You can't go wrong with steel - everyone uses it...
Whatever you do, remember that the markups and commissions paid on both buying and selling bullion coins are going to be very high relative to the metal value. Also, the storage of physical metal (i.e. safe boxes) is not free, thus metal futures might be the thing to look at.
I have one word for you: Plastics.
Buy into a mutual fund that specializes in Precious Metals & Mining. They invest in companies that explore for, mine, or make investments in precious metals.
AMMO,the CURRENCY of the 21st CENTURY!
My fav is copper. Not the metal itself, but mining companies. Phelps is the best for players as far as investment [the price jumps up and down a lot when the price of copper itself moves a little], with Rio Tinto doing not badly.
Read up on the Hunt Brothers and the Silver market of the 70s if you want to see how you can get really stuck.
Guns and Ammo will provide in hard times better than "precious metals" unless you plan on eating the metal.
Invest in Tennessee_Bob. That's right - send me a check. You'll have my thanks and undying gratitude - and you can take that to the bank.
Investing in cigarettes and booze hasn't gone wrong for me yet...
Right now platinum is hot. Gold and silver just had a runup and now are cooling back down for maybe a week to 2 weeks, then they're start their upward climb through the summer when the normal bigger gains for both begin around Sept through Dec. I will start to swing trade selling 1/2 of my shares on the peaks and buy more in the troughs.
I think owning gold bullion (not coins) should be a piece of your investments as it is the best protector against inflation which I believe we are heading into sometime. And also if there is a big drop in the markets PM stocks will go down with them in the beginning which will be very painful. I'm watching this economy like a hawk to see if a mania comes around which will be the signal things are getting ready to blow.
If you want protection from the falling dollar, just buy some gold bullion or coins or set up a bank account in swiss francs. And a thousand dollars (face value) of silver and a bunch of ammo for your emergency supply kit won't hurt.
None of the above.
Silver ..... GOLD!
I think you can now buy common stock on the NYSE or NASDAQ which mirrors the price of gold.
The symbol? GOLD or GGG? I forget.
Anyway, that is much better than taking physical possession of bullion, considering the markup when you buy, the markdown when you sell, and then the worries about where to store the stuff.
I bought four American Eagle 1 oz coins thinking I could simply sell them easily.
Although I made about $50 on each coin, I ended up having to drive about 35 miles just to find a place willing to buy the coins.
Even then I didn't get spot price, but spot-minus-3 percent.
Like I said, the best thing is this new stock that basically mirrors the price of gold.
10% gold and 90% silver.
Right now the ratio of silver to gold ounces favors silver.
When the ratio shrinks to less than 25:1 then start swaping the silver for gold.
Platinum isn't really money.
I recommend gold,silver & LEAD, and lots of that too!
Coalbed methane.