Silver - Gold - Snowball

Hi guys

Just wanted your input on investing in silver.

First off it something I want to do:-

BUT, I wil only be investing in small amounts due to being out of work. If i bought a little bit a month, it will soon mount up.

I have a few questions.

1. Does anyone here invest in silver?
If so please tell us how you got started, where you bought it from and so on.
2. Does the snowball method of buying work?
If so let us know how you started and how your going on with it?
3. Is there any better way to invest what little money i have?

All the best

Gareth

I gather no one is into silver?

No, it’s just that all the folks who can still afford to buy silver are still at work right now.

Historically they're hedges against inflation. From recent money supply numbers and rising interest rates (here in the USA anyways) it looks like we're in a tightening phase, so short-term we've likely topped out. Of course, it also depends on the value of our currency and that's measured relative to other currencies, so there could also be some short-term movement based on weakness or strength of the dollar.

In any case, for liquidity reasons I personally only buy precious metals in coin form. 90% silver US coins (pre-1964) currently go for about 10X face value, which includes a numismatic premium above the intrinsic bullion value. Bars, even brand name ones like Englehard and Credit Suise, can be hard to sell at or near spot. Jewelry is even harder to get rid of, which is why there are so many crooks popping up who manage to get people to sell their "unwanted" gold for as little as 50% of the actual market value. With coins there's a large base of collectors in addition to bullion investors and since each one is stamped with the name of a country and has a defined weight, they're relatively easy to unload.

In addition to gold and silver you you can find Russian and Canadian palladium and platinum coins BTW, so why not diversify your bullion holdings a little.

I buy both physical silver, and paper silver. By paper I mean etfs that are supposed to own silver, and mining stocks associated with silver. Physical is the safest way to get money out of dollars, if like me, you can't afford gold. There are several ways to buy physical silver. Online from somewhere like Kitco, Republic trading, Midas resources or others. These places usually require up front payment, and deliver in weeks or months. Ebay is an option, but riskier. The other is through local dealers, private citizens, or antique stores. Craigs list also is a way to connect to people. Pawn shops should be youur last resort. You have two choices in what kind of physical silver you prefer. Private Silver rounds that are uncirculated .999 silver. For example, lakota rounds/ galt rounds/ ron paul rounds, and dozens of others. The other choice is US, or other national minted silver coins. There are several types of these coins as well. The newly US minted Silver Eagles are uncirculated .999 silver that are released each year from the national mint. They go for right now 20-22 a pop. The other choice is Peace/ Morgan dollars from the 1880s-1920s. These coins have less silver, but more collector value. They go for about the same, but might go down if you buy a roll of twenty. The danger of those are the varying condition you might get if you don't know what your looking at. A third option is "junk" silver. These are pre1964 dimes and quarters that are sold by the pound according to spot price. They are usually in poor condition, but are useful in any barter scenario in the future. It is good to have at least some small denomination silver coins if you wanna by food in a hyperinflated/barter economy. A roll of silver dimes goes from about 60-75 bucks. I can go on and one once I get started. Ask if you want more info, but here is a start.

Silver Eagles have a denomination, one US dollar, so they're real coins. Silver rounds aren't coins, they have no numismatic value and most coin dealers/collectors won't buy them. An uncirculated round is meaningless as they're not legal tender and were never meant to circulate. Some people do collect "art bars" but it's a very small community in comparison to the millions of coin collectors in the world.

www.coinshows.com...
www.pcgs.com...

reply to post by gareth01422

Hi Gareth. Maybe visit a few internet precious metals forums. As a prospective investor it's worthy of your time to "get it right" especially if you're operating on limited capital.

And thanks for your post....ATS Sentiment Index

Edit Add: Nice summation stephinrazin.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by OBE1]

Just keep buying silver rounds and bars (of 999+ bullion quality) as you can afford it, you cannot go wrong.

Don't buy special rare coins or pay any more than the melt value of the basic metal.

It is the silver metal itself that will increase in value, rarity or beauty has no place in silver investment. So so don't pay fifty dollars for twenty dollars worth of silver just because it has a super rare picture of Mickey Mouse stamped on it.

Battered, oxidized, dirty and beaten up old silver bullion bars lose nothing in value. That is what you should be hoarding. In fact the really old bars are far less likely to be fake than something shiny and brand new.

Hide it in several different safe places, and TELL NOBODY that you have it.

I started buying silver fifteen years ago, it is now worth several times what I paid for it, and will be worth vastly more when the coming silver scandal hits the fan.

reply to post by murfdog


hahahahaha, very true.....lol

ebay had alot of silver in small quantities up for sell, not sure what the state of it is now...
there's also apmex.....
that's the two I am most familiar with....

Originally posted by stephinrazin
I buy both physical silver, and paper silver. By paper I mean etfs that are supposed to own silver, and mining stocks associated with silver. Physical is the safest way to get money out of dollars, if like me, you can't afford gold. There are several ways to buy physical silver. Online from somewhere like Kitco, Republic trading, Midas resources or others. These places usually require up front payment, and deliver in weeks or months. Ebay is an option, but riskier. The other is through local dealers, private citizens, or antique stores. Craigs list also is a way to connect to people. Pawn shops should be youur last resort. You have two choices in what kind of physical silver you prefer. Private Silver rounds that are uncirculated .999 silver. For example, lakota rounds/ galt rounds/ ron paul rounds, and dozens of others. The other choice is US, or other national minted silver coins. There are several types of these coins as well. The newly US minted Silver Eagles are uncirculated .999 silver that are released each year from the national mint. They go for right now 20-22 a pop. The other choice is Peace/ Morgan dollars from the 1880s-1920s. These coins have less silver, but more collector value. They go for about the same, but might go down if you buy a roll of twenty. The danger of those are the varying condition you might get if you don't know what your looking at. A third option is "junk" silver. These are pre1964 dimes and quarters that are sold by the pound according to spot price. They are usually in poor condition, but are useful in any barter scenario in the future. It is good to have at least some small denomination silver coins if you wanna by food in a hyperinflated/barter economy. A roll of silver dimes goes from about 60-75 bucks. I can go on and one once I get started. Ask if you want more info, but here is a start.

This very intresting.

Ive been looking at a few coins on ebay but i would like to buy some a web site like kitco. one thing i did notice they sell 1 ounce silver coins for about 79pence over spot price, i gather this is quite a good price?

And yes i would like to here more, thats what this thread is all about.

thanks again guys

Gareth

Originally posted by dawnstar
ebay had alot of silver in small quantities up for sell, not sure what the state of it is now...
there's also apmex.....
that's the two I am most familiar with....

Apmex is one of the sites i was thinking of ordering from in the next few weeks. also keeping an eye on ebay for the odd coin to pop up at the right price.

Gareth

Hi guys

Is this a good example of a good deal?

Ive seen this coin on ebay (silver coin

and i got the seller to sell 1 to me for £15 including p&p.

then Ive got the coin for a lower price then the scrap value?

apmex-silver

I bet ive got the wrong end of the stick with these figures.

Gareth


EDIT: sorry i have totally got that wrong. todays price is £11.52p and the coin is around £17 with P+P

[edit on 3-3-2010 by gareth01422]

reply to post by gareth01422

1. Does anyone here invest in silver?

Yes. I actually knew a dealer personally, worked in my office. But I have since found other sources, including E-bay believe it or not.

2. Does the snowball method of buying work?

I suppose you mean by each purchase being larger then the previous? I suppose that would depend on available capital .. my purchases have never really increased, I don't put to much money into it (which is one reason I prefer silver over Gold)

3. Is there any better way to invest what little money i have?

Silver or gold for that matter are not good for quick returns, unless you go the ETF route. Physical metal is harder to liquidate.. but there is plenty you can do with your money, from small cap stocks to mutual funds.. I'd consult a financial adviser regarding what you need to do, as it's based on your goals and risk tolerance.

Putting some money into silver is never a bad thing though.

reply to post by gareth01422

EDIT: sorry i have totally got that wrong. todays price is £11.52p and the coin is around £17 with P+P

I find that silver prices for physical delivery are almost never the same price as the markets.. as long as the difference is not extreme (6 pound difference for silver is a little extreme) then it's safe. But don't expect physical metals to fluctuate to market prices, they are much slower to adjust.

PS: It's better to buy rolls of coins, or silver Ingots.. ya, they cost more, upfront anyways, but with silver bulk is better.

[edit on 3/3/2010 by Rockpuck]

reply to post by gareth01422

are you considering apmex's shipping and handling?? if I remember right, it was kind high, or some side fee was, at least to me...
you might want to check it out, since this was a few years ago.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by gareth01422

 

EDIT: sorry i have totally got that wrong. todays price is £11.52p and the coin is around £17 with P+P

I find that silver prices for physical delivery are almost never the same price as the markets.. as long as the difference is not extreme (6 pound difference for silver is a little extreme) then it's safe. But don't expect physical metals to fluctuate to market prices, they are much slower to adjust.

PS: It's better to buy rolls of coins, or silver Ingots.. ya, they cost more, upfront anyways, but with silver bulk is better.

[edit on 3/3/2010 by Rockpuck]

Ah right.

So have i got the figures riht as in, £11.52 is the price today (at the time given) for 1 ounce of silver? and is this the scrap value?

I expect to pay a little more than the scrap price, so anything no more than £15 at todays price anyway seems to be reasonable?

The reasons i am doing this is because I feel in something big will happen in the future, whether thats a total global monatary melt down or what ever. It will give me a chance of survival if i have a few silver or gold coins in my hand rather than a few paper £20 notes. And if nothing does happen then least I might make a little profit, if i sell.

Gareth

Gareth,
I am a silver trader, I guess you could call it. For all intents and purposes any metal silver of high content(by that I mean 999. Silver content) is worth buying, and hanging onto. It really is the poor mans gold. I have gold also, but its all in jewelry form, and can be worn or hidden on my body if need be. Silver not so much. Most of mine is in rounds form, or decorative ceremonial coin. (ie something produced to commemorate an event) . While alot of folks say when SHTF it wont be worth anything, I believe there still will be a market for it, small though it may be, as a trading tool. So, I keep some between 20 and 30 rounds at a time, some precious stones, sans settings, and some actually gold in the form of jewelry.
As a sideline, I purchase gold scrap, and silver scrap, at low prices and ship it to the refiner when the price rises, it supplements my household income, and I get to pick and choose pieces I want to keep. Usually those are something like coin, or such that is easy to handle, and carry.
Silver and Gold have been a medium of barter and exchange for thousands of years, and right now, when I buy a large piece of silver for 20.00, I send it off to the refiner, and get back at least a 300% profit if I time it right and prices are up. It pays off, and there are lots of folks who wont take their stuff to a pawn shop, but they will come to me, or I to them, as a private buyer I pay more than a pawn shop would, and their transaction is confidential.
On a note, I do my best to not purchase items that are stolen, receiving stolen property is still a crime. If something sounds fishy, or you get a bad feeling, dont do it.
But, frequent the 2nd hand stores, and always look for sterling or other true silver marks on your items before you purchase them. Marks are your best information on whether its real or not, and theres a lot less fake marks out there than you would think.

As an example, my last purchase was a one pound shell shaped dish, I bought it a t a 2nd hand shop for 8.00, the return on refining it was over 450.00, nice tidy profit that

R

Originally posted by Rossa
Gareth,
I am a silver trader, I guess you could call it. For all intents and purposes any metal silver of high content(by that I mean 999. Silver content) is worth buying, and hanging onto. It really is the poor mans gold. I have gold also, but its all in jewelry form, and can be worn or hidden on my body if need be. Silver not so much. Most of mine is in rounds form, or decorative ceremonial coin. (ie something produced to commemorate an event) . While alot of folks say when SHTF it wont be worth anything, I believe there still will be a market for it, small though it may be, as a trading tool. So, I keep some between 20 and 30 rounds at a time, some precious stones, sans settings, and some actually gold in the form of jewelry.
As a sideline, I purchase gold scrap, and silver scrap, at low prices and ship it to the refiner when the price rises, it supplements my household income, and I get to pick and choose pieces I want to keep. Usually those are something like coin, or such that is easy to handle, and carry.
Silver and Gold have been a medium of barter and exchange for thousands of years, and right now, when I buy a large piece of silver for 20.00, I send it off to the refiner, and get back at least a 300% profit if I time it right and prices are up. It pays off, and there are lots of folks who wont take their stuff to a pawn shop, but they will come to me, or I to them, as a private buyer I pay more than a pawn shop would, and their transaction is confidential.
On a note, I do my best to not purchase items that are stolen, receiving stolen property is still a crime. If something sounds fishy, or you get a bad feeling, dont do it.
But, frequent the 2nd hand stores, and always look for sterling or other true silver marks on your items before you purchase them. Marks are your best information on whether its real or not, and theres a lot less fake marks out there than you would think.

As an example, my last purchase was a one pound shell shaped dish, I bought it a t a 2nd hand shop for 8.00, the return on refining it was over 450.00, nice tidy profit that

R

Thats great that is, £8 into £450. maybe i should start going into second hand shops.

Do you buy from online sites?

My main fear is getting ripped off on the first purchase.......

Gareth

A competitive alternative to Silver dealers is First Majestic Silver Corp. They mint silver products from their mining operations in Mexico...for sale to the general public. Before FMV hit the investor radar last year , they were a reliable source for small bullion purchases whenever the mainstream market dried-up.

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