Diversifying in silver...any advice?

[oneshotonekill]

Since I have been working steady and not blowin it all on random goodies, I have acquired a little bit of money I would like to invest in some silver.

I've done some research and it seems to me it is hard to go wrong with silver.

What is your experiences, (those of you that have purchased bullion), do I want multiple 1 oz. bars or coins, 10 oz bars, a mixture of everything?

Where to buy? How much at a time? Stick with a size? What? I'm not too far from Silvertowne and I am planning on a learning and browsing trip there sometime this week.

Current spot price is roughly $30.50.

If you had $1000 to spend to invest into the silver market, how would you do it?

 

[Brandon]

Are you looking to collect it? SHTF? both?

If you are collecting it/investing in it... Find something you like. I personally like the American Eagles and the Canadian Maple Leafs. But I also have bars of different sizes and older silver coins as well.

If you are going to use it as a SHTF case, I would probably stick with the cheaper coins then the more collective.

 

[snapping turtle]

I would wait for a couple weeks and see where the downslide goes. Was 40 dollars and ounce not long ago.

Stick with the bars in 1 and 3 ounce sizes. Nice goovernment approved ones.

 

[oneshotonekill]

Cheaper coins? 90% coins?

Would be for both SHTF and for a good way to save some money....never know when the dollar is gonna bomb.

 

[Brandon]

Cheaper coins? 90% coins?

yes. sorry... probably easier to spend in a shtf case instead of the eagles or something like that.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Yeah, I bought a bunch of junk dimes a while back. 90% Ag, easily denominated.

 

[EvilBlackGun]

For Your Information, the DOLLAR has already bombed.

90% "junk" silver, face value of $10,000 is now selling at $30,000. As far as "government backed" silver (or gold, or whatever) you'll probably be charged a premium just to have "U.S.A." stamped on the coin. That does NOT mean that it is worth any more $$. One ounce of Ag is always i-oz of Ag. One-dollar will be worth only whatever some jerkface decides to give you for it. We "invest" in what we can afford, and hope that we buy the metal that is headed UP. Your best bet may be more good, cheap weapons. Or popular ammo. Remember, whatever you put your cash into has to INCREASE in value before you can capitalize on it. And then, ONLY if you sell. Seek out some bigger pawns, or coin dealers. Ask their advice, in person. Some dealers will sell you a 1-oz U.S.A. Ag coin for $33, and it may be fair. But you need to find a local or state mint, and get one ounce Ag for only $29.99. No. it is not legal tender, but neither is a 1, or 10, or 100 ounce bar. "U.S.A." does not ad any value to a coin, except face value; it is recognizable. Good OP. I have a lot to learn.

 

[88GT]

Mostly good advice above. My only contribution would be to make sure you have physical possession of it. None of the paper **** crap. (Okay, that's supposed to be c-h-i-t. I was not using profanity. Filter needs an economics lesson.)

Okay, one more thing: silver's value to you is more than just the spot price. It's the opportunity cost, the investment opportunities, the peace of mind it brings. Nobody but you can put a price tag on those things. So nobody but you can determine if something is a good buy or not.

 

[indyjohn]

Your best bet may be more good, cheap weapons. Or popular ammo.

^^^^^ This is the best market right now and in the future ^^^^^^
(But only if you're planning for SHTF and not your retirement...)

Honestly, I'm talking about trading ammo for food.

 

[snowrs]

I heard Liberty dollars are the way to go........

 

[HandK]

If I have all the Food, Water, Guns, and Ammo, that I need what do I need with gold or silver! if you bring gold or silver to trade with me for food and water guns and ammo I will tell you to hit the road! Gold and silver will not be worth anything in a total SHTF world! Just my two cents!

 

[ZombieApocolypse]

A guy at work was telling me i should buy a 5 or 8 oz. silver coin (can be bought on ebay, or numerous places) every paycheck or every other paycheck, not sure how that would compare to buying stock in silver?

 

[EvilBlackGun]

What, please??

There are FAR F A R too many imponderables in those 3 sentences than any reasonable man would reply to. Did "a guy" identify those 5-oz and 8-oz coins by origin, price, and denomination? What does he mean, "buying stock in silver?" EBR

A guy at work was telling me i should buy a 5 or 8 oz. silver coin (can be bought on ebay, or numerous places) every paycheck or every other paycheck, not sure how that would compare to buying stock in silver?

 

[hoosierdoc]

I hate to tell you, but if SHTF, I will not accept Silver or Gold as payment. I don't have a scale. I won't have the internet likely to check prices. I will take something in trade that I can use to sustain myself or my family. You can argue that I could then trade the silver, but that's only if I believe it to be real (no idea how to check that) but then I'd require a further barter to get what I really need after giving you what you need.

Gold/Silver are glorified gambles. If you want to own a bit of bullion, that would look really cool. I wouldn't invest there though. Get a rental property. When SHTF, people will still need a place to live.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I hate to tell you, but if SHTF, I will not accept Silver or Gold as payment. I don't have a scale. I won't have the internet likely to check prices. I will take something in trade that I can use to sustain myself or my family. You can argue that I could then trade the silver, but that's only if I believe it to be real (no idea how to check that) but then I'd require a further barter to get what I really need after giving you what you need.

Gold/Silver are glorified gambles. If you want to own a bit of bullion, that would look really cool. I wouldn't invest there though. Get a rental property. When SHTF, people will still need a place to live.

That's why I'm not waist deep in junk dimes, but it's pretty obvious what they are, so for someone that will trade for silver, they should be good. I don't need much else either just covering the possibilities.

 

[88GT]

If I have all the Food, Water, Guns, and Ammo, that I need what do I need with gold or silver! if you bring gold or silver to trade with me for food and water guns and ammo I will tell you to hit the road! Gold and silver will not be worth anything in a total SHTF world! Just my two cents!

I hate to tell you, but if SHTF, I will not accept Silver or Gold as payment. I don't have a scale. I won't have the internet likely to check prices. I will take something in trade that I can use to sustain myself or my family. You can argue that I could then trade the silver, but that's only if I believe it to be real (no idea how to check that) but then I'd require a further barter to get what I really need after giving you what you need.

Gold/Silver are glorified gambles. If you want to own a bit of bullion, that would look really cool. I wouldn't invest there though. Get a rental property. When SHTF, people will still need a place to live.

Except that history says both of you gentlemen are partially in error. There is never such a thing as "total" SHTF that lasts forever. Eventually the social nature of humans means we WILL put ourselves back together in some form of cohesive groups. We WILL need some means of establishing a standard for trade. And in our modern world, we will not be isolated within our narrow geographic location. There will always be other societies existing outside of our own. Societies who have not fallen apart as much or who have put themselves back together more.

YOU may not know how to check silver's integrity, but smart people will. You may not have a scale, but resourceful people will. You may not value silver as a commodity in a SHTF scenario at any point, but there will always be people who are more forward thinking and see the benefit of controlling what has always had and will always have intrinsic value. And we all know the golden rule, don't we?

Not saying everybody should go out and buy silver. If it doesn't fit your personal planning, that's fine. But to think that it will be worthless (or worth less) to everybody else just because it's worthless (or worth less) to you is folly.

Regarding the bolded: in a true SHTF scenario, what exactly do you think the renters are going to pay you with? That assumes, of course, that you can actually maintain control over that property.

 

[Farscape]

Go with junk silver and try to cover all your bases.

70% American
20% Spanish speaking countries
5% Canadian
5% Worldwide mix

Look for coins that are marked in weight and purity (ex. Mexico, Panama).
Any coin designs that are still active and recognizable (ex. US, Canada, Switzerland) are highly preferred.
For SHTF avoid unmarked low purity coins (ex. War nickels, 40% half dollars and Ike dollars).

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I've just gone Mercury dimes, and a few Eisenhowers. From back when you could sort of trust things.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Regarding the bolded: in a true SHTF scenario, what exactly do you think the renters are going to pay you with? That assumes, of course, that you can actually maintain control over that property.

They can pay me with whatever they have to barter. But as you said, nothing lasts forever, and there are court systems set up to repay you for overdue rent when people have stopped paying.

Gold/Silver are the feel good security blankets of investments. I have a friend who bought $20k of gold for diversification, protection against inflation, etc. BUT, he was checking the price of gold daily and sending me updates as it went up. The updates stopped as it went down. It was really a gamble if I had to guess.

During the hurricaines of 2005, people were not trading silver/gold. They were trading supplies and stealing crap.

I agree whatever they want to do is fine. But this whole forum is about giving our opinions in response to other opinions. The price of gold/silver is shooting up because of supply/demand. The demand is there because people are afraid of inflation and the economy tanking. When Obama is gone, commodities will crash as fast as they did when Carter left office.

Fascinating article about that subject:
Archived Blog: Gold and the Obama Administration

"
[FONT=times new roman,times]In summary: % Increase in Gold Price after first 22 months post Election Day[/FONT]


[FONT=times new roman,times]Jimmy Carter 73%[/FONT]


[FONT=times new roman,times]Ronald Reagan 2%[/FONT]


[FONT=times new roman,times]George W. Bush 3%[/FONT]


[FONT=times new roman,times]Barack Obama 72%[/FONT]

 

[GunSlinger]

Just as a hedge against inflation and SHTF you can purchase .999 fine silver shot. For those that will take silver in trade it's much easier to use because of accurate measureing. I'd recommend 2 -- 3 pounds...more if you can afford it. By the way, purchasing .999 fine silver shot is the least expensive way to buy it.