Life of an Investor » Invest:Precious Metals

Archive for the ‘Invest:Precious Metals’ Category

The silver has arrived

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Well, in case any of you are really wondering what almost $600 worth of silver looks like, here it is:

Don’t try to steal it. It’s in a safe place. And no, I did not have it surgically implanted inside my abdomen, so don’t look there … please. I ordered two 10 oz bars, which strangely weigh in at 10.9 ounces on my scale. I also ordered 10 of the US Silver dollars which each weigh 1 ounce. The coins were slightly more expensive per ounce, but I believe are better for resale and possible collectors items. It’s kind of funny that these 2008 coins have a face value of $1.00 but are worth around $16 each.

Too bad that it’s not gold. Then instead of $600, I’d be looking at around $24,000. That is what’s crazy.

———-
If you like, or can at least stand to read what I write, make sure you add my RSS Feed to your list so you don’t miss a single post. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, read this.

Diversification - Precious Metals - Silver

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

Obviously, your portfolio should be diversified. Especially with the current economic insecurity, this is doubly important. Now, I’m an optimist and fully believe that the economy will make a recovery and that most of this is due to “bad feelings”. If you’re still surving, then your neighbor probably is too.

With that being said, there is always the possibility of a serious recession or even a depression before the turnaround. This morning, I met with some friends over coffee and bagels and one of them mentioned that they have been buying silver recently. Not funds that invest in silver, but actual, physical silver bars. He told us that he is purchasing these from http://www.bulliondirect.com. He said that the first order was a leap of faith, but so far, he has been pleased. This got me thinking a bit. What would happen if the economy took a nosedive tomorrow and your bank accounts and cash on hand were essentially worthless? How long could you survive. If you’re well stocked at home, you may make it for a month or two, but most of us would probably be lucky to get through two weeks. One thing I can almost guarantee though is that there will be people willing to sell you necessities if you have silver or gold coins to offer.

There are a few pros and cons to owning precious metals.

Pros

More secure than any country’s currency
You can physically hold your investment in the palm of your hand, or in a safe place.
Silver and Gold have never been worthless.
You can buy in small denominations (1 oz coins) for use in bartering in case of doomsday scenarios.
Historically have risen in value.
Great items to pass on to children or give as gifts.
Government and other organizations won’t have easily accessible records about your assets.

Cons

Your investment does not earn interest.
Can be easily stolen/lost if you keep in your home.
Harder to purchase/sell when dealing with physical items.
Fairly expensive to get into. Silver is affordable at under $20 for a one ounce coin, but gold is around $900 for a 1 ounce coin. That’s one coin that you don’t want to accidently roll down the sewer grate.
I can’t think of any more right now.

So I visited the website listed above, picked out some silver coins and small silver bars (10 oz.). If for no other reason, it will just be cool to have these to show the kids and possible pass on to them at some point. As a kid, I always thought that when I grew up I wanted to buy a gold bar like you always see in pictures of Fort Knox; they had to be several pounds. Little did I know that a ten ounce bar (just over half a pound) would be in the $9,000 price range. I guess silver will have to do for now.

Photo courtesy of