Where to buy gold/silver?

[Noctis3880]

Given the recent(actually, not so recent, but recently brought to the attention of those who haven't been paying attention) debt crisis in the U.S. I figured my money would be better utilized in the purchase of gold and silver rather than sit in my bank. The reasoning being that I have never once in the 23 years I have been alive ever needed to withdraw sums from my savings, so it's just collecting dust. And given that interest rates have dropped dramatically in recent years, I get maybe 2-3 dollars per month from interest. Someone also mentioned that if the economy does collapse here, I will have no access to my money, and my money would be worth less than half its current value.

Plus I figure it would be better than buying yet another knife. Rather than as an "investment" per se, it's just financial security at this point. I know gold is said to be increasing in value, but I just want to make sure I don't suddenly find myself among the poor and needy overnight.

And so I wanted to know if there are any trusted and authorized dealers of gold online. My family suggests directly from the U.S. Treasury, though a coworker says European gold bullion costs less than U.S. equivalent. Personally though, I'm a bit suspicious of any dealings in gold, as I'm no expert and I doubt I can tell real gold from fakes.

My coworker suggested amergold and ampex, and I'll be checking those out tomorrow. He also suggested investing in firearms for the coming years.

 

[Medic1210]

I may be totally off, but I'm pretty sure when you hear of folks investing in gold, they're not talking about having gold bars in their house. They're talking about investing like you do with stocks where you have paper that says how much you have purchased. Now, if you want to have actual physical gold in your possession, you can go through folks like www.silvergreetings.com but I'm pretty sure you're going to pay more than the gold is actually worth due to markup costs and minting costs. Don't know if this answer helped any, but figured I'd chime in.

More info for ya... http://tinyurl.com/3w46new

 

[Noctis3880]

Agreed, any place I buy from is going to have a markup(it's not like they're running a charity in any case), though I did hear about a potential drop in gold prices expected between April-June of this year. So I figure I have some time to watch and see how this goes. In any case, my intent is not to "make big bucks" but rather to minimize my financial losses should that economic breakdown come to pass. At this point, I'm interested in any sites where people here have bought gold/silver from before, perhaps even regularly.

Also curious to know if there's any truth in that certain coins might be more valuable than others(a British Sovereign as opposed to a U.S. Coin perhaps). Or whether gold is gold and it doesn't really matter if it's in a Brilliant Uncirculated condition(the reason why I suspect some dealers charge a premium). Seems to me like the British Sovereigns float my boat best, especially since I can purchase them in smaller increments($387 as opposed to $1,578). I'm only planning on maybe a $5000 "investment" for now, and maybe more in the future. I would particularly like to do this before they put the new bill in place so the IRS can get a piece of this particular cheese.

 

[Gollnick]

Gold is at a historically-high price right now. One of the basic rules-of-thumb for investing is: buy LOW, sell high. In other words, now is NOT a good time to be buying gold. Which is exactly why you're seeing so much hype about why you should buy gold from people who are -- wait for it --... SELLING gold. The savvy gold investors know that now is the best time for them to sell high the gold they bought low... sell it high to you.

So, what can you do to make money on gold right now? Buy stock in companies with posititive exposure to gold such as gold mining and refining companies. But resource companies are a notoriously fickle market. So, instead of buying shares in one or two companies, buy shares of a mutual fund that focuses on these sorts of companies.

 

[Medic1210]

Don't know if you've considered it, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into buying some Iraqi Dinar. It has the potential to make huge returns just like the Kuwaiti Dinar did several years back. The Iraqi Dinar is currently valued at something like 1170 Dinar per 1 US$, so needless to say it has potential to make enormous returns. Iraq is sitting on the world's largest natural gas reserve and the world's 4th largest oil reserve, even larger than Kuwait's reserve which is what has made the Kuwaiti Dinar the strongest currency in the world at something like $3 per Kuwaiti Dinar. Anyway, this is a huge speculation, and purchase of said Iraqi dinar could be a waste of money, so don't buy more than you can afford to lose (which is true of all investments). I know many naysayers will bash the idea, so just do some research and make an informed decision. It is MUCH riskier than gold, but has the potential to have returns gold could never even dream of having. Just don't buy into the hype that if you buy it, you're gonna be an overnight millionaire. While it's remotely possible, it's not probable IMHO. I still feel it's a decent (very risky) investment option if you have some spare funds you wouldn't be hurt if you lost.

 

[linux_author]

my US$0.02: the current recession has knocked a lot of people for a loop; most hurt are those on fixed incomes who depend on interest payments from cash savings... the most anyone can do is diversification and asset allocation (i.e., don't put all your eggs in one basket)... what works for me won't work for you... young folks are in the best position due to a long-term horizon... if you're in your late 50s it is still not too late, but catching up will be painful...

that said, i use 25% real estate, 50% investing (low-fee indexed stock/bond funds), 10 percent insurance (term, annuity), and 10 percent cash - all backed up in addition by an emergency fund equaling (at the moment) two year's living expenses (housing, food, insurance, everything)...

i'm at the point in my life where toys are nice, but now i repair, reuse, and recycle...

although i do have a predilection for U.S.-made knives...

 

[UffDa]

Definition: Gold dealer. A liar sitting behind a desk telling you to buy gold.

If gold is such a good investment, why don't they keep it?

You are not old enough to remember the Hunt brothers. Due their manipulation of the silver market, silver went up to $50 an ounce and gold to $800.
Almost over night, silver dropped back to about $15 and gold dropped along with it. Then both continued a downward slide.

I bought some silver and had 500 oz. at an average cost of $5 an oz. I held it for 10 years and eventually sold it for $4.50. I also had 3 oz. of gold. I was able to break even on that.

The liars will tell you that gold is at an all time high and will go higher. Right now gold is a bit less then $1500. Based on inflation, it would have to be around $2900 to match the 1980 price.

Keep in mind that the dealers make money buying and selling gold. Either way, you lose.

Caveat emptor

 

[Noctis3880]

True, though I should say again that I heard that gold prices are expected to drop in the coming months, so I'm not exactly going to jump on the bandwagon right now. Another thing is, I've heard people are pulling out of their stocks due to the economic crisis(which to me, suggests an unstable stock market). And again, this is less about making money than to minimize my losses. At the rate the U.S. government is handling things, my dollar wouldn't be worth more than a nickel in a few years(exaggeration of course, but you know what I mean).

 

[UffDa]

Forget gold and silver. Buy brass and copper ingots.

Pure brass???

 

[Gollnick]

If gold is such a good investment, why don't they keep it?

Excellent question... and point.

The liars will tell you that gold is at an all time high and will go higher.

That gold is currently at an all-time high is a fact; I went over $1500/oz. today. Whether or not it will go significantly higher still is a matter of pure speculation.

 

[Gollnick]

If you want to buy a metal commodity, buy lithium. That's what's gonna make all of our cars go in the near future.

 

[Noctis3880]

Forget gold and silver. Buy brass and copper ingots.

Pure brass???

Don't both metals corrode? I only ask because I live in Hawaii. Seems like platinum might be a better alternative.

That gold is currently at an all-time high is a fact; I went over $1500/oz. today. Whether or not it will go significantly higher still is a matter of pure speculation.

Well I did come across this:

The analysis of log-linear oscillations in the gold price dynamics for 2003–2010 conducted recently by Askar Akayev's research group has allowed them to forecast a collapse in gold prices in April – June 2011.

It'll be interesting to see whether that's true or not, as it seems hard to imagine that the gold price can climb any higher. Though I'm guessing many people were saying the same thing back when gold was $700 per ounce.

If you want to buy a metal commodity, buy lithium. That's what's gonna make all of our cars go in the near future.

Not THAT near in the future right? Also not sure how "liquid" that form of commodity is(i.e. how easy it is to buy and sell it). And I might be displaying my own ignorance here, but I'm also a bit concerned with things like whether the metal corrodes or not(again, Hawaii is a humid environment), and whether the material in its pure form is chemically volatile or hazardous. It just sounds like I might need to spend as much money as I'm "investing" just to store such a material, which would be besides the point and I may as well go down the route of having my dollar value go down.

At this point though, given that the value of silver only seems to change about 50 cents per ounce in 10 years, that seems like a more "economically stable" metal to invest in.

 

[UffDa]

That gold is currently at an all-time high is a fact; I went over $1500/oz. today. Whether or not it will go significantly higher still is a matter of pure speculation.

I guess that depends on how you look things. It's true that gold is it's highest current
price, but compared to it's 1980 price it has along way to go.

Here's an extract from an article written in June 2010.

From the peak in1980 the inflation rate declined but cumulative inflation climbed steadily upward. But rather than keeping up with inflation the price of Gold fell from the peak of $850 per ounce down to under $300 in 2001.

But in inflation adjusted dollars the scene is even worse. The 1980 peak in current inflation adjusted dollars was over $2250 and it fell to under $370 losing a whopping 84% of its value!

There is no guarantee how gold will perform in the future, but if we have another bull market, I would expect gold and silver to drop.......again.

Anyway, that's my opinion and we all know that's worth.

 

[Codger_64]

I played the gold/silver market in the late 1970's - early 1980's and came out ahead. Way ahead. However it was a daily occupation watching the market, buying and selling, playing one metal against the other. When prices dropped, instead of selling, I bought on the decline averaging down the cost per ounce of my holdings. When prices rose, I sold only incrementally, averaging up my profits. I liquidated on a short-term spike and then reinvested on the downside of the spike. It was like going into a casino with a grand knowing that that was all there waas to play with. When it was gone, play was over. When you are winning, find a comfort point to take your profits and leave the table. Other precious metals to consider are platinum and palladium. I prefer(ed) physical assayed bullion or numismatics, but some people are satisfied with certificates (IOUs).

 

[Gollnick]

Not THAT near in the future right?

Never heard of Lithium Ion batteries? That's what's used in all of these new hybrid and pure-electric cars. And they're made with... get this?... Lithium!

And as to how to practically invest in Lithium, I'd go with Exchange Traded Futures. The problem with owning lithium directly is not so much practical storage but just bulk. An ounce of gold fits in your wallet. $5000 worth can be kept in a letter envelope. Today's spot price for Lithium is $30.5673/lb. So, $5000 worth weighs 163.5 lbs.

 

[Noctis3880]

Never heard of Lithium Ion batteries? That's what's used in all of these new hybrid and pure-electric cars. And they're made with... get this?... Lithium!

And as to how to practically invest in Lithium, I'd go with Exchange Traded Futures. The problem with owning lithium directly is not so much practical storage but just bulk. An ounce of gold fits in your wallet. $5000 worth can be kept in a letter envelope. Today's spot price for Lithium is $30.5673/lb. So, $5000 worth weighs 163.5 lbs.

Yes, but I was under the impression that the technology is not yet affordable, much like solar voltaic systems. I would assume that it's largely due to oil companies' political maneuvering to suppress the technology.

And it does seem like storage is the problem. I recall that lithium reacts with water, so if there's ever a fire and the sprinklers go on, there won't be much left of my apartment. Also not sure where to put 160 lbs of lithium. The problem appears to be twofold given that lithium isn't exactly a dense metal. I suppose I could shove it under my bed, but again I don't want to be sleeping under a fire hazard for the next 10 years.

Is silver not a decent compromise? A 20 coin roll costs $500 less than a 1 oz gold coin, and the price doesn't seem to fluctuate as extremely as gold does.

 

[Medic1210]

And again, this is less about making money than to minimize my losses

If that's the case, just leave your money in a CD or Money Market account. No chance of your account losing money there. Can't say the same about the other choices mentioned here. You never know when things will go down. At least a CD or MM account appreciates at a steady rate, which is a surefire way to minimize losses.

 

[shunsui]

I suppose we'll have to have increased inflation in the near future. It seems like that's the only way you're going to neutralize all those toxic assets out there. Not to mention it'll be easier to pay off the old deficit.

I think I might buy Intel stock instead of gold. I think the world is pretty dependent on these computer things and their stock is pretty cheap.

 

[Zero_Time]

Sounds like you've never talked to a qualified financial advisor. True pity. I know people are stupid with investments, but I don't like to correspond with people who are... makes me feel sad.

Zero

 

[timcsaw]

Given the recent(actually, not so recent, but recently brought to the attention of those who haven't been paying attention) debt crisis in the U.S. ... Someone also mentioned that if the economy does collapse here, I will have no access to my money, and my money would be worth less than half its current value.

The part (my bold) above caught my eye in the OP.

It strikes me that the OP is also interested to know if it's a good idea to have actual gold or silver (coin/bullion) etc. IN HAND to use to purchase things should the economy collapse.

If he is unable to access his actual cash savings, or has some cash on hand that becomes relatively worthless to use, is having a precious metal a viable alternative to have, and if so, where to buy it?

Perhaps I've mistaken the OP's point in this and if so, I apologize, but at any rate, it IS something I've been thinking about myself. Comments? Ideas? Opinions?