FamCore Wants an ATS Group Dedicated to Precious Metals, Cryptos, Investing

It seems to me that I have a handful of friends here on ATS who are also into precious metals, cryptocurrencies, and other "contrarian" methods of financial investing, so I wanted to start an ongoing research group. We can call it #ATSCryptoMetal, or whatever folks think makes the most sense.

So I had this cool idea and wanted to present it, but of course am open to any other ideas of feedback and am hoping this can be an "ATS team project" so to speak.

In this thread I will briefly explain a bit about my own research, some resources I use, trends I follow, etc. and then discuss a 400 ounce gold bar (that I found online at Kitco), just for the fun of it.

About FamCore

I am not licensed in financial advising, and none of my threads or contributions should be misconstrued as financial advice (although I am licensed in license in one sector of the financial industry, insurance).

I stay on top of the markets as best as I can and have been researching precious metals, the fiat & debt-based currency system, central bank market manipulation, and a history of the capital markets for 15 years. I've been collecting numismatic and historical coins for about 25 years, but became more interested in precious metals (and even precious stones/gems) a bit later.

I check commodities trading prices, the US dollar index, and 10 year US treasury yield rate multiple times a day (remembering to pay attention to the yield curve, with concern for a flattening yield curve, which can have consequences). I keep up with geopolitical events around the world throughout the day ( Paying attention to sanctions, conflicts, major trade deals, pipelines, consortiums and mergers).

Keep in mind that precious metals spot prices are pretty volatile, and small changes in the US dollar index or yield curve don't mean much, by watching trends and understanding how the markets react to certain events you begin to get a clearer picture of when certain assets or markets will rise or fall.

I keep up with what the Federal Reserve and Treasury are doing (the actions of each, and the circular relationship of the two organizations, Fed's interest rates, monetary policy - quantitative easing or tightening, etc.).

The other important facet of the research I think comes down to constantly studying history, the rise and fall of empires, warfare, banking, and so-on to understand the implications of governmental change, global dynamics, banking and corporate influence, I think you get the point.. if you study the last several thousand years of recorded history (particularly economics and clashing of governments) to better understand nuances of current events and potential reactions they could have on the markets (and I guess the world as a whole really).

A few related threads I've shared:

Diving Head First into the 2008 Financial Crisis: An In-Depth Analysis of What Happened (that's a long one)

How to Leverage Precious Metals Positions to Make Money?

US 10 Cent Bill from 1863, "Fractional Currency" issued by Columbian Bank Note Co

Steemit: The Posting Platform that Pays in Cryptos

US Stock Market Takes a Beating Today - DOW Down 350... FamCore's Analysis of the Larger Situation

Minting Your Own Coins - Precious Metals, Base Metals... FamCore Needs Your Help!

Bitcoin: A Currency? Or a Speculative Security? Hmmm...

The Economics of [Precious Metals] Asteroid Mining

"Bitcoin Outlawed in India" & other Geopolitical/Economic News for April 3

(I didn't include geopolitical threads, just precious metals/historic currency/crypto threads_

Researching Tools

US Dollar Index (DTY)
US 10 Year Yield & Yield Curve - (MarketWatch)
Metals Spot Prices - Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium
Base Metals Commodities Index (spot prices)
Crude Oil Commodities price

Conclusion of this introductory #ATSCryptoMetal (tentative name)

I hope others would be willing to introduce themselves or participate. I'm hoping to utilize my knowledge, passion and skills in this field with others to grow my knowledge, resources, connections, etc.

Fun last little tidbit about 400 ounce gold bars, and Peter Schiff and experts (or self-proclaimed experts) like him:

A 400 Ounce Bar



Look at how massive that thing is!!! Apparently, that photo is of a 400 ounce bar. I found one on Kitco for sale.

Peter Schiff and guys like him...

It also looks like the person in the photo is holding a "GoldMoney" bag - some of you may be familiar with Peter Schiff, a major gold bug/economist/contributor who has a joint venture with GoldMoney - I have mixed feelings about Schiff but overall I think he's trying to do the right thing by calling out the COMEX and FOREX market manipulation where 50 million ounces of silver ETFs are sold in a matter of 10 seconds and silver gets hammered by these paper contracts with no physical to back them up... but I also think he is a doom & gloomer to some extent, because he should know just as well as the rest of us that the powerbrokers and debt-based system is going to keep going around and around for decades to come.

From Kitco:

It is quite common for central banks and high net worth investors to buy 400 oz gold bars as a great way to own physical gold bullion at a low premium or price per ounce compared to the fluctuating gold spot price.

and

"We sell some of the world's most highly regarded 400 oz gold bullion bar hallmarks including the 400 oz Metalor gold bar, 400 oz Heraeus gold bar, 400 oz Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) gold bar, 400 oz PAMP gold bar, and other respected 400 oz gold ingot hallmarks. "

online.kitco.com...

This made me think of the time I bought a 1/2 ounce Haraeus bar & felt like I was king sh*t, then Kitco tells me "it's common for high net worth investors to buy 400 ounce gold bars" I had to laugh at myself...

Reality check! (that 1/2 bar I had was a great collector's piece though, it read "Republic National Bank of New York" on one side, and "Heraeus" and the serial number on the back - it was from the 1970s)

Just thought I'd share this with my fellow precious metals lovers here. Do you know anyone with gold or platinum bars of this nature? Or even a 10 ounce gold bar? I can't imagine, I really can't but I bet I would want to take the day off from work just to hold one in my hands.

I look forward to hearing from you (if anyone shows up for the party that is.. lol)


Thank you to my ATS fam... your friend & fan, FamCore

a reply to: FamCore

Maybe even compromise to make a larger scope... Fringe investing.

I'm not trying to downplay any ideas, as the money to be made is typically in fringe investing, if you want to "play it safe", there are plenty of diversified funds out there.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Fringe Investing - I perfect theme for the group! I think that captures the idea of it. I'm all for that

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: CriticalStinker

Fringe Investing - I perfect theme for the group! I think that captures the idea of it. I'm all for that

Its the essence of what the site is about, counter mainstream (or what it's supposed to be about).

Either way, I love the concept of that forum section. We live in turbulent times, if mainstream is sketchy... Let's talk about fringe!!

love it! my boyfriend gave me a 50 gram piece of silver last Christmas as a gift. I've bought some myself since

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Contrarian investments and "fringe" topics are def what ATS is all about - I put it in this forum since these topics are directly tied to "global news" and the global economy but if it had it's own forum.

It would be nice if mods/administrators etc. created a new category for it, or permitted us to open up a topic in the Research forum

Im a firm beliver that the only viable crypto currency will be backed by gold, and also a firm believer that BitCoin is only the first of many attempts before it is executed correctly.

a reply to: mrperplexed

I'm right there with you! I listen to this individual named Kenneth Schortgen Junior who talks about gold-backed cryptos and I love it.

They're even coming out with real-estate backed cryptos... w/ the current housing bubble I'd definitely wait to buy anything like that but precious metals X cryptos sounds bullish to me

a reply to: FamCore

I would never invest in a real estate backed crypto. Too much forseeable volatility.

originally posted by: mrperplexed
Im a firm beliver that the only viable crypto currency will be backed by gold, and also a firm believer that BitCoin is only the first of many attempts before it is executed correctly.

Love the idea, but it would take the anonymity away from the currency if you can redeem gold.

Would be extremely intrested in a fringe investment or crypto curency forum, hopefully there is enough intrest to implement one.

a reply to: FamCore

I think it's a great idea Fam.

I'm very interested in crypto but too afraid to start investing as I don't know which ones will be the most successful in the Long run. Also, I'm afraid they will be made illegal by the banking cartels.

I actually find ATS a really good place to get world news quickly from a variety of perspectives, to gauge general sentiment etc. and this helps me decide where to put my money.

Dem0nc1eaner - amateur currency trader - approves of this message.

Let's get an investing forum.

Precious metals are a hedge, an asset in tangible form. They prevent certain events becoming disasters.

I chime in when I see threads about investing in metals. Especially intrinsic, tangible, easily recognized and Universally accepted forms of precious metal.

The world turns on metal. Everything that was ever made is either made of metal or made in a factory, made of metal.

You can't grow, build, travel or live without it.

a reply to: intrptr

another very overlooked use for precious metals is technology, since precious metals make for fantastic conductors, reflectors, and have many other unique properties - platinum and palladium are used in rocket propulsion, in the catalytic decomposition of hydrazine. Between technology, aerospace and satellites, I'd say that makes them an extremely important aspect to industry and economic production.

Silver is said to be the 2nd most versatile material for industrial applications (2nd only after petrol). Fascinating stuff... I love this stuff!!

A crypto/forex forum might actually be pretty interesting.

It's always nice to learn something new about trading.

a reply to: grey580

How exactly do we go about this? Should I message a random mod? Administrator? I know I've been part of past discussions like this but never spoke with mods about "new forums" myself.

a reply to: FamCore

I'm not sure.

Maybe a post on the board business forum to ask?

a reply to: FamCore

I recycle, metals are becoming more precious over time. Mining for lesser and lesser grades of ore, production problems getting mining equipment into more and more remote areas, political and conflict regions around the world are expanding, making resource extraction more costly .

Recycling is playing an ever growing part of metals life cycle.

I've been Au Ag Stacking for some time now. I also roll with Bitcoin, though I've put in way more money to PMs.

Like the idea, and count me in to participate.