Buy 1 oz. (or larger) silver bars for physical possession

[FISH4BUGS]

I have come into some unexpected dollars and I want to put the money away. I don't need any more guns (yeah...right :) )
Does anyone make plain and simple 1 ounce silver bars, or 6 oz or 1 lb or whatever size?
Gold would work too but there is probably more upside potential with silver bars.
I am not interested in coins. I don't want to pay for someone else's design and production. I just want plain old silver or gold.
I also will take physical possession.
Any help is appreciated.

[Skipper]

Silver.com

https://www.silver.com/silver-bullion/silver-bars/

[BrassMagnet]

Consider junk silver.

[Thumbcocker]

Several firms offer silver rounds and ingots. Sunshine silver comes to mind.

[Jeffrey]

I shopped Goldline. They advertised that they bought back for spot price. It was like pulling teeth from a chicken to discover that they sold metal at well over price of other dealer's. I bought and have continued to deal with Southern Coin and precious metals as they are local to me. Always happy with my transactions with them. Looking on their site, they have a silver 10oz "Silver Bullet" ingot. https://scpm.com/bullion.php .

[snowwolfe]

I buy all my silver from APMEX. Never had any issues with them. They market bars in a bunch of different sizes.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

You might reconsider buying coins. The bullion silver dollars are 1 oz. and are recognizable as being money, especially those issued by the U.S. Mint that say "United States of America" on them, complete with Walking Liberty on one side and Eagle on the other. A second choice would be Canadian issue.

Advantage is that if you need to dispose of them they are obviously what they are, whereas an ingot is taking a chance on what it is made of. If you need a smaller amount of value than what the entire ingot is worth, then you're in the position of having to cut part of it off.

I've used Monex Co. with satisfaction to acquire silver coins. Yes, you will pay a commission, but if you view it as a long term investment the value will eventually surpass the purchase price and thereafter you won't lose any money if you view the value of the metal as being relative to the economy. The advice to consider "junk silver" is also good, as the value is in the weight of the metal and not the uncirculated appearance. Just like the ingot, if a bullion silver dollar is worth (example, not current) $15.00 and you want to spend $6.00 it's nice to have some quarters.

Most people who invest in silver consider, I think, the possibility that paper money will someday be worthless while silver will still have value. As long as paper money is still accepted you can always sell your silver in whole or part for the paper cash that you need and complete your transaction, but if the "bottom falls out" it will be nice to have the silver for necessities.

[farmerjim]

A bit of silver in your casting alloy helps the mold fill out. It is hard to cast pure silver, but if you could get some round bars, you could turn them on a lathe.
I have seen 45 lb silver ingots.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP...

I am not interested in coins.

Any help is appreciated.
You may want to reconsider older US silver coinage culls.

Back in the late 90s, because of the Y2K thingy, I bought a bunch of Silver.
All kinds of pieces, from one ounce rounds to Bars to dated Silver Eagles to Foreign coins to US coins.
The neatest things I had were one ounce rounds from Las Vegas Casinos, they were usually dated, mostly from the 1970s.

Anyway, years after, I decided to sell. NO commercial buyers were interested in anything, except old US silver coins.
I got a fair price for those coins, Half dollars and whole dollar coins paid the most.
I did sell all the other silver...but I surely didn't get anything near the current going rate for the other stuff...especially the foreign silver coins, they are all varied in silver content and were difficult to sell as a lot, So I didn't sell them at that time. Last year I was sorting through my junk and found those foreign silver coins and traded them at the local gunshow (our gunshow also encourages coin collectors). When I bought that lot of Foriegn silver coins, it was advertised as 16 US ounces of silver content, the bag weighed a 2 or 3 pounds, as some coins were only 10% silver while others were 90%. Anyway, I swapped that pound of silver for 3000 small pistol primers (vintage Alcan primers)...No a good deal for me, but no one in the USA likes foreign silver coins.

About 3 years ago, when Silver seemed to bottom out (around $15 an ounce), I started looking to buy up some silver. I bought a bunch of Walker Half Dollars and some Mercury Dimes. All were culls, but have readable dates... I have a thing about only buying coins that I can read the Date on. When buying those, there is a bit of a premium compared to buying silver Bars or Rounds...maybe about $1 to $2 per ounce...But it's worth it in the end, when you try to sell them.

Also, be aware there are FAKES out there, especially mint condition Silver Dollars that are collectable...also for the same reason, Don't buy any coins that have been cleaned. The nice thing about real old silver US coinage culls, it about impossible to duplicate/fake the patina of 100 year old coins.

[dkf]

I usually buy Johnson Matthey silver bars of of Ebay. The 1oz bars are sealed in plastic.

[Mal Paso]

Good post JonB!

Thank you!

[Traffer]

Silver ingots that are "home poured" are very hard to sell. I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. I wouldn't even buy them if I saw the people pour them myself. Too easy to cheat or fake. I would suggest finding a place that sells reputable stamped ingots or rounds. I sold a bunch of 1oz rounds for $3 over spot on a day's notice. Almost as liquid as cash.

[snowwolfe]

I never had any difficulty selling APMEX bars anywhere.

[Handloader109]

Buy Coins. US coins first, Canadian Second, maybe a bit of other countries if you want to look at other coins. But Coins. That way you and the BUYER KNOWS the content is correct.
Bullion.... only if you want to have a few small bricks. WAY harder to sell. I know I Would NOT trust any at all that an individual was selling. Might pay half going rate. Tops.

[DerekP Houston]

I buy all my silver from APMEX. Never had any issues with them. They market bars in a bunch of different sizes.

I prefer apmex as well, I like a stock of junk silver smaller coins for "play money"

[RogerDat]

Consider junk silver. Poor quality coins offer a clear advantage over "unknown" silver bars in that you don't have to pay to have them tested on sale. You pay little for the coin design but a silver dollar of a certain year is a known percentage of silver so no testing needed with a ready market.

If one was dealing with a hyper inflation scenario where precious metals had clear advantage one should recall the "shave and a haircut 2 bits" rhyme. It came from using a chisel to cut dollar coins into 8 "bits" like a pie so that one could have small change when coinage was in short supply. Each 1/8 of a dollar was 12.5 cents, so 2 bits was a quarter. During westward expansion small change wasn't shipped or carried out west, people took life savings in $1 to $20 gold and silver coins, pennies, nickels and dimes? Not so much.

What I'm saying is if fiat currency has little value a coin of silver has increased value and can be cut with chisel to provide smaller denominations. I do not consider this likely mind you but hyper inflation or currency devaluation are certainly within the realm of possibilities.

[bangerjim]

US coinage is a far better investment than bullion bars. Coins are fair trade. Bars can usually only be sold thru bullion dealers. People will NOT trust you that you have 99.9 silver bars!!!! I sure would not. Old US coins are face value minimum! And much more in silver content. I ordered a 75# bag of old half dollars several years ago when silver was rock bottom. Nice to have. But bars are questionable when you need to cash in or under SHTF scenarios.

Same with gold. $20 Saint Gaudens gold pieces are the only way to go. Beautiful coins! NOT the new Buffalo mint things you see on TV.

It is recommended by most financial consultants you have a minimum of 10% of your net worth in precisous metals (Au/Ag/Pt) you can hold in your hands, not paper certificates it exists somewhere in some company’s vault.

Good luck in your investment path. I have been going down that path for the past 20+ years.

Bangerjim

[GOPHER SLAYER]

A bit of silver in your casting alloy helps the mold fill out. It is hard to cast pure silver, but if you could get some round bars, you could turn them on a lathe.
I have seen 45 lb silver ingots. The Lone Ranger didn't seem to have any trouble and he cast over a small camp fire.

[bangerjim]

Silver melts at 1763F. Good luck doing that over a standard camp fire! Mythology is amazing.


But you can alloy silver into a melt at much lower temps if you know how to do it. Just like antimony.

Bangerjim

[rancher1913]

real united states silver coins will have a "I know what these are so yah I will accept them for payment" factor, the silver bars will only really be bought by a person in the know and they will take a "middle man" cut. junk silver in larger denominations just can't be beat for buying from local merchants if the shtf or reselling down the road if everything stays the same. we do keep some bullion silver for payment of property taxes because if it gets bad enough the gov will take anything.

[nagantguy]

Much good advice here; pre 64 dimes by the bag every time we get a little “ahead money” some rounds and bars; silver dollars are also good as an investment with a true real definable trade value. It was during the dark and bleak days of early 2009; and the 2nd Great Depression was in full swing; 1 in every 7 houses in the country was somewhere in the forclouser process; anyhow I had built quite a collection of 1930s-40 quarters ; even selling them at spot price which was way over what I’d payed for them, payed property taxes and bought groceries and filled both vehicles and several cans of gas and had the $200 bucks for daughters dance class and recital, and a bit of pocket money, the ship I sold to made a mint but we were in a bind and we don’t beg borrow or steal.

[snowwolfe]

Not sure where you guys got the impression about bars being difficult to sell. I been buying them since the early 1980’s and never had any issues selling them. And that includes person to person sales as well.
My sale price was always spot plus $1 per ounce. But the few times I sold back to the company I bought them from it was for spot only.

[bangerjim]

Not sure where you guys got the impression about bars being difficult to sell. I been buying them since the early 1980’s and never had any issues selling them. And that includes person to person sales as well.
My sale price was always spot plus $1 per ounce. But the few times I sold back to the company I bought them from it was for spot only.

Well you must have an HONEST face! I would never pay more than -75% of spot price for unknown personal silver bars. I do not care what the stamps on the bars say! I have had the opportunity at swap meets ,but I passed all those opportunities by!!!! With no 2nd thoughts.

Bars can be anything, including pewter/Sn which emulate the weight and look and feel of silver. That has always has been the “proof” test of silver and gold! I have a gold testing kit and it is reliable.

US old minted coins are ALWAYS reliable and reputable. Espceially in SHTF scenarios.

My full-throated acclaim is for ONLY old US silver & gold coins.......NOT silver/gold bars!

And this is from over 30 years of experience in the precious metals trading markets.

Bangerjim

[fatelk]

Silver is overpriced, a ripoff. I was paying less than $4/oz back in the 90’s. I won’t touch the stuff until it gets back to that !

[dbosman]

Junk silver is still expensive, but does have a face, of sorts ;-), value.

[snowwolfe]

It’s just as easy to counterfeit a coin as it is a bar.

[rancher1913]

Not sure where you guys got the impression about bars being difficult to sell. I been buying them since the early 1980’s and never had any issues selling them. And that includes person to person sales as well.
My sale price was always spot plus $1 per ounce. But the few times I sold back to the company I bought them from it was for spot only.

it is easy to sell NOW, but if everything falls apart they will be hard to sell for groceries.

[AaronL]

it is easy to sell NOW, but if everything falls apart they will be hard to sell for groceries.

If everything falls apart, food and shelter will be the important things to have and the guys with the guns and the ammo will have all of the food and shelter they want.

[GhostHawk]

Some 4 years ago being flush with cash from early inheritance I bought a bunch of silver.

Paid 14 to 14.50$ per ounce for most of mine.

I have an assortment but the majority of mine are 1 oz silver rounds in a variety of patterns.
All .999 fine silver.

I bought mine from Provident as they had reasonable prices and half the shipping of the other places I checked.

Most of mine I used paypal, and I would buy as many 1oz rounds as I could get for under 500$.
Most days I would buy 1 or 2 of those 500$ orders.

All transactions were small enough not to be reported. The vast majority are packed 20 to the stack in a square plastic tube.

Most of that stash is in the bottom of a big crock, covered with skeins of knitting yarn.

Its not going anywhere.

We did also buy a few rather large boxes of nickles, and a fair amount of "junk" silver.

The only problem with the US minted pre 64 silver is that it is 90% not 99.999 pure.

So it takes 11 dimes to make an ounce. Still in a SHTF scenario it might keep us in eggs and milk for a bit while things sort themselves out.

[Tripplebeards]

I'd rather invest in lead bars...a safer bet.

Before I bought gold or silver I'd just just keep my money piled up a cd or savings account. Savings bonds need to come back! I remember started buying them every payday in the early 90's. Never kept any to the double value maturity. I have a couple if 1oz silver coins laying around that couldn't get rid of for a pack of gum.

[bangerjim]

I'd rather invest in lead bars...a safer bet.

Before I bought gold or silver I'd just just keep my money piled up a cd or savings account. Savings bonds need to come back! I remember started buying them every payday in the early 90's. Never kept any to the double value maturity. I have a couple if 1oz silver coins laying around that couldn't get rid of for a pack of gum.

One troy ounce of gold is worth around $1,300. One avoirdupois pound of Pb is worth around a buck. I rest my case.

Gold has always been the world’s accepted money. Lead........for bullets? I don’t think so! No comparison.

Those 1oz coins, if legitimate 99.9 silver are worth a significant amount today! I would rather have 100# of 99.9 silver than 100# of pure lead any day!!!!!!!!!!

[MaryB]

I have come into some unexpected dollars and I want to put the money away. I don't need any more guns (yeah...right :) )
Does anyone make plain and simple 1 ounce silver bars, or 6 oz or 1 lb or whatever size?
Gold would work too but there is probably more upside potential with silver bars.
I am not interested in coins. I don't want to pay for someone else's design and production. I just want plain old silver or gold.
I also will take physical possession.
Any help is appreciated.


American Silver Eagle 1 oz rounds. US Government minted and widely recognized. Generic bars and you run into purity questions if you try to sell...

[jimlj]

To the OP, I think you have been given some good advice. Buy known brands of silver bars and rounds. I'd stay away from Billy Bobs mint bars and rounds because as mentioned they could be made from about anything. I'd also seriously consider US coins. I'm not a coin collector so I couldn't care less about rare dates that carry a premium price. Common date coins aren't worth counterfeiting, and only command a small premium over spot price. If/when the shtf I think it will be a lot easier to trade a known coin for something you need. When I buy "junk" silver, I look up the current melt price and won't pay too much over melt for any coins I buy.

[Eagle59]

APMEX or Kitco

[jonp]

I buy silver bullion specifically US Eagles or Canadian Maple Leafs. No question as to the source or purity. A couple of companies I deal with include MGM.

[JimB..]

Well you must have an HONEST face! I would never pay more than -75% of spot price for unknown personal silver bars. I do not care what the stamps on the bars say! I have had the opportunity at swap meets ,but I passed all those opportunities by!!!! With no 2nd thoughts.

Bars can be anything, including pewter/Sn which emulate the weight and look and feel of silver. That has always has been the “proof” test of silver and gold! I have a gold testing kit and it is reliable.

US old minted coins are ALWAYS reliable and reputable. Espceially in SHTF scenarios.

My full-throated acclaim is for ONLY old US silver & gold coins.......NOT silver/gold bars!

And this is from over 30 years of experience in the precious metals trading markets.

Bangerjim

Can you share with us some of your experiences finding counterfeit 1oz bars or rounds?

[Bird]

A point to consider is the tax implications of legal tender coins v's bullion.
Lead was a better investment for me. Better than silver or gold. Lead was for free or 6 to 7 cents per pound a few years back, and is now around $1.00 per lb. Gold was at $700 per oz, and is now only 1250per oz. I picked up silver at $8.00 per oz, and its now only 16.00 per oz, and thats not the sell price. Silver and gold have been poor performers related to inflation.

[mold maker]

Coins usually cost a premium over spot related to the grade and number struck. There is also always the unknown factor of how many have been melted.
Silver rounds and bars of recognized source cost only a stated value over spot.
The speculation in collector coins can be excessive and in an emergency, won't bring a return premium.
As far as counterfeit coins, rounds, bars, paper money, and stocks, nothing is impossible and all are suspect. Before investing, make yourself knowledgeable. Don't allow emotions or a quick deal cause you to be foolish.
A real asset in your hand is always worth way more than a figure written on paper.

[bangerjim]

Can you share with us some of your experiences finding counterfeit 1oz bars or rounds?

Just as I said in the post: "I do not care what the stamps on the bars say! I have had the opportunity at swap meets ,but I passed all those opportunities by!!!! With no 2nd thoughts."

I have seen "questionable" precious metals bars at big swap meets in the past. Just played looky-loo and walked on. If the sellers had OLD US silver quarters and half dollars, then I would be interested. Would be darned hard to fake US quarters and half dollars, especially the smooth wear the have! Besides being a federal crime! Casting "silver colored metals" in small bars is something anyone can do in their basement. We do it all the time!

I just would not trust anyone, except a certified authorized registered broker, to buy REAL 99.9 silver bullion bars from.

And as far as buying lead as an investment???????? When was the last time you tried to buy a loaf of bread with a bar of Pb? Or sell it (ON HERE ONLY!!!) for a little more than pocket change. One (old) $20 gold piece will bring over $1,300 many places around me. Now that is an investment that has real value. I sure would hate to haul around 1,300# of Pb bars. And the majority of people in this country do NOT want Pb bars! We on here are a fraction of a fraction of a tiny minority of the general population.

If one feels the "warm fuzzies" by having a ton or two of simple Pb bars squirrelled away, fine. I have a ton or two of Pb also, but do not ever consider it an investment. It is just simple feed-stock for one of my hobbies......just like the 900+ board feet of 6-4 prime black walnut I have stored high and dry. It also is worth a lot, but I could not directly buy food or clothing with it. (most people in America gave up the barter system of daily commerce hundreds of years ago. Well, mabe there are some of those preppers out there that think they can survive with a campfire, a boolit mold, a few bars of Pb and a gun during a SHTF event.)

bangerjim

[docone31]

Get casting grain.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Silver melts at 1763F. Good luck doing that over a standard camp fire! Mythology is amazing.


But you can alloy silver into a melt at much lower temps if you know how to do it. Just like antimony.

Bangerjim Banger, it is good to see your sense of humor is alive and well.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Soooo....FISH4BUGS, are you still there? I thought, that since you're seeking advice, I'd revisit this thread and cover two more things.

The first is in response to one member who claimed that coins are just as easy to counterfeit as bars/ingots. Not true at all, not even remotely true.
Making a bogus ingot just requires a mold to pour the metal into, coating the ingot with the precious metal, and putting convincing markings on the top. These will even pass an acid test where a drop of acid is placed on the surface and fails to discolor the metal, because the surface to which the acid is being applied is the genuine stuff. But, what's underneath? Lead? The only sure way to find out is to cut it open and/or melt it and pour a new ingot.

Coins, on the other hand, have certain features that make counterfeiting much more difficult. The details of the pictures on the coins when examined under magnification must be exactly like other coins known to be genuine. Additionally, the lines around the outside edge of the coin must all be the same depth and regular in width and spacing. Actually, coins of only a couple of centuries ago didn't have the edge markings, and they were specifically added as an anti-counterfeiting measure. Further, a coin counterfeiter must possess a powerful stamping machine and the dies to strike the coins.

One learns strange things in life, and just a couple of years ago I was watching "Pawn Stars". Rick Harrison was offered an American $20 gold coin. He examined it very closely under magnification and pronounced it genuine and ended up buying it. The customer was a bit taken aback, thinking that there could be no doubt about it's authenticity. Rick explained that the Chinese had actually counterfeited some of these coins, and it was an odd thing, because the counterfeit coins actually contained an ounce of gold; so the profit they were seeking to make was the difference between the gold value of the coin and a numismatic coin.

That word "numismatic" brings us to the second thing I wanted to tell you about. Numismatic coins are collector coins, made before the U.S. Government discontinued minting them and basically outlawed the private ownership of gold. This law was, of course, rescinded when we went off the gold standard and began backing our currency with the "good faith and credit of the United States Government." However, the public was permitted to keep coins of collector value. So you'll run across the sales pitch from precious metals brokers that should this happen again, if you invest in numismatic coins you'll be allowed to keep them and thereby retain your nest egg. Why? "Because that's what happened before, that's why." Personally, I have never bought the argument because just because it worked that way last time doesn't mean that it will be that way next time. Then they'll tell you that if the government demands surrender of all non-numismatic coins and you keep and try to use your bullion coins, "why, you'll be a criminal!" Therefore, according to the coin salesmen, buying numismatic coins is the only really safe way to protect your investment.

Well, as long as things perk along like they've been doing for the last about 100 years that is just fine -- buy your numismatic coins. As an example, you'll pay a premium for a $20 gold coin minted in 1898, but get the same amount of gold (and this applies to silver coins as well) as one newly minted in 2018. Then, if you find it necessary to sell some of your hoard back to a broker, you'll likely get a little less than you paid (proportionate to the economy at the time) but you'll have no trouble selling it. As for the bullion coin, you'll get the going rate for that amount of metal, as the bullion coins seldom have any value above that. But, now let's suppose the bottom falls out of the economy and your paper money isn't worth anything anymore, and the government finds it necessary to issue new money that is actually backed by precious metal the way it used to be, so that people will once again accept paper money. So the government repeats the historical precedent it did before and outlaws private ownership of gold. If they once again permit retention of numismatic coins you'll be o.k., but if not you'll lose your investment just as those holding bullion coins, because the coins surrendered to the government will be worth only the weight of the metal, and collector value be hanged. But if you're allowed to keep numismatic coins and not bullion coins then you'll have to make the decision about whether or not to be a black marketer. Personally, if I bought and own something I consider it to be mine, just like firearms, and the only way the government will get it is to find it and confiscate it. To my view, gold and silver will always be worth something, which is the weight of the metal. Numismatic value is an artificial plus value set by collectors and dealers and is subject to fluctuation and even complete loss. So, if you buy coins as an investment, you'll pay less for the bullion coins to start with, pay only for the value of the metal plus the broker's commission, hold onto them and watch the price and value increase over time, and you'll be able to buy more of the metal to begin with because you're not paying the artificial numismatic value.

So, there's some additional thoughts on the subject.

[FISH4BUGS]

Soooo....FISH4BUGS, are you still there?

Oh I can assure you that I am. I have taken all this in. I am starting to do research on companies and what to buy. I think the point of buying American Eagles or Canadian Maple Leafs makes sense to me. You may pay a bit more up front but they are a known quantity. Bars could be anything....except maybe Englehard bars. But even those could be faked.
I used to collect coins when I was a kid. Buffalo nickels, Indian head pennies, standing liberty quarters, mercury dimes.......when I was in junior high and high school (graduated in 1966) a few of those were still in circulation.
I'm not looking to get rich here. I just want to put some money away that will ALWAYS have value.....unlike paper money. Take a look at Venezuela today. Or Germany in the 30's. Can't happen here? Don't count on it.
My humble thanks to all for your advice and willingness to share your experience.

[JimB..]

There are a number of bars with advanced security built in, the problem with them is that relatively few individuals will have enough experience with them to make good use of them, so you’re back to not being sure if you can sell. In silver I have mostly Engelhard prospectors and large bars, and it is possible that there is a fake or two in the mix, but I highly doubt it as I’m pretty careful. Wish that I could buy them at 75% of spot, although I guess if someone was willing to sell at that price the risk of them being fake is much higher.

[MaryB]

Can you share with us some of your experiences finding counterfeit 1oz bars or rounds?

I could go on ebay right now and buy 1,000 of them for $1 each and people do just that then they try to sell as real silver

[MaryB]

There are a number of bars with advanced security built in, the problem with them is that relatively few individuals will have enough experience with them to make good use of them, so you’re back to not being sure if you can sell. In silver I have mostly Engelhard prospectors and large bars, and it is possible that there is a fake or two in the mix, but I highly doubt it as I’m pretty careful. Wish that I could buy them at 75% of spot, although I guess if someone was willing to sell at that price the risk of them being fake is much higher.


There are a LOT of fake Prospector rounds out there!

[JimB..]

There are a LOT of fake Prospector rounds out there!

Yeah, I wouldn’t buy them from eBay. Most of the fakes are not especially good, they don’t need to be. I bought mine back when there were a lot fewer of these games being played, especially with rounds, but I will admit that I have a 100oz Engelhard bar that I think has been drilled.

[Tripplebeards]

So how much are my 1oz coins of .999 fine troy silver worth?

[RogerDat]

The ridges and raised edge on coins are to prevent metal shaving. In the past an unscrupulous person could shave the edge of a coin back a little bit for the precious metal. Do a bunch of coins and you would have a fair pile of silver or gold shavings and most wouldn't notice the slightly smaller coin.

I assume that is what is being done with a drilled ingot? A core of precious metal is drilled out and the cavity is filled with base metal while the hole is plugged with "real" metal so testing the surface yields "real" but the thief has taken several oz. out of the core. Sneaky eh? Only way to detect would probably be water displacement and weight to find if mass matches silver and weight matches stamped weight.

Me I would rather have a pantry full of coffee and canned food than a sack of silver coins. I know I can get a can of soup if I have a can of soup. If stores have no soup it doesn't matter what I have for currency. Recall the Jews in the ghettoes by the end were bartering gems for a handful of potatoes or some bread. Pretty sure our black market would be no different. Having potatoes or flour or other useful items insulates you from the market.

Precious metals are not generally a profit maker as much as they are a hedge against inflation. More profit in stocks but stocks are not going to protect assets from inflation.

[bangerjim]

So how much are my 1oz coins of .999 fine troy silver worth?
Google is your friend. Do a search for “spot price of silver”.

Last time I looked today it was $16.07/troy ounce.

Your coins shoud be worth spot + anything above that you can get. If they are assayed and sealed in certified marked plastic containers, that would bring a premimum price......with a metals dealer.

Bangerjim

[dragon813gt]

Consider junk silver.

This is what I typically buy. Yes, it’s not 100% pure silver. But it has the lowest premium over spot. You’re typically paying the spot price which you won’t be able to do w/ any other forms. APMEX usually has all types of junk silver for sale.

If you want to buy .999 pure then stick to US Silver Eagles and Canadian Silver Maple Leafs. These are known quality and available for bulk purchase. Stick w/ the bullion coins for this. You can buy proofs but unless they’re graded you’re paying extra for no reason.

Numismatic coins are another investment. But you have to know what you’re looking at. All the silver eagles I buy are numismatic. You pay a premium up front. But I can walk into any coin shop and they have a known value. For low mintage coins they’re an investment. A lot of people are turned off because at the end of the day it’s still just an ounce of silver. But even a graded standard mintage silver eagle gains value year over year. Search eBay for “silver eagle PF70” and start looking. Like I said, you have to know what you’re looking at but numismatic coins have additional value. But like anything. The person buying has to be willing to pay.

One last thing and I haven’t had time to read every post so someone else may have said it. Bars can be easily shaved. Coins can’t be. I don’t buy bars, even from known sources, because of this. I will buy silver eagle bullion coins. They’re a guaranteed one Troy ounce of .999 fine silver.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

[QUOTE=GOPHER SLAYER;4407511]The Lone Ranger didn't seem to have any trouble and he cast over a small

He didn't have any trouble outdrawing people who went for their hardware first, either.

Gold is mined in gold mines, but silver tends not to come from silver mines. If the price is good, they mine gold in worse places or work harder, produce more, and the price eases up. If the price is low, the more difficult or less remunerative mines cut back, and the price rises. There isn't really such a thing as a glut of gold, or a serious shortage. Prices are governed only by feelings of instability (inflation and/or political), or a boom in other commerce which inflates the demand for jewellery.

Silver is a byproduct, mostly of the lead which is used for batteries, roof flashing, bullets etc. So production is governed by the demand for lead. A glut or shortage of silver can happen, with the result that the price is more volatile.

This seems to suggest that gold is the right investment if you might have to sell at some definite but unpredictable point in time, probably of crisis. Silver is the one to get a big return by buying cheap and waiting for an advantageous time to sell for profit.

A disadvantage of silver is that it is easier to fake. No matter how you dilute gold or electrodeposit it on an ingot of base metal, it is going to have a reduced specific gravity, that of pure gold being greater than almost anything but mercury or uranium, both of which have their disadvantages for fakery. The traditional goldbrick-man's plated lead shouldn't fool anybody. Weigh your ingot dry and then suspended in water, and the dry weight divided by the difference between them is the specific gravity. Silver, however, can be mixed with or deposited as a layer on base metal with a convincing specific gravity.

[bangerjim]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Why I NEVER buy silver bars!!

[Recaster]

I make rings from old silver coins. The process requires me to punch out the center of the coins. I end up with quite a few coin "dots" that are 90% silver.

I have started refining this "scrap" to a level of purity approaching 99.9%. I have poured several 1 oz bars with the thought of investment but after reading this, no one would trust that my refined silver was silver.

Guess that is probably true. I will most likely dilute my "pure" silver to 92.5% and make sterling silver jewelry from it. Hope people believe it's really sterling.

[MaryB]

I make rings from old silver coins. The process requires me to punch out the center of the coins. I end up with quite a few coin "dots" that are 90% silver.

I have started refining this "scrap" to a level of purity approaching 99.9%. I have poured several 1 oz bars with the thought of investment but after reading this, no one would trust that my refined silver was silver.

Guess that is probably true. I will most likely dilute my "pure" silver to 92.5% and make sterling silver jewelry from it. Hope people believe it's really sterling.

Apmex Kitco buy scrap. They will test it after you send it in and pay spot minus whatever impurities minus a fee...

Or pour a fancy bar with a logo and sell on ebay as hand poured 1oz bars... they will sell at spot...

[bangerjim]

I make rings from old silver coins. The process requires me to punch out the center of the coins. I end up with quite a few coin "dots" that are 90% silver.

I have started refining this "scrap" to a level of purity approaching 99.9%. I have poured several 1 oz bars with the thought of investment but after reading this, no one would trust that my refined silver was silver.

Guess that is probably true. I will most likely dilute my "pure" silver to 92.5% and make sterling silver jewelry from it. Hope people believe it's really sterling.

You definitely have some nice paperweights there. That is about all they are worth unless they are assayed by a legitmate dealer/metals house and legitimately stamped/marked. And that processing will come right off the spot price which (in my educated opinion) is a little above pocket change value.

I do not mess with silver anything any more. I only stick with old $20 gold coins (St Gaudens). Beautiful coins!!

If anyone plans on investing in gold, be sure you get the real stuff IN YOUR HANDS, not some paper certificate some company somewhere sends you saying it is “in their vault’. If you can’t touch, hold, handle the gold, you don’t really own it. And why pay some bozo clown company storage fees for YOUR gold.

There are many various ways to invest in precious metals. Some are far superior to others!!!!! Do your research.........WELL.

Good luck in your investing plans in the precious metals markets.

Bangerjim

[Recaster]

Well I sell the rings for a fair profit, the dots are just something I'm messing with.

I have made rings from 1/2 oz and 1/4 oz gold coins. Beautiful. I still have the dots unaltered. They are 22 karat and probably worth their weight in gold :)

[Huskerguy]

This is the place I have used for years. Their prices and selection are good. I have never had a problem.

https://www.jmbullion.com/

There are too many options to go into great detail. I have some 1 ounce bars, some silver coins, silver rounds and partial silver U.S. Currency coins. Go the site I linked and see what past years' silver Liberty coins go for. There is both the silver content and the rarity factor whereas you won't get that with just your bars or rounds.

When/if I buy again I would go coins. Here is a link to the coins - note the Liberty American Silver Liberty. I have some from other places as well including Great Britain and Canada among others. Look around on the site and see what older Liberty coins go for.

Whatever you do, if you buy silver, buy from a reputable place. JM is very good as other others - I have used Provident and AMPEX but much less than JM. When it is time to buy I open the sites to all of them and start finding the deals. JM nearly always comes out on top unless there is something a bit unusual.

Hope this helps

[jimlj]

Precious metals are not generally a profit maker as much as they are a hedge against inflation.
There you have it folks. Look at the price of about any commodity in the late 1800's. Compare quantity you could buy for an ounce of gold against what you can get for the same ounce of gold today. Having said that, I purchase precious metals from time to time. Not necessarily as an investment but as a hedge against inflation. I have silver I purchased in the 80's, that factoring in inflation I'm coming up a bit short. If I had stuck that same money under the mattress, my 1980's $500 would be worth less than half that today.

[Lloyd Smale]

I always chuckle at guys that hoard gold or sliver for shtf situations. If things really to that bad there not going to be worth squat. What is really going to be valuable is food, water, guns, knives and ammo and TOILET PAPER! What good is gold if theres no where to spend it? Lead? well it would be worth something to me because I could cast bullets but truth be told I probably couldn't shoot up all the bullets I have casted already on the shelf and surely wouldn't be out target practicing or plinking anymore. the average guy has no use for lead what so ever. If they did you sure would look funny trying to escape civilization with a 1000 lbs of lead in your back pack! To make money maybe Gold but you had better hope the economy stays stable. If I had foresight I could have made a killing selling 22lr shells over the last 5 years. Could have bought bricks for 9.99 and saw them sell for as much as a 100 bucks. Ar15s? Same thing. I saw prices double overnight but you would have had to know when to dump them too because today that 600 dollar ar you bought 10 years ago and could have sold for a grand when he scares came is can be built for 375 bucks. If I had to predict the future and really wanted to invest I something that might make big gains and surely wont go any lower it would be cheap ar15s. An ounce of gold would buy you 3 of them. You could stick them under the bed, use them to defend your family or hunt with and if shtf they probably would be worth the weight in Gold. Even if shtf doesn't happen your sure not going to loose money. Selling them is as easy as going to the nearest gun shop and bottom line is you cant have fun with a chunk of gold.

[RogerDat]

What Loyd said is a better explanation of my silver might by soup but only if there is soup for sale, the can of soup I put in the pantry will insure I have soup.

I would only worry about sinking money into precious metals if all my real world financial uses for the money were already addressed. If I want to insure food then stock the pantry, same for toilet paper, or ammo, or components or.... Even dental or medical costs could fit in that category. Recall the tooth that was sensitive when Tom Hanks left on his trip? Yeah when his stuff hit the fan that tooth he was going to get looked at darn near killed him.

If you weld how much rod do you keep on hand? Case of oil for the generator and chain saw? Or just a single 1/2 bottle left from your last oil change? Boots or shoes? Jackets and sweatshirt and sweaters. Whole lot of these items get more expensive with time, and extremely valuable if times are tough. Bunch of pretty metal would be really low on my list. Below better Kerosene heater and spare wick to go with another 5 gallon can of kerosene in the shed. I use it in the winter and having it on hand means I can keep the enough of the house above freezing to protect the pipes and be comfortable in a power outage. Or pile of pretty metal. Hmmm. Take care of needs before investments.

Scrap dealers will melt your whole batch of precious metal into one bar. Drill a sample and pay on the sample. At least that was what they did for a friend who took a batch down to Tenn. Him a dog, a shotgun in a motor home.

[MaryB]

PM's are a PART of being prepared. IF we see a SHTF situation within a year people will start to form communities again and trade will resume. Will has eggs and needs wheat, Bob has wheat but doesn't need eggs, John needs eggs and has silver. John buys the eggs with silver, will turns around and uses it to buy the wheat, Bob uses the silver later on to buy beef...

Barter cannot be a complete economy, some form of currency will arise...

[Lloyd Smale]

Barter cannot be a complete economy, some form of currency will arise... As long as the factorys that use silver aren't up and running what good is it. Acient civilizations liked it for jewlry but it was free for the taking out of the ground and most already had food and other staples. Id still bet a 100 556 shells or 22 shells, toilet paper food medical supplys ect are going to buy you a lot more then a chunk of shiny metal.

Your silver and gold might be worth something again 20 years down the line but I doubt to many I a shtf situation are to conserned about shinny and will probably get a good education as to how frivolous it really is. I just don't see a lot of people who at that time are going to be conserned with wealth 20 years down the line.

I know if I had a case of rice and didn't know when or if I could get more a 5 lb bar of gold wouldn't buy one single bag. If I had a farm and needed gas or diesel to plow my fields to make the next batch of food that gas would be worth more then its weight in Gold. People think they have to have Gold so that when industry starts again and needs it where its really needed will have to buy from you. Bottom line is the gold that was in storage is still going to be available. Just look at how much gold is stored and how much is actually used for things other then jewelry throughout history and you will see how little need we really have for it.

I sure can live without gold. I sure cant without food and water. Personaly I think all this hub bub about keeping gold for shtf is just a ploy by the people that have it to keep prices up. In a true shtf situation walmarts grocery store is going to be in much more danger then fort knox. Gold might be worth more then paper money if shtf but then paper money is going to be poor fire starter and poor toilet paper.

Also keep in mind if the economy and the government start to make a comeback that during the depression they confiscated gold from the citizens and made it illegal to own and replace it with promissory notes. So if you have some youd better trade off some for some ammo because there probably coming for it. We will see then what value people put in it. Will it they be willing to die to keep it or will they save there bullets for when someone comes for that rice.

Bottom line is im going to go into a shtf situation with the only gold I have on my finger. I do have a LOT of ammo though and if things look like they might improve in the future I might part with a bit of ammo for a lot of gold. Those will be the smart ones. the ones that pick it up for about nothing because it wont buy a thing. Not the ones that buy it at 1200 bucks an once to swap for a box of ammo. Maybe in 20 years they will be the rich ones. I look at it logically. Whos more intelligent? The person who pays 1200 dollars for a piece of shinny metal that might buy a couple cans of food or a box of ammo or the person who buys 1200 dollars worth of food and ammo and gets 120,000 dollars worth of gold for it.

[rancher1913]

Id still bet a 100 556 shells or 22 shells, toilet paper food medical supplys ect are going to buy you a lot more then a chunk of shiny metal.

as soon as you trade those they will be coming back at you, just the lead part, and then all your supplies will be taken. any body that says silver and gold have no place in a shtf situation has not studied history. I will have plenty of food to sell in a shtf situation but I will only take gold or silver, you can have the paper money.

[snowwolfe]

I could care less about buying precious metal for when shtf situations. I buy it as an investment and hope to make money in the process.

[Lloyd Smale]

now that makes sense.
I could care less about buying precious metal for when shtf situations. I buy it as an investment and hope to make money in the process.

[bangerjim]

We only bought gold for investment porposes, not to sell. Same with the many various stocks we own, Never sell, always buy good ones that pay dividends. One can live off dividends if you own the RIGHT good stocks and have enough of them. Trust me!

Bingo! That is how monetary security works.

Do your research on stocks and metals B4 ever buying anything. And plan on holding them! I have many stock purchased years ago at $7-20/share that are now worth 80-100X or more that value...if I would ever sell. But why? And pay cap gains? It is there if we ever need it.

If one is looking at doing the same thing with metals.....better find another hobby. It ain’t gonna happen.

Bangerjim

[dragon813gt]

In a true SHTF situation everyone will have to determine what has value to them. I don’t drink so booze has no value outside of wound sterilization. And w/ how cheap isopropyl alcohol is I can stock that in large quantities to have on hand. So while someone might no want silver or gold there will be plenty that will accept it. It’s inevitable a form of currency will be established. We’ve been using them for thousands of years.

Outside of a meteor impact or Yellowstone eruption I don’t ever see this type of scenario happening. I’ve seen plenty of countries fall in my short life. None of them have gone back far enough that there wasn’t an accepted form of currency.

[Char-Gar]

All that glitters is not gold and all that shines is not silver. Buy from a reputable dealer with a good reputation.

[merlin101]

Beware of fleabay! I was looking around and came across some very cheap 'silver' dollars but noticed that it was coming from China, so I took another look at the pics and notice that " In god we trust" was spelled trvst! Easy to spot and found multiple sellers of them even here in the US and selling for a real price.

I have quite a bit of silver stored up, most in old coins and 99.9 rounds a few bars, but all and I mean ALL the rounds and bars were bought from well known sellers.

[JimB..]

eBay has been cracking down on fakes for years, but sellers are even marking stuff, in small print, as reproductions or plated but people buy them as if they were silver at a good price. Don’t be that guy.

[Chad5005]

most of my silver is US and Canadian coins,better safe than sorry

[bangerjim]

In a true SHTF situation everyone will have to determine what has value to them. I don’t drink so booze has no value outside of wound sterilization. And w/ how cheap isopropyl alcohol is I can stock that in large quantities to have on hand. So while someone might no want silver or gold there will be plenty that will accept it. It’s inevitable a form of currency will be established. We’ve been using them for thousands of years.

Outside of a meteor impact or Yellowstone eruption I don’t ever see this type of scenario happening. I’ve seen plenty of countries fall in my short life. None of them have gone back far enough that there wasn’t an accepted form of currency.

There is a little thing called a “GAMMA RAY BURST” that could wipe out the entire planet’s electric infrastructure in a blink of an eye! THAT is what you should be worried about.....not Yellowstone’s farting. Or a meteor strike. A burst is totally non-detectable due to the fact gamma rays travel at the speed of light! We won’ t know one is comming until it has past us.Happened back in the 1880’s and wiped out all the telephone lines. Think how we have evolved since 1880!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have just been darned lucky up to now!!!!

Bangerjim

[MaryB]

The 1880 event was a sun flare, we now have 4 satellites watching the sun from all angles... It takes 24-48 hours for the coronal mass ejection to reach us and do damage. The initial radio burst is not strong enough to cause damage.

[dragon813gt]

There is a little thing called a “GAMMA RAY BURST” that could wipe out the entire planet’s electric infrastructure in a blink of an eye! THAT is what you should be worried about.....not Yellowstone’s farting. Or a meteor strike. A burst is totally non-detectable due to the fact gamma rays travel at the speed of light! We won’ t know one is comming until it has past us.Happened back in the 1880’s and wiped out all the telephone lines. Think how we have evolved since 1880!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have just been darned lucky up to now!!!!

Bangerjim

The 1880s event was not a gamma ray burst as Mary has pointed out. I could list other events than the two I mentioned. My point is that it’s going to take a large scale natural disaster to knock us back hundreds of years. We won’t see a meteor coming just like the gamma ray bursts. There may be some warning that Yellowstone will erupt. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Regardless I don’t live my days worrying about any of these events. I’m of the mind that it’s better to be one of the ones killed instantly then live through the fallout.

[jonp]

If SHTF all the silver and gold on the planet won't buy you a loaf of bread, it sure won't buy any from me. When your trying to eat to stay alive a bag of diamonds is not tasty and only a fool would trade his away his food for some. It's like those idiots in New Orleans days after Katrina. No power, no food, floods and they were running out of WalMarts carrying big screen tv's.

I buy US or Canadian silver as a hedge against inflation as those are recognized for purity and weight.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If SHTF all the silver and gold on the planet won't buy you a loaf of bread, it sure won't buy any from me. When your trying to eat to stay alive a bag of diamonds is not tasty and only a fool would trade his away his food for some. It's like those idiots in New Orleans days after Katrina. No power, no food, floods and they were running out of WalMarts carrying big screen tv's.

I buy US or Canadian silver as a hedge against inflation as those are recognized for purity and weight.

You surely might be right, with your thoughts conveyed in your first sentence.

>>>BUT, you also give evidence to the contrary...meaning, I'd bet dollars to donuts that if that TV thief also grabbed a bag of Cheetos and a loaf of Bread, that he would probably swap that loaf FOR a gold colored chain with his favorite Rapper's moniker on it. LOL :wink:
:holysheep

[rancher1913]

you guys are thinking on too small a scale as to what gold or silver will do if the shtf.

yes, if I only have a couple loafs of bread, I'm not taking any amount of anything for them if my family needs them.

now look at the bigger picture, I have a huge grain bin full of wheat that can be made into a million loafs of bread, do you think I need to trade for something joe blow has, highly unlikely, but if a fellow shows up with a semi and gold or silver he will leave with a load of wheat. think you will just come and take the wheat by force, hope you get the bin that was not just treated with foxtoxin for bugs.

farmer brown down the road is in debt and the bank is foreclosing, do you think the bank will take your loafs of bread to purchase his farm, doubt it, but they would take gold or silver and now you own a farm.

in Colorado they have property tax and if you don't pay they auction your land off, I bet the government will take pm's as payment and let you keep your property.

[Pb Burner]

Beware of fleabay! I was looking around and came across some very cheap 'silver' dollars but noticed that it was coming from China, so I took another look at the pics and notice that " In god we trust" was spelled trvst! Easy to spot and found multiple sellers of them even here in the US and selling for a real price.

I have quite a bit of silver stored up, most in old coins and 99.9 rounds a few bars, but all and I mean ALL the rounds and bars were bought from well known sellers.

"In God we trvst" is how the USMint made Peace dollars. I'm not sure why, but that's how trust is minted on a genuine US Peace dollar from 1921-1928 and 1934-1935.

[bangerjim]

The 1880 event was a sun flare, we now have 4 satellites watching the sun from all angles... It takes 24-48 hours for the coronal mass ejection to reach us and do damage. The initial radio burst is not strong enough to cause damage.

I don’t care what you call it.......GRB or a sun flare....”it” is still something we cannot control and could be a SHTF event. Flares can do extreme damage to our modern electronic infrastructure!!!!!!! And we live by our ‘gadgets” today, even if you live way out in a swamp. We just have not had one in a very long time.

Having satellites watching the sun give me very little peace of mind! Only thing those are good for is to tell us we are 24-48 hours away from the potential beginning of the end of our electronic existence. (??)

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Gives you time to pull the plugs! :-D

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

.....

[jonp]

You surely might be right, with your thoughts conveyed in your first sentence.

>>>BUT, you also give evidence to the contrary...meaning, I'd bet dollars to donuts that if that TV thief also grabbed a bag of Cheetos and a loaf of Bread, that he would probably swap that loaf FOR a gold colored chain with his favorite Rapper's moniker on it. LOL :wink:
:holysheep

lol, can't argue with that reasoning

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

.....

[RogerDat]

Precious metals move opposite many other investments. So while stock market is strong, with moderate inflation noise to discourage investment then equities will be up and precious metals lower. IOU's (bonds, T-Bills) return or yield more if people are getting out of stocks. Precious metals are a place to "stash" cash during a stock market downturn, they provide a safe harbor. Now bonds might return a known interest but if inflation outstrips that rate you are losing value. Precious metal returns an unknown return but inflation won't outpace it, more likely inflation will drive precious metal prices up even faster as inflation rises.

As part of the investment mix it makes some sense to hold a fairly modest portion in precious metals as a hedge, or as an investment with somewhat moderate downside risk. You might lose some profits, or if you buy high and are forced to sell into a down metals market you lose some but not likely to lose the whole investment. Bonds can default, companies can fold or be hit with negative outcomes or events driving the stock into the gutter. Assuming you bought at gold peak and sold into the valley you would still be better off than bonds paying 20 cents on the dollar or $20 stock that is now trading at $1.37.

Beans, band-aids, bullets. I like that. I can't lose if I buy something I will use in the normal course of events. I eat soup, I eat rice, and chili and canned fruits and vegetables. I use toilet paper. Ammo. First Aid kit. Kerosene and propane and gasoline. Seeds in the freezer for next year bought when they go on sale this year. All stuff that will be used if nothing goes wrong. And if things go wrong enough that having a 5 year supply of toilet paper on hand makes me a wise investor then all I can say is keep the corn cobs after you shell the corn because we are going to a subsistence life style and corn cobs are usable if not great or pleasant wipes. That white pot ash from the fire is useful too.

I have investments intended to supplement retirement. Help me live in the style I'm accustomed to, indoors and with plumbing, lights and amenities like those. Not going to invest much in pretty but non-functional items for shtf scenario. Ok I might make a shotgun dripper and the only excuse I could make would be post apocalypse need to make shot. I'm lying but if it gets the cost past the budget director I'll use it. See having lived through Y2K there is a tendency for me to be skeptical. I want enough cash on hand that if the network which allows debit cards to work goes down I can still buy some fuel and groceries if needed until it gets fixed. In that scenario my silver quarter is worth exactly 25 cents to the store or gas station.

Better off with parts for a still in shtf than you are with precious metals. You can spend gold and silver but you can make a living with a still. Have a shelf full of fish or a fishing boat? Hmmm. You know there is a bit in Game of Thrones during a siege when a leader is explaining that the thing about sieges and tough times is they make the scoundrels wealthy and the wealthy and industrious people poor from buying food from the scoundrels that will steal, hoard, and sell food or medicine on the black market to the desperate for outrageous piles of gold and gems. Not sure that wouldn't apply to a shtf scenario too.

About my only investment in shtf supplies would be lead powder and primers, plus a couple of die sets I don't really need but are very common calibers. Thing is I'll use the components, they provide present day value, plus insulation from future spot scarcities or price increases. Even the dies allow friends or family to come over and load a box if needed, which offers a present day value. I'm not buying 20 year sealed food supply for 6 months. I would be pissed every time I looked at it. Stocked pantry shelf, looks good to me. Especially if I catch a good sale.

[FISH4BUGS]

I think the bottom line of my original post was simply to put something away as a hedge against inflation.
I have plenty of food put away in freezers with 50 gallons of generator fuel backup. Starting to harvest veggies and put them into the freezer.
Plenty of guns and ammo on hand. Plenty of components. Plenty of parts to build a fair number of AR's.
I am surrounded by farmers that I can (and have) bartered with. As their hired woodchuck assassin they are grateful for every carcass. :)
IMHO, at today's prices silver is a good hedge against inflation. It may go up but it won't go down all that much, if any.
Jeez....I am starting to sound like a prepper. Not a prepper, just covering my butt.
But you never know.

[snowwolfe]

My food prepping consists of keeping a huge bag of rice, beans, and flour in the pantry as well as being stocked with our favorite consumables. That and two full freezers should keep us for months as we have plenty of gas to operate a small generator.

Onto the silver again.............buy a little each month if you can with prices this low. It will average out over time. Take whatever you have that is extra spending money and put the metals in the "bank". Hopefully at some point a nice profit will happen. But if it doesnt you will not lose much buying it in the $15-16 range. With most banks still paying less than 1/2% interest your risk is small.

[Lloyd Smale]

good in theory but now everyone knows you have it. How long can you defend it against say 50 hungry armed attackers. A much smarter thing to do with your wheat then trading it for gold would be to feed enough people that you really could defend your stash against a mob of armed people. Bottom line too is very few of us have a grain bin or a stash big enough to do what you do. Most of us have food for a couple months and will need to either take more by force or by trade and ammo, toilet paper, booze and cigarettes will buy you more then shiny metal will. Especially if theres no end in sight for the situation. Now if your talking something we know we will recover from in a couple months then your gold will buy a lot.
you guys are thinking on too small a scale as to what gold or silver will do if the shtf.

yes, if I only have a couple loafs of bread, I'm not taking any amount of anything for them if my family needs them.

now look at the bigger picture, I have a huge grain bin full of wheat that can be made into a million loafs of bread, do you think I need to trade for something joe blow has, highly unlikely, but if a fellow shows up with a semi and gold or silver he will leave with a load of wheat. think you will just come and take the wheat by force, hope you get the bin that was not just treated with foxtoxin for bugs.

farmer brown down the road is in debt and the bank is foreclosing, do you think the bank will take your loafs of bread to purchase his farm, doubt it, but they would take gold or silver and now you own a farm.

in Colorado they have property tax and if you don't pay they auction your land off, I bet the government will take pm's as payment and let you keep your property.

[rancher1913]

we have more than enough "fed" people to defend it already, anybody that thinks they are just going to "take" if the shtf will be dead early on, yah you might take one or two houses but there is always a butcher for every bull.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Like so many threads, this one went far, far afield didn't it? There is a great deal of truth in what almost everyone has said here. Personally, although I have some gold and silver coins stashed away, I am not seeking more. I considered my financial circumstances, likely remaining life span, and anticipated needs and quit acquiring at that amount. I put it somewhere and put it out of my mind, and really don't think about it. If it increases in value so much the better, but it's just there in case I should need it. As for the food supply, I've also taken care of that for about 5 years. Stocked up on primers, powder, and lead on the theory that a boolit caster will never be out of ammo, and a moderate amount of manufactured ammo as well. But the truth of the matter is that you can only do what you can do, and there's always the unexpected. You can't eat silver or gold, but just maybe it will buy you something to eat. Maybe not. But isn't that what life is all about? You do the best you can and try to cover the eventualities.

[Big Tom]

I bought and still buy "a few" silver bars and Silver Dollars - I buy them in sealed plastic packages with certifications on them, so selling should be a non-issue. For me, not so much about SHTF, but an easy way to save some money that I have full control over, without the risk of losing it all.
Agree with the "be cautious" warnings here when it comes to high value coins and non-standard bars.

[mold maker]

If your knowledge of collector coins is lacking, stay away. Common silver rounds and bars are rarely faked, and the value is tied to spot price. It still pays to stick with recognized mints.
Everyone brings up the SHTF and while it isn't impossible, it is highly doubtful that anyone here will see it. We might have to travel some distance to find work or better our position. Transporting that silo full of grain or multi years food supply may be impossible. Having a mattress stuffed with $100 dollar bills will only cause a sore back and an empty belly.
there is no easier way to take your savings with you than precious metals and gems unless you can still trust the banking system. But remember they can only exist as long as it is profitable off of you.

[bangerjim]

If your knowledge of collector coins is lacking, stay away. Common silver rounds and bars are rarely faked, and the value is tied to spot price. It still pays to stick with recognized mints.
Everyone brings up the SHTF and while it isn't impossible, it is highly doubtful that anyone here will see it. We might have to travel some distance to find work or better our position. Transporting that silo full of grain or multi years food supply may be impossible. Having a mattress stuffed with $100 dollar bills will only cause a sore back and an empty belly.
there is no easier way to take your savings with you than precious metals and gems unless you can still trust the banking system. But remember they can only exist as long as it is profitable off of you.

Don't count out the SHTF happening in our lifetimes!.............

Just read where the park services closed down part of Yellowstone due to a huge 100 foot gash opening up very unexpectedly. And the earthquake activity up there has been increasing significantly over the past months. Yellowstone has no gone off in over 650,000 years and it due.

If it did blow, 87,000 people around there would be killed immediately and over 1/2 the US would become uninhabitable in just a few days!

That is a lot of "S" hitting the "F" in my book! Mabe you in NC might not see it immediately, but the ash cloud would block out the sun globally and lead to a "nuclear winter" for quite and extended period. The Midwest would cease grain production. Most crops everywhere would die. Not a pretty picture.

And look at what is going on in Hawaii and other locations on the Ring of Fire around the Pacific. Those plates are shifting (or NOT) and something is brewing. Mabe not tomorrow.....or even 100's years from now, but it is a potential disaster waiting to happen. Some day.

So the doom and gloom scenarios are not just nuclear bombs, gamma ray bursts, meteors, etc. Earth itself is a pressure cooker waiting to blow.

banger

[mold maker]

Do you have faith? Eventually all things will end. At that time all the wealth, food, and planning in the world wont prevent the inevitable. Infinity is just a dream of short sited people.
Every morning I awake on the green side (while it still exist) I am grateful, but I do not fear the end or obsess over physical possessions.

[Mr_Sheesh]

The Yellowstone gash is landslide related, I'm told. Not close enough to go check it though. Problem nowadays is that there are so many "Iffy" data sources that finding out what the heck is actually going on, is next to impossible, seems at times.

[snowwolfe]

Back on tract.................the price is still dropping. Thinking seriously of adding some more to the stash. Current spot is $15.29. I might hold out for the $14 range.

[JimB..]

Heard on NPR yesterday from a Democrat that so long as the economy holds they do not believe that they have a candidate that can get the WH away from Trump. If that thinking becomes pervasive I think a $14 target for silver might not be low enough.

[mold maker]

Never for short term gains but purchasing 5-10 oz on a regular basis as long as its falling is wise. Eventually it will be profitable regardless and a wind fall is always possible. It's a poor mans stock market and more fun then a piggy bank.