How can I convert 500 large into gold?

Originally posted by thelibra
So why do people buy gold if it's held at a loss?

Insurance. Economies eventually either recover, or are replaced. Gold is a universally accepted medium that translates into any currency, old or new.

basically this is why I wanted to buy it and hold it for the years of 2008 through 2012 and then if we are all still here I will look into investing into stocks or something more worthwle. thanks for the advise.

Originally posted by St Udio

Originally posted by Dont Hate Rats

I have a beach house in Mexico that is being rented out to weekend tourist (my grandpa was a smart guy)

it's my understanding that the republic of Mexico
will not allow non-citizens to own land/real-estate anywhere
within 20-50 miles (i just don't know) of beaches, etc.

one can buy into condos (on a life-time lease arrangement) etcetera,
but an 'Anglo' cannot own certain Mexican land/property(s)

so, please explain the 'arrangement' which made your G.P. so unique


thanks....
[edit on 4-1-2008 by St Udio]

My grandpa was a full blood, so is my dad, I am a half blood with dual citizenship.

reply to post by Dont Hate Rats

DHR...I'd like to offer two recommendations.

First: Never act on 'specific' anonymous investment advice from an Internet BB without doing your own Due Diligence...unless you're fully prepared to lose. This rule applies double/triple to anything Gold. Much of the well-meaning content in your thread is a testament to the wisdom of this simple axiom.

Second: $500,000 is still a serious amount of $. As part of your DD, I suggest contacting a professional. In my opinion, when it comes to precious metals & currency investment strategies, no-one on the planet is better qualified than Jim Sinclair. Remarkable...he gladly (tirelessly), offers the benefit of his experience as free service to the Gold community. If you're sincere...just email Jim your specific situation...questions & concerns...include your number. He will respond...often by phone. There are no strings...but please be sincere...and please be patient...he's a busy guy.

From jsmineset:

"Many of your questions are complex. Complex questions are hard to answer via email. On all faxes and emails please give me a phone number where you can be reached during business hours. I really want to answer all serious questions that are not covered on JSMineset so help me help you." - Jim Sinclair


One thing he will tell out-front...if buying bullion in today's climate...take physical possession....no exceptions.


This from Thursday's jsminset posting:

Dear Friends,

1. Pay down debts or hold gold equal to your debt, paid in cash.

2. Eliminate as many agents as possible between you and your assets.

3. Take paper delivery of your [stock] certificates.

4. Take delivery of all your coins and bars from your coin bullion dealer.

5. Carefully review the prospectus of your Exchange Traded Fund to be sure that they hold physical bullion and do not hedge either long or short.

6. Take delivery of bullion if you qualify by share ownership.

7. Be careful of frauds in the gold and silver arena. If the deal seems too good to be real, it is not real.

8. Do not store your assets with any entity you do not know thoroughly.


Website: jsmineset.com

Email: [email protected]

reply to post by OBE1
Thanks, I will check out that website.

reply to post by craig732

You should put most of your 500k into a survival location and survival gear. When the SHTF firearms, ammo, food, and survival gear will be worth more than any currency or gold.

I was going through old papers the other day and came across a certificate dated in 1958, in which I was “Certified” as a Civil Defense “Radiological Instrument Repair Instructor.” Geiger counters. The theory of survival then was 14 days in a shelter. All our public shelters were stocked on that premise. Fourteen days. No one ever bothered to discuss that some of the radio-active by-products of nuclear events had a half life of 80,000+ years, strontium 90 in particular. They did advise that it was not possible to predict just which radioactive isotopes any particular nuclear explosion would create or in what quantities. Not all nukes are created equal.

We did have an overlay showing the fallout pattern from the Eniwetok first hydrogen bomb which when laid on the map of the US blanketed a 100 miles wide strip running from Boston. MA to Alexandria, VA. Not exactly a source of comfort when you realize we were talking in the hundreds if not thousands of nukes being exchanged by each side. Lurking in the background was the prevailing winds of the Northern Hemisphere. Blowing from west to east. Always. And in 48 hours what started in Siberia would be in New Jersey.

The US had the TRIAD of nuclear weapons. Over 1,000 Minuteman missiles capable of being MIRV’d; several 100 Polaris missiles on submarines; and hundreds if not thousands of bombs carried by B52 and B58 bombers. This is why people were so willing then to accept the doctrine of MAD to end that frightening era of “Armageddon” concerns. I have heard the US made 70,000 nuclear weapons and that we once maintained a stockpile of 45,000. I think we're down to 25,000 or so today. See Note 1. Abbv: Multiple Independently Targeted Re-entry Vehicles. Mutually Assured Destruction.

I was there at the beginning. I know exactly where I was the day following August 6, 1945. And the day following August 9. Visiting my aunt and uncle in a small Kentucky town, Fordsville, and seeing them crying with joy because all four of their sons were in the Armed Forces. And they all came hone unscathed. No miracle, just the world’s best Armed Forces led by the world's best leaders and supported by the world’s luckiest people!

I said a lot to agree with Craig732, that should a natural or artificial disaster of global proportions occur, food and water will be a lot more useful than a pile of gold or silver. Gold is heavy. Indeed it is the heaviest of the 92 natural elements. At 12 oz to the troy pound, about 85% of an avoirdupois pound, $500,000 worth of gold at $800 an ounce is equal to 44 ponds av. At 8 pounds per gallon, would you rather have 5 ½ gallons of water or 44 pounds of gold if commerce no longer existed? It is not hard to imagine a circumstance when gold - or silver or diamonds - would be worthless! But food and water would be priceless!


Note 1. Pantex, the only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in the country, is also a major Amarillo employer. The Pantex plant is America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility and is charged with maintaining the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located on a 5 mile square 16,000 acre site 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County, Texas.

The plant is managed and operated for the United States Department of Energy by BWXT Pantex and Sandia National Laboratories. BWXT Pantex is a limited liability enterprise of BWX Technologies, Honeywell and Bechtel Corporation. Say hello, Halliburton! Huh? One hand washes the other, eh?

[edit on 1/5/2008 by donwhite]

A couple of people have raised a really good point.

DHR, it would behoove you, especially if you are concerned about the state of civilization between 2008 and 2012, to use at least a portion of that money to have a secure bomb shelter (fully stocked with food and water, radiological kit, weapons, etc) installed in your back yard.

If civilization truly does collapse, then your greatest concern first should be survival. Your gold won't matter squat when the land is covered in either fallout or armed gangs pillaging house to house. At least a bomb shelter will provide you a significant degree of protection against both.

To be honest, however, I really wouldn't bet the farm on civilization ending. Be prepared for it, yes. Be ready to respond to it, yes. But sinking all your assets into an absolute loss, on the assumption of something that is, to be frank, far far against the odds, is pound foolish. 2012 is only a big deal right now because some people read the Mayan calendar wrong, and there's a comet that might impact the Earth, but the chances are pretty slim on that. something like 100-200 to 1.

The odds that Earth and civilization will just keep on going on, however, are probably more on the order of 99%. Hence, your safest bet is to arrange your financial investments in order of the most likely scenarios, with a portion set aside for the less likely scenarios, rather than sinking all or most of your assets into the least likely scenarios.

Just my 2c there.

Think he's still reading? Apparently managed to get banned.

But great posts as one would always expect from a Libra.

reply to post by apc


Mr apc, I believe every veteran of the US Armed Forces from the 50s and d60s will verify that when most GIs went on "sick-call" they first got a thermometer jammed into their mouth and then a small bottle to go pee into. The US government must have done more urinalyses than all the rest of the world combined! The VA still does it.

Anyway, the reason I responded to your post was that after visiting the sick call we were almost always given a paper envelope with 2 to 6 APC tablets. It was much later that I learned APC stood for "all purpose capsule" and was an aspirin with caffeine. The federal version of the commercial brand Anacin.

Good Post, Mr apc.

Good news for SLV holders & the precious metals community at large. Ted Butler reports that Barclays has begun publishing the weights & serial numbers of the bullion bars held on account in it's exchange-traded-fund

Doin’ The Right Thing

....But what has me really excited is what we can all learn from this experience. At the top of the list, is the confirmation of just how important it is to have the serial numbers and weights of all 1000 oz bars that are stored for you. There is a world of make-believe silver out there, pretending to be real silver. Make sure your silver is real, get the serial numbers. Keep it simple – no serial numbers, no real silver. Link

If you really want a low risk investment with good returns I would recommend timberland. You have to think of timberland as a two part investment. #1 being the value of the land itself. On average timber "land" has appreciated at 5%-6% over inflation since since 1900. The reason for this is that timberland or land in general is not being made anymore + more demand due to more people.

The second part is the timber itself. The return on timber can run between 5%-10% depending on the species planted and how the market is doing at the time. In your case I would assume you are worried about a total economic collapse. Even in this situation people will need timber/wood because it is a basic commodity of life, thus ensuring that it will not be worthless.

Average total returns for timberland have ranged between 10%-20% depending on the intensity of the management of the timber.

Just think of timberland like gold...but the gold keeps growing

Other benefits of owning timberland-

-Hunting
-Fishing?
-Privacy from others/goverment
-Increases overall self suffeincy


IF you have any questions feel free to ask....

reply to post by BlueRidge

If you really want a low risk investment with good returns I would recommend timberland.

The real down-side to all this debate over what to do to be ready for the Doomsday era, is that money or gold will not be of much use. For a quick glimpse of what our own country might look like post-disaster, look at the high intensity Iraq Civil War and the low intensity Israeli-Palestinian war scenarios. Also, look at Afghan and northwest Pakistan. Not to overlook Darfur and now, add Kenya to Somalia. And don’t overlook Congo and Nigeria on the west side of Africa. Very foreboding.

[edit on 1/7/2008 by donwhite]

Why did this dude get banned.....?

Just wondering.

[edit on 7-1-2008 by TheoOne]

I do understand why most brokers or whatever advise against buying out gold...that golds value doesnt have the potential of good stocks. In the usual markets good investments like high quality hedge funds will out earn gold from just a couple of times to even thousands of times the return you get back. BUT...the markets get tanked by uncertainty. We are now looking at what is shaping up to be 50 YEARS of unbelievable volatility.

True, post apocalypse the remaining subhuman zombies will just want to eat your brains they wont care about gold. But until that "absolute zero" point occurs what will always be safe as economic barter power will be not just gold but the rest of the metals as well such as platinum, palladium(its half platinum..)gold and silver.

Dont just do gold. Mix it up. Do all the metals if your as certain as many more ppl are that the first half of this century is going to be far worse than the first half of the last. Id personally keep the majority of your 500gs in PLATINUM as it has the biggest potential return and thats its unbelievably rare.

Then divide up the rest into transferrable coinage like assets that have been weighed and stamped by industry standards such as PAMP SUISSE. That way there wont be any arguments about how much does it weigh or is it real.

Lastly investing in bio-chem radiation resistant chickens is still a good idea...

i sujest you get as much gold as possible, i have a "feeling" that in the next ten years golds value is going to increase incredibly

This is a good place to buy bullion. I like their 1oz silver rounds.
www.nwtmintbullion.com...

Lets start with facts and rules of thumbs:

RoT#1) One Million dollars in $20 bills weighs 100 pounds, in $100 bills 20 pounds.

The bigest problem in making large cash withdrawls is that a bank teller will rat you out to a cop who will confiscate the money claiming you are conspiring to do something illegal.

RoT#2) At $35 an oz Amillion dollars in gold weighs a ton, at $910 an oz (almost current price) that ton is worth twenty six million, so a million would weigh less than 40 pounds, half a million dollars- 20 pounds.

Gold is twenty times as dense as water, a pint of water weighs one pound, so half a million dollars worth of gold is about the size of a pint bottle. A large safe is not required.

My advice: Put 80% overseas (in Switzerland) in an intrest bearing account with debit card withdrawl. Only use your intrest, not your Swiss Franc principal. Put the rest in gold, silver, platinum. Bags of pre 1964 US silver coins are rather cheap and easily recognised by Joe Sixpack for barter use when the ATMs go down.

If I had millions, would I choose to store my money in gold, silver or something else?
In 1980 when gold peaked at $875 an oz, Silver was $50 an oz (a ratio of 17.5:1). In 1979 & 1980 gold went up (and down) ONLY 400%, Silver was much more volitile. In an upward market you want to hold the more volitile metal, in a downward market you want to hold the less volitile metal.
In the last three or four years gold has only doubled, while silver has almost trippled.

Ops! I made a mental math mistake. One twenty sixth of a ton is just under EIGHTY pounds and about the size of a QUART of water.

Oh by the way, Platinum is twenty one times the density of water.

reply to post by Dont Hate Rats


I am not gonna tell you what to do with the money, but if I were you and I wasn't in that much need, I would give myself a nice nice present and enjoy the present, then, I would share my present with others presence and keep on expanding, you don't need 500k to do that, but is a start, gold is for fools who live in the future value of the metal, value that doesn't add anything to one's life but fear and insecurity for the future, Enjoy today!!!

Buy as much high grade Computer scrap as you can with your money thru a knowledgeable broker, send it to a refiner, make sure you note you want your return in gold bullion or coins, and wait 1 1/2 or 2 months for your profit and payment......

Originally posted by manta
As has been said already, it may not be wise to have all that money in gold. Nobody knows what is round the corner, and with gold being so high at the moment it could start to fall any day now.

If you've been paying attention to the economy you'd see GOLD is going nowhere but up. If we have a bad recession it will double in price...$1600 per ounce.