Real Estate Investor · Longmont, CO · Member since 2009 · 208 posts · 109 votes
OK with the food / water / survival posts recently I have another question I'm hoping to get some good feedback on....I'd like to buy some silver and gold.
Not as an investment - I'd rather put my $ in R.E. for that.
But I want to have a few months' expenses stowed away in case of emergency. I don't want to have cash because I'm becoming relatively convinced that there is ugly inflation coming and holders of a lot of cash are going to take a beating. But I do want an inflation protected, relatively liquid savings that I can see and touch.
Any advice on the most secure and economical way to purchase coins & bullion that are actually delivered or shipped to you?
Investor · Mableton, GA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
16y
If you are talking about a dooms day scenario, I'm not sure that any physical precious metal is the answer. Maybe some, but you need something that can be easily exchanged. The best thing to do is stock on tangible things that become extremely desirable at time of despair. Fuel, food, water, ammo, soap, etc.
In the dooms day scenario, people wouldn't care about gold - they cannot eat it, drink it or heat with it...
Real Estate Investor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2009 · 22 posts · 3 votes
17y
Pawn shops. You can get great deals on gold silver semi precious and precious stones in pawn shops at the moment. The market is flooded with them, because a lot of people are pawning, and you have a lot of bargaining power as a buyer.
Real Estate Investor · Longmont, CO · Member since 2009 · 208 posts · 109 votes
17y
Originally posted by William G.:
Pawn shops. You can get great deals on gold silver semi precious and precious stones in pawn shops at the moment. The market is flooded with them, because a lot of people are pawning, and you have a lot of bargaining power as a buyer.
Great idea, guess my concern there is fakes or lower quality alloys, not getting a good value, and then not being able to convince a buyer later that the stuff is good when I need to liquidate quick. I don't mind paying a handling fee for the guarantee of quality and the genuine deal. Just want to minimize the fee.
That's "paper" gold, though... I want to touch it and store it myself. :-)
BTW, did you know it's illegal to have gold in a safe deposit box?
So I guess, to be more clear, I'm looking for personal experience with companies - There are lots of them I can google but I'm looking for satisfied customers....thanks!
Real Estate Investor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2009 · 22 posts · 3 votes
17y
To my eternal shame, I worked in a pawn shop for a while. We were very thorough about checking the quality of everything brought in. As a rule of thumb is a pawn shop has more than one location, and can afford TV commercials the stuff is going to be as advertised.
If you're worried check with the BBB or your local Chamber for negative reports. Word gets around real fast if a place is selling crap. And of course if you get sketched out while looking around the shop, just leave.
Why on earth is it be illegal to put gold in a safe deposit box?
Real Estate Investor · Longmont, CO · Member since 2009 · 208 posts · 109 votes
17y
What law? Hmm...I heard this the other day on the radio and assumed maybe it was an unenforced blue law. I'll continue to research, but it may have erroneously been referring to this:
[i]"There was a time, for forty one years that it was illegal to own gold. In 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt made it illegal for any person in the United States to own hoards of gold. The ban was not lifted until legislation was signed in 1974 by President Gerald Ford. Although the new bill did not do away with the Gold Clause Resolution of 1933, people could now buy and trade gold as a commodity.
This all happened after the great depression. Foreign banks, who were afraid of the failing economy, were turning in their paper money in exchange for gold. This was depleting the gold supply in the U.S. Reserve. Up until then the United States had been on the gold standard. Many dollar bills, like the fifty, were printed with a yellow back which indicated it could be turned in for the gold rate.
The Executive Order 6102 made it illegal for anyone to own more than $100 worth of gold. Citizens had to turn in their gold in exchange for paper money. The gold coins were melted down into bars by the U.S. Treasury department. This was done to keep the U.S. dollar afloat and avoid panic in the overseas market. The tactic worked."[/i]
In any case, if I put my emergency funds in a safe deposit, and that bank fails (could never happen, right?) or the IRS decides to investigate me, or....., or....,
I think it'll be hidden somewhere that only I know about. Valuables get hidden where nobody would suspect. Semi-valuables go into my safe - after all, any burglar seeing a safe will just assume that's the good stuff, no?
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
17y
Here are some answers, all tested and tried by yours truly.
1. Even when banks or thrifts have failed(utah, ohio, ms, etc) people still had access to their private property in safe deposit boxes-car titles, birth certs, etc. I'm not worried about having some there. Safes in business or homes are ok. Floor, wall, etc, well hidden.
2. Safe deposit boxes in names other than your own personal name
3.I don't like gold "paper", I want the tangible. I posted earlier today on gold. The easiest place to buy is a bullion shop. All large cities have them. You can get a buy/sell price by phone every day. I've dealt in Salt Lake, Vegas, and Dallas. I like junk silver and smaller gold coins(refer to my post earlier today for specs) Rich in FL today and Vegas tomorrow.
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
17y
Those are the places where I shop for bags of junk silver($1000 face value is considered a "bag") It actually comes in 2 bags totaling about 55 pounds in total. I like the 1/10 and 1/20 oz. silver coins. American eagle or canadien maple. I don't buy the krugrrands from s. africa. Rich in FL.
Quality outfit. Fast delivery. Reliable, in my experience. Google 'Apmex Reviews'.
Apmex even buys back at higher prices than most coinshops: So you can use Apmex as a basis to negotiate with coin shops when it comes time to sell (the dollar is worth something again).
As stated, if the SHTF, and the dollar really did collapse, ETFs (GLD)/paper gold is not where you want to be. There is a saying among the gold bugs, If you don't hold it, you don't own it. Most gold bugs believe Comex is going to default and paper (GLD) will be worthless. That would happen today if there was a "run on gold". I am not a gold bug, well I am, but newly, and only for the next couple years.
There are some brand new Canadian silver ETFs hitting the market that are backed by actual bullion, so that may be something to consider.
Real Estate Investor · Longmont, CO · Member since 2009 · 208 posts · 109 votes
16y
Originally posted by Rich Weese:
Those are the places where I shop for bags of junk silver($1000 face value is considered a "bag") It actually comes in 2 bags totaling about 55 pounds in total. I like the 1/10 and 1/20 oz. silver coins. American eagle or canadien maple. I don't buy the krugrrands from s. africa. Rich in FL.
Found a local place that sells bullion and bags of "junk" coins. A little suprised though that a bag of "junk" is currently over $12,000! I'm starting a bit smaller than that...
Good friend came over this weekend and dropped off a reloading press so I was busy combining some other precious metals this weekend :cool:
Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
One thing to consider. I still buy a little silver but have been hedging it against another "precious metal" that has only been going up in value. Standard military ball ammunition in 9mm and .45. No joke. This stuff has only gone up since 2000 and with recent government legislation to shred once-fired government brass rather than to resell it on the open market this won't stop.
Any town of any size should have a precious metals broker. Quite often in conjunction with a coin shop.
If you want monetary security, gold bars are fine. If you are thinking like a survivalist, USA silver coins are better. Nobody will have change, and you aren't going to be able to buy many loaves of bread if you have to give a one ounce gold bar to get each one.
If you are in the USA, everyone will recognize the coins, so no questions about whether they are silver or not, and value should be easy to establish.
Investor · Mableton, GA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
16y
If you are talking about a dooms day scenario, I'm not sure that any physical precious metal is the answer. Maybe some, but you need something that can be easily exchanged. The best thing to do is stock on tangible things that become extremely desirable at time of despair. Fuel, food, water, ammo, soap, etc.
In the dooms day scenario, people wouldn't care about gold - they cannot eat it, drink it or heat with it...
Real Estate Investor · Longmont, CO · Member since 2009 · 208 posts · 109 votes
16y
No, the spirit of my original post is really for a doomsday scenario of the US dollar, which I consider likely enough that I feel I should begin preparing for it.
If it's a true collapse of society, I think I'm well covered already. :-) But I doubt anything like that is coming.
Investor · Mableton, GA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
16y
Yap, I hate to agree with you. With two wars going on, very little products to sell to the world and no signs of real long term reduction in consumption of import - we are doomed.
Real Estate Investor · the villages, FL · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
16y
PNW- I don't know of any 1 oz gold bars. I do know different countries thatmint 1 oz gold ingots. They also come in 1/2, 14, 1/20, and 1/10 oz. Those give you flexibility.
Eddie- i see the precious metals working in stage 2. Govt is failing and people go to trade and barter. If it gets worse than stage 2, I'm not sure anyone is going to set up a trade outlet and be safe. Rich
Investor · Mableton, GA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
16y
Originally posted by Rich Weese:
Eddie- i see the precious metals working in stage 2. Govt is failing and people go to trade and barter. If it gets worse than stage 2, I'm not sure anyone is going to set up a trade outlet and be safe. Rich
According to the most apocalyptic movies, (and what better source for imagination than Hollywood...) there will be small colonies or neighborhoods that will fence themselves and arm themselves to the teeth. Within those communities, trade will be viable...(Source: "Mad Max, " The Day After..." and more... :lol: )
Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Originally posted by Eddie Ziv:
If you are talking about a dooms day scenario, I'm not sure that any physical precious metal is the answer. Maybe some, but you need something that can be easily exchanged. The best thing to do is stock on tangible things that become extremely desirable at time of despair. Fuel, food, water, ammo, soap, etc.
In the dooms day scenario, people wouldn't care about gold - they cannot eat it, drink it or heat with it...
I'm in complete agreement with Eddie here. There still has to be a "market" in place for gold and silver to have any value. I realized one day that what I was doing with buying gold and silver bars and storing them in my house was a higher form of investing in collectible plates. That's why the E-bay scenario works out so well with gold and silver. Find your supplier, ebay provides the market. Ramp up your marketing savvy then buy low and sell high.
Would you believe that there are guys making money on e-bay by buying electrical bus bars, cutting them with a band saw, weighing them, using scribers to write the weight on them, covering them with a coat of varnish and selling them to "investors" as investor grade bars of copper as an inflation hedge? No joke. It's happening.
Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
Here's what changed my mindset on buying and saving precious metals as opposed to nonperishable food as an inflation hedge. It's an extreme scenario....but it's reality.
After you watch this for it's emotional effect, go back and calculate the value of the gold that buys a loaf of bread.