, ever, ever buy more than what you can afford to lose. Gold and silver will never be worth nothing but both can fluctuate a great deal over time. For instance, a few months ago silver was at roughly $50 oz and fell to $33 oz in a short amount of time. Never put all of your eggs in one basket, but having some physical gold and silver is a good idea in my opinion.
- Joined
- May 9, 2007
- Messages
- 2,955
If you are going to hold gold, make sure it is physical (pay for it, pick it up and store it some where safe). Do not buy via some form of ETF.
Think of gold as an insurance policy against inflation in uncertain times which we have now.
If you are thinking about it you should get as much information as possible to help you make the right decision and understand why you would want to buy the gold in the first place.
Think of gold as an insurance policy against inflation in uncertain times which we have now.
If you are thinking about it you should get as much information as possible to help you make the right decision and understand why you would want to buy the gold in the first place.
Gollnick
Musical Director
- Joined
- Mar 22, 1999
- Messages
- 29,258
Whatever you do, do NOT take physical posession of bouillon. As soon as you do, the chain-of-custody ends. Once that chain-of-custody is broken, you can not sell that material at market price unless and until it is reassayed which is an expensive process. When the chain-of-custody is broken, you will have to sell that material, be it bars or coins, to one of those "cash for gold" places at a steep discount.
If you insist on buying physical gold, silver, platinum, or other metal or commodity material, you must buy it from an accredited dealer and then hold it in an accredited facility until you sell it to an accreditted dealer and you must not, yourself, ever touch it. As you might imagine, these accredited dealers and facilities don't want to deal with a few ounces at a time. And, I know, this is less fun. You had dreams of running your fingers through your gold and cackling, "This is GOLD, Mr. Bond. All my life I have been in love with its color..." Well, that's just not possible.
If you want an easier approach, try iShares.
But, now is a bad time to buy gold. Remember: the way to make money in commodities is buy low, sell high. Right now, gold is at an all-time high. This is not a buying time.
If you insist on buying physical gold, silver, platinum, or other metal or commodity material, you must buy it from an accredited dealer and then hold it in an accredited facility until you sell it to an accreditted dealer and you must not, yourself, ever touch it. As you might imagine, these accredited dealers and facilities don't want to deal with a few ounces at a time. And, I know, this is less fun. You had dreams of running your fingers through your gold and cackling, "This is GOLD, Mr. Bond. All my life I have been in love with its color..." Well, that's just not possible.
If you want an easier approach, try iShares.
But, now is a bad time to buy gold. Remember: the way to make money in commodities is buy low, sell high. Right now, gold is at an all-time high. This is not a buying time.
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2011
- Messages
- 21
Hopefully you'll take the time to read this since it's going to take a while to type out properly.
Currency (cash money) is supposed to be a store of value. The problem is politicians and groups with special interests artificially inflate the money supply to pay for special interests (the big three being war, welfare and increased bureaucracy). Generally speaking there is no legitimate market demand for these expenditures -- meaning it has to be taken forcefully through involuntary taxation (property theft). The funding I mean. Whatever can't be stolen through taxation is borrowed through lending. The US dept. of Treasury has a sub-organization called the bureau of public debt which trades lenders us treasury bonds for currency. The largest purchaser of US federal bonds is the private, for-profit corporation known as the US federal reserve bank.
The fact that money is created in excess of population growth means that the value of the money decreases over time. THIS is why people suggest you put excess currency into commodities. It does not have to be metals, it can be anything (food, land, clothing, gear/guns, etc.) The idea is you trade your labor for currency through a agreement where you work at and in exchange you get currency (cash). The excess value of your labor is generally held in savings, invested or put away -- but all these systems rely on a economy that is based on artificial special interest taxation and consumption.
THIS is the reason people invest in metals, because the currency value decreases over time.
There are a few problems with metals in general such as (historically speaking) FDR illegally confiscating privately owned property (gold) through executive order 6102 (1933). FDR then forcefully exchanged private property for currency. There are all sorts of survivalists who know this and have lots of ways of hiding their excess wealth (metals) such as burying it 5-7 feet underground, putting it in walls near door hinges or other techniques.
Purchasing metals is very easy all you need to do is go to a exchanger or trader who will take your currency and then give you metals. There are a few good sellers such as provident metals or goldsilver.com
The biggest gold bugs (proponents of gold) are probably peter schiff, max keiser or mike maloney. They have a lot of material online if you are interested. eBay is also a place where you can purchase and sell metals. In fact they recently set up a special store front for this (new a few days ago).
People try and game the currency market by purchasing foreign currencies, selling all investments denominated (redeemable) in dollars and becoming highly liquid. PR tries to spin this issue and say it's anti-business or anti-consumer to talk about commodities investing as a safe haven because they would rather have you buy securities or corporate bonds (which they are paid to promote).
Hopefully that explains everything. =)
There is always a market demand for precious metals because they have a industrial use capacity hence there will usually always be a demand for these materials outside of savings. Metals are really not capable of acting as currency or money because of the transportability and divisibility problems.
There are lots of different types of metals some US currency used to have certain % of precious metals actually in the coin although now they are replaced by stuff such as zinc I believe (in certain ones).
Contrary to what other people tell you it is not wise to purchase gold shares. If there was ever a SHTF or WOROL situation you would want it in your possession. There is a wide market of private traders and purchases of private bullion who will pay the market price contrary to what Gollnick is saying (scare tactic).
Last edited:
I have bought and sold silver without any problems at all, so, I guess I just don't understand this. Find a good coin shop in your area or buy and sell on the 'bay if you know what you're doing and everything is easy peasy. Craigslist is another option if you can weed through the crazies. And, again, buy government minted coins for safety and ease of selling. Bullion is okay if you go with recognized bars/coins such as Engelhard, Silvertowne, etc., but I still think Eagles and such are a better way to go.
Some folks will tell you that junk silver (pre-1965 US dimesm quarters, halves) is the way to go. I used to think that until I got ready to sell some. It can be purchased at spot but generally can't be sold for anywhere near spot in my experience.
- Joined
- May 9, 2007
- Messages
- 2,955
VulcansChrome has covered a lot of stuff which is correct.
Holding a piece of paper that says you own gold is useless and worthless should the Sh*t ever hit the fan.
I repeat.......
If you are going to buy Gold, take physical possession.
As I alluded to in my first post, you need to educate your self in regards to why you would want to buy gold and what part it plays in your investment strategy. With all due respect, I doubt you will get this info on a knife forum.
Gold in itself is actually a poor investment, it is one of the few asset classes that does not pay a dividend. All you can hope for is capitol growth. The only reason to buy Gold is as a hedge against the economy going south. It's one of the few things that will hold it's buying power while currencies get devalued as Governments print more.
Now is a good time to buy gold. The world's biggest economy is broke, it cannot pay the bills unless it borrows more money. Many other countries are in the same position as we speak. Regardless of whether the US and other countries in a similar position borrow more money or not, the fact is that they already have enormous interest bills to pay. The only way they will get out of trouble is to raise taxes and at the same time cut spending. The hard times have not started yet, when they do you will be paying more taxes and getting less in payments from the Government. This will happen without a shadow of a doubt. It's a matter of when not if.
I repeat.......
If you are going to buy Gold, take physical possession.
BTW, you might want to look at Silver bullion as well. It will out perform Gold.
Holding a piece of paper that says you own gold is useless and worthless should the Sh*t ever hit the fan.
I repeat.......
If you are going to buy Gold, take physical possession.
As I alluded to in my first post, you need to educate your self in regards to why you would want to buy gold and what part it plays in your investment strategy. With all due respect, I doubt you will get this info on a knife forum.
Gold in itself is actually a poor investment, it is one of the few asset classes that does not pay a dividend. All you can hope for is capitol growth. The only reason to buy Gold is as a hedge against the economy going south. It's one of the few things that will hold it's buying power while currencies get devalued as Governments print more.
Now is a good time to buy gold. The world's biggest economy is broke, it cannot pay the bills unless it borrows more money. Many other countries are in the same position as we speak. Regardless of whether the US and other countries in a similar position borrow more money or not, the fact is that they already have enormous interest bills to pay. The only way they will get out of trouble is to raise taxes and at the same time cut spending. The hard times have not started yet, when they do you will be paying more taxes and getting less in payments from the Government. This will happen without a shadow of a doubt. It's a matter of when not if.
I repeat.......
If you are going to buy Gold, take physical possession.
BTW, you might want to look at Silver bullion as well. It will out perform Gold.
UffDa
Gold Member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 1999
- Messages
- 42,596
I have had this discussion with some knowledgeable people and here are a few thoughts.
If gold is such a good investment, why don't the dealers keep it? (Because they make money by both selling it and buying it?)
If there is nothing to buy, what good is your gold and silver going to do you? You can't eat it. (Think about what happens when there is a disaster like Katrina.)
I have also discussed this with my financial adviser. He told me that they do not recommend buying gold or other precious metals as a hedge against inflation.
I understand that they lose some of their commissions and fees if you take some of your money to buy gold, but who is doing all the advertising about buying gold? Think about that?
I bought silver in the '80s. The dealers were pushing panic buying just as they are today. I eventually owned 500 ounces at an average cost of $6 per ounce. I held it until I moved
to AZ and sold it for a bit over $4 per ounce. I made a killing didn't I?
Are things different now? Maybe. Maybe not.
One more thing to consider. The companies that are selling gold are flat out lying. When they say that gold's value is the highest in history, that is not true. In 1980 it sold for about
$800. At the value of the dollar today, that would be about $2200. They also tell you that gold has steadily climbed since 2000. Not true. It hovered at around $400 +/- until late
2005 and didn't really start to climb for another year.
By the way, my comments are worth exactly what you paid for them. Just like all the other comments.
If gold is such a good investment, why don't the dealers keep it? (Because they make money by both selling it and buying it?)
If there is nothing to buy, what good is your gold and silver going to do you? You can't eat it. (Think about what happens when there is a disaster like Katrina.)
I have also discussed this with my financial adviser. He told me that they do not recommend buying gold or other precious metals as a hedge against inflation.
I understand that they lose some of their commissions and fees if you take some of your money to buy gold, but who is doing all the advertising about buying gold? Think about that?
I bought silver in the '80s. The dealers were pushing panic buying just as they are today. I eventually owned 500 ounces at an average cost of $6 per ounce. I held it until I moved
to AZ and sold it for a bit over $4 per ounce. I made a killing didn't I?
Are things different now? Maybe. Maybe not.One more thing to consider. The companies that are selling gold are flat out lying. When they say that gold's value is the highest in history, that is not true. In 1980 it sold for about
$800. At the value of the dollar today, that would be about $2200. They also tell you that gold has steadily climbed since 2000. Not true. It hovered at around $400 +/- until late
2005 and didn't really start to climb for another year.
By the way, my comments are worth exactly what you paid for them. Just like all the other comments.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 9, 2007
- Messages
- 2,955
Who says dealers are not keeping some gold?
How much Gold does the US treasury hold in it's vaults?
What about China, how much Gold does it have stashed away?
I could go on.......
Ever wondered why the value of the US dollar has steadily fallen ever since they took gold away as it's backing?
How much Gold does the US treasury hold in it's vaults?
What about China, how much Gold does it have stashed away?
I could go on.......
Ever wondered why the value of the US dollar has steadily fallen ever since they took gold away as it's backing?
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2010
- Messages
- 1,122
I had a wise man tell me once that in a real time of crisis he would rather own a cat than gold. At least you can eat the cat! If you want to have gold take up prospeting. There are a number of people that make a living at this. It's not an easy living but you can do it with the right amount of knowledge and experience. The best way is to read and study the subject all you can and find an eighty year old that has been doing it for years and have him show you the ropes. Most of these old guys are skeptical at first but once they know your are serious they will be more than happy to help you.
UffDa
Gold Member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 1999
- Messages
- 42,596
That all may be true, but it has nothing to do with the price of tea in China. SkinnyJoe asked if he should buy gold.
My opinion is that he probably couldn't buy enough to make a difference. I doubt that socking away a few ounces
will make little if any difference in his life style. I know that it wouldn't make much difference in mine.
As I said before, when the SHTF there may not be anything to buy with your gold, but a box of .22 cartridges may
be worth it's weight in gold.
- Joined
- May 9, 2007
- Messages
- 2,955
That all may be true, but it has nothing to do with the price of tea in China. SkinnyJoe asked if he should buy gold.
My opinion is that he probably couldn't buy enough to make a difference. I doubt that socking away a few ounces
will make little if any difference in his life style. I know that it wouldn't make much difference in mine.
As I said before, when the SHTF there may not be anything to buy with your gold, but a box of .22 cartridges may
be worth it's weight in gold.
The biggest economies on the planet hording 1000's of tonnes of gold has a lot to do with what the OP asked. It gives him a pretty strong clue as to what he should be doing.
I believe I answered his question with my considered opinion as have many others. How much he chooses to buy would be determined by his circumstances.
You are being way too negative. Why does everybody assume that the world is going back to cave man status?? The economy will certainly take a big hit at some stage, but the world won't end. Anyone who has prepared adequately will actually prosper. All the guys hording bullets and waiting for Armageddon are wasting their time (and money).
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2011
- Messages
- 21
That is exactly correct. It is a preventative hedge against hyperinflation. Then when the next currency is introduced you can just hold onto your metals or trade them for the new currency.
Everyone on this forum should examine the Argentinean hyperinflation and the fallout.
I sent out a mass e-mail a while back about it which I will post here
Gollnick
Musical Director
- Joined
- Mar 22, 1999
- Messages
- 29,258
If the SHTF, your gold will be worthless anyway. You can't eat it. I won't keep you warm. It's not a good weapon. It has no significant medical value. Food, shelter, warmth, weapons, medicine, these are the things that will have value if the SHTF.
If you want to stockpile wealth in preparation for a collapsed economy, stockpile ammunition and antibiotics. Those will have the highest value-per-cubic-foot.
If you want to stockpile wealth in preparation for a collapsed economy, stockpile ammunition and antibiotics. Those will have the highest value-per-cubic-foot.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2008
- Messages
- 1,102
Got to agree w/ Gollnick on this one!!!:thumbup:Maybe in the short term. EMP tonight, gold will not do you much good tomorrow. But, everyone always jumps to SHTF. There are lots of other reasons to hold gold and silver that have nothing to do with SHTF and are stated in some of the previous posts.
If gold was worthless governments and central banks wouldn't bother holding any. Buy physical to the tune of 5-10% of your net worth and call it a day.
If all you are worried about is SHTF then stock guns, ammo, food and water and forget everything else.
Codger_64
Moderator
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2004
- Messages
- 62,324
Both gold and silver make good bullet castings.
At the same time Uffda was losing money in silver, I was making money in silver and gold. I bought opposite the market. As prices were rising, I sat out the game, perhaps buying a few small purchases. I sold some when I saw the market at what I thought was max, then using that same money, rebought as the market dropped and everyone else was selling like Ufda. It does take a good deal of attention to the markets, not just weekly but several times a day to know when to buy and sell. I've never heard of having Eagles and Maples or Panda or Krugs reassayed every time they are sold. Same for some better known ingots like Englehard and perhaps Sunshine (years ago). Art bars? nah, not unless you can buy them heavily discounted (scrap metal prices) from a reputable dealer.
IMHO, the value of gold and silver do not generally rise and fall. The value of the dollar does. It hasn't been that long ago that $100 Canadian or Australian would be exchanged for $75 U.S. Right now, .90 cents Australian will buy you a U.S. dollar as will .95 cents Canadian.
At the same time Uffda was losing money in silver, I was making money in silver and gold. I bought opposite the market. As prices were rising, I sat out the game, perhaps buying a few small purchases. I sold some when I saw the market at what I thought was max, then using that same money, rebought as the market dropped and everyone else was selling like Ufda. It does take a good deal of attention to the markets, not just weekly but several times a day to know when to buy and sell. I've never heard of having Eagles and Maples or Panda or Krugs reassayed every time they are sold. Same for some better known ingots like Englehard and perhaps Sunshine (years ago). Art bars? nah, not unless you can buy them heavily discounted (scrap metal prices) from a reputable dealer.
IMHO, the value of gold and silver do not generally rise and fall. The value of the dollar does. It hasn't been that long ago that $100 Canadian or Australian would be exchanged for $75 U.S. Right now, .90 cents Australian will buy you a U.S. dollar as will .95 cents Canadian.
UffDa
Gold Member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 1999
- Messages
- 42,596
I'm in good shape. I already have 5% of my net worth in gold........in my mouth.
Codger_64 and I have different philosophies. Mine is to buy high and sell low. I make it up in volume.
Last edited: