Investing in gold and silver

[Richard Cranium]

OK, I need an education....

Is this a good idea?
What are the advantages/disadvantages?
What's a good amount to buy?
Do you take possession of the metal or just get a certificate saying you own it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[BigCountryMopar]

The wife and I were just talking about this yesterday. I’m interested in the replies that you’ll get, as this is something that I am interested in pursuing as well.

 

[hemi71x]

Years ago i started buying 1 ounce American Eagle gold coins when gold was in the $400.00 an ounce range.
Now, the last i looked, gold is going for over $1,800.00 an ounce.
I think i have done well, as investment in my old age retirement, living on money, in the future.

But if you do this as a future investment, you are gambling on how much gold will increase in future years.
But if you think paper money, is going to be worthless in years to come, gold has always been proven to be the way to go.
Well, my 2 cents, anyway.

 

[DeltaV]

 

[MarPar]

 

[T2R9]

Silver and gold is like holding bonds. Not a high yield investment but a good asset to have. I only buy physical silver as I want it in my possession if SHTF. Its kinda over valued right now with Silver Eagles going at 5-6 dollars over spot. They were $2 over for a long time. I buy 20-60 ounces when silver gets down to $15 or under.

 

[DeltaV]

Ask the Hunt family about silver

 

[F4R/T]

But low sell high that’s my thoughts

 

[YY1]

If you are buying and holding bars because you think US currency will fail, you'll need accurate cutting and measuring devices in order to trade.

If you are buying minted coins, how much are you paying for the process and the markup because of the special edition hype?
How will those be valued if the currency system fails?

If you are buying certificates, who's to say those will be redeemable if said currency system fails?

If you are buying because you think the US dollar will eventually be severely devalued, I'd like to know the rationale vis a vie the above and the math.

 

[r4sedan]

I bought silver several years ago. I bought it in troy oz coins. I think gold has been over priced for a long time. I can't remember the name of the company. But, I even like looking at the silver it's good looking. Not that the gold isn't I just won't lay out that kind of dough.

 

[MarPar]

Ask the Hunt family about silver

Are they related to Mike?

 

[Slap Stick]

Seems to me if gold is worth X $ and the dollar is worth zero then your gold is worth X zeros.

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

pretty difficult.
Everything is very expensive already. Gold, shares, houses, art, classic cars.

I invest in classic Mopars. No matter if the value drops or not I have fun compared to all others

Carsten

 

[w.Hudson]

I buy silver, gold and scrap jewelry. I do have a few coins and paper money that have numismatic value.

I have bought when prices were low and were they were high. Of course it is wise to buy when prices are lowest.

I believe it is a solid investment and in most cases easy to sell or trade. Never would I buy or hold a certificate. I want the precious metal
in hand.

Metals are like a savings account. It will always be there. Will you get rich ? Probably not.

I buy silver because it is easy and cheap. Get an extra $20 and buy an ounce of silver.

 

[4mulas]

Well, in my opinion anyway, if you’re really interested in investing gold I would find a good ETF (exchanged traded fund) that has exposure to the minerals and precious materials of reputable companies that you’re interested in. Preferably one that pays a dividend. If gold goes up the share price in the etf will go up plus it pays a dividend, if gold goes down the share price of the etf will likely also go down but you’ll still be making money on the dividend side.
Personally I’m not sure if gold is where I’d want to be right now as the economists and long term projects still say that we’ll be in a bull market for the next ten years. Medium to high growth etf’s heavy in equities is what I am looking at adding more of right now. You could still have some exposure to gold as it would act like a hedge (or a bond component) to the riskier etf’s.
Here’s some reading to help you out on gold etf’s and get you going in that direction : https://money.usnews.com/investing/funds/slideshows/9-of-the-best-gold-etfs-to-hedge-volatility

 

[Don Frelier]

Seems to me if gold is worth X $ and the dollar is worth zero then your gold is worth X zeros.

No, that's a bad argument. Gold is always worth something it's a precious metal commodity.
You can always barter with it even if the US dollar goes to zero.
It's a question of if the currency inflates to a point it's worthless.
Say I have a pile of firewood worth $50 today but the US dollar loses value due to crazy inflation and now $10,000 dollars doesn't buy the pile.
The pile is still worth something if someone needs the heat. The money is what would be worthless if that were to happen.

 

[1968rt]

Theres only one person who knows! Billy Ray Valentine

 

[sam dupont]

Gold and silver values are tied to manufacturing. If SHTF, there won't be any manufacturing.
Can't eat metal, nobody needs it to survive. Nobody will want it for any good reason, i.e. only as a habit of thought: "I want it". Want is different than need.

That being said, I bought silver in the 90's on every payday at 3.5 times face. Today it is probably 25 times face. I think 10% of your portfolio is a good number. I would buy farm land before silver or gold. Food is everything.

In 1964, when silver coins ended, a one pound loaf of white bread was 10 cents. Today, a silver dime is @ $2.50, as is a one pound loaf of white bread. The buying power is about the same, so silver doesn't go up, but it is steady.
I bought silver after reading of the German depression and inflation. With hyperinflation comes government price freezes, say 10 cents on a loaf. The baker has to pay inflated prices for grain on the underground market and can't afford to sell for 10 cents. With penalties up to death, they won't take $1 for the loaf, but since coinage is recognized as face value, the 10 cent silver coin can be used with a metal value at $1.
The baker gets his $1, the buyer pays only 10 cents as allowed by law, and eats for a day.

I buy mostly Mercury Head Dimes as everybody knows they are Silver (90%) and they aren't worth enough to counterfeit, unlike the fake silver dollars out there that fool even experienced buyers. So beware.

 

[zyzzyx]

Gold is not tied to the Dollar anymore. Gold goes up and down slowly.
If you have alot of years to just forget about it, you're not "investing",
you're lazy. Yes, when Gold was $300.00/ounce it was a no brainer to
buy it up, but you had to wait so many years for it to make you any
Moola. Get a financial advisor to sit down with you and you can discuss
your age, amount of monies you have to invest, and your time frame.
Everyone is different, but Gold right now is nearing the top of it's historical
highs. If you are 60 or older, you need to own Dividend stocks like AT&T
that pays you $0.52/share per quarter so you have an income stream. If
you are younger, this same stock could buy you more shares of stock every
quarter until you are retirement age. For me, Gold is a gamble. Good luck!

 

[cr8crshr]

RC...I have been buying Silver Bullion in Rounds and Bars along with some Coins with a numismatic value. I refuse to invest in an ETF or stocks because I want the physical bullion as it will be so much easier to use as barter or trade should we have a complete monetary collapse and our money essentially becomes worthless. In addition I also accumulate "junk silver" in both coins and such. That occurred in 1964 when the US began to reduce the amounts of silver in the minting of them. Here is a link for that info for you:

https://coinsite.com/us-silver-coins-when-they-ended-and-what-theyre-worth/

Those that choose to utilize the paper/ETF avenue are in essence paying for that certificate and the ink it is printed with and in my opinion, it is worthless because you cannot spend it nor piece that paper out for use. It really is that simple but I also get those that choose that route make that choice independently. I like to compare it to Horse Racing when a bettor is betting on the "come" or out come of the race. Sometimes you hit it but most often times you don't. My best advise is to seek out a place that can give you first hand look/see at the business and how it is traded. I started out through my Friends that were in it, asked a ton of questions, and started hanging out at my good friend's Coin and Bullion shop. I was like a fly on the wall so to speak, and I observed countless transactions both large and small for the buying, selling, and trading of precious commodities. That helped solidify what I now know and I have been able to amass a really good stash of bullion. I prefer Silver over Gold because of the price and my limited funds that I can use to purchase it so I only have silver. Best bet though is to just start and then learn and grow with it until you are more than confident when you dive in. Also, the fact I now live in Nevada, The Silver State, Silver mining is a very big business here still so there is still a ton of it and Gold yet to be retrieved and that Mother Load yet to be discovered. Good luck in your search, and I along with the others here are more than willing to help you out...cr8crshr/Bill

Sites to check out

https://www.jmbullion.com/
https://www.goldline.com/
https://www.moneymetals.com/