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Buying Gold, Silver etc.
Vanity | 11-7--08 | Legend Has It

Posted on 11/07/2008 5:48:00 PM PST by LegendHasIt

SO, after losing a third of its value in the last year and several tens of thousands in the last month, I'm going to get out of my money market account before 0bama and his minions steal and tax the rest of it away.

Thinking of puting about half of it into real estate, and maybe putting the other half into precious metal bullion/coins.

I notice that there is some delay in order fulfillment throughout the market, but was hoping that some of you guys knew which brokers were best, in terms of prompt delivery, honesty and price.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: gold; platinum; silver
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To: Gorzaloon
If the metals are being bought for a Doomsday scenario with thoughts of bartering for food, one's money would go further buying and stocking rad-sterilized food in the first place. And ammunition.

Suppose you bought an ounce of gold at today's price of $737.10. Will it be worth $1,000 when you liquidate it? There is at least as good a chance it will be back to 400. Look at the last year's changes in base metals for an example of volatility.

But if there is a Dooomsday scenario then the US$ will become worthless and will not appreciate relative to gold.

And while you are right that gold is losing value now in a deflation in US$ terms, try pricing gold in Zimbabwean currency right now and tell me that one would have been better off not buying gold.

All fiat currencies eventually go to zero. As you point out, it is the timing that is tough to figure out

I definitely want some of that food...got any good sources?

jas3
21 posted on 11/07/2008 6:39:58 PM PST by jas3
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To: 4rcane
buy gold backed securities

Most people are using the Exchange Traded Fund "GLD" for that purpose. The miners have all gotten crushed.

The advantages to an ETF are rapid liquidity (trades like a stock) so you can hedge a portfolio or play price fluctuations without wating for a big chunk of metal to come via Fedex. You can also put stop-loss orders underneath an ETF, so if it reverses you will get out. ETFs also can be used for covered call writing to produce an income stream.

Anybody who wants more info, PM me. As I am regulated by the SEC, I will not give buy/sell advice over the net, but I will explain strategies that can be employed in general terms.

If you want to know what to do for your own situation, we will have to talk on the phone.

22 posted on 11/07/2008 6:40:00 PM PST by Republican Extremist
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To: Argus
Can you still buy Canadian maple leafs on the open market?

Yes, in the following increments...

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf 1 oz., ½ oz., ¼ oz., 1/10 oz.

23 posted on 11/07/2008 6:42:13 PM PST by Republican Extremist
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To: hinckley buzzard

Hinkley has it correct. I deal in metals. I do read what gold is doing. Buy the physical, not paper. Huge difference.


24 posted on 11/07/2008 6:44:04 PM PST by Shyla
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To: ChetNavVet

There is nothing like rolling around in it. ;)

25 posted on 11/07/2008 6:46:09 PM PST by Republican Extremist
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To: LegendHasIt

You should do some research on deflation, which we are in now. And then hyperinflation which we will soon be in. Some investors think Gold and precious medals would do well and some do not. I for one, feel storing real commodities, food, water, supplies needed for the production of food may one day be necessary. The owning of Real food products protect you against hyperinflation. Maybe not an easy task or even realistic, especially trying to store. But these do maintain real value in a depression. Lets face it, Gold does not feed someone in a real depression. Most of us would be without jobs to provide for our families. I for one do not think we are going through a normal business cycle. Especially, if Obama really follows through on his tax plans against business. Small business makes up about 85% of our employment. His tax plan will stop the financial engine, maybe for a long time. You can’t tax and spend your way out of a bad economy! Not to mention pay off your debt that way. Our bonds that we sell to other countries to keep us afloat are soon going to be worth negative growth, who wants to purchase that. They can print all the money they want, but its just paper and it won’t make it more valuable. And it will not get us out of the DEBT!!!


26 posted on 11/07/2008 6:48:53 PM PST by jmj3jude
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To: hinckley buzzard

Thanks.
Pretty much what I intended anyway, but you supplied some details I wasn’t aware of.

I’m going to need a precious metals broker. That’s why I started this thread; Just to see who other people have dealt with, rather than just general investment advice... Got the what and how covered, I mostly just need to know the who ;-).

Thanks again.


27 posted on 11/07/2008 6:48:54 PM PST by LegendHasIt (Vote for Common Sense '08 ......... OOPS! too late.)
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To: jmj3jude

Thanks, but I don’t really need to do any research. I know what I want, and it is only peripherally related to the general economy projections and political machinations. I’d be doing the same thing if McCain had won... Maybe just a little less urgency.

I’m really looking for a Who, rather than a what and a why.

Although I’d be glad to participate in a discussion of that sort if someone wants to start another thread.


28 posted on 11/07/2008 6:57:17 PM PST by LegendHasIt (Vote for Common Sense '08 ......... OOPS! too late.)
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To: hinckley buzzard
You definitely want to buy the physical metal, not paper surrogates. There is a retail shortage that has hamstrung conventional sales by the treasury etc. This is not a total shortage but a market distortion caused by speculators. Try coin shows where it's cash on the barrelhead, and make gradual purchases to increase your stash. Forget about ETF's they do not have the metal to back up their shares, in violation of SEC regulations (except CEF, I believe, the Canadian metals fund). And do not expect to make a windfall overnight. Precious metals do not follow obvious free market expectations because the actual total market cap is small and can be effectively manipulated by a few large commercial speculators. But, if you go the private purchase route and buy real metal to have and hold, at least you will be invisible to the gubbermint. And that makes it the safest move available.

That depends on what you want to do.

ETFs are great for speculating on price movements in metals and other commodities, but you are right about cashing them in for real stuff that will hurt your foot if dropped.

Bullion is great as a hedge against total economic collapse, but getting in and out rapidly is a problem.

Different tools for different problems.

When it all boils down to it, copper jacketed lead could be more valuable than gold.

29 posted on 11/07/2008 7:00:52 PM PST by Republican Extremist
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To: Republican Extremist
When it all boils down to it, copper jacketed lead could be more valuable than gold.

And I have had THAT particular situation covered for decades.

Folks, This (as you know, R. Extremist) isn't about survivalism, investment strategy etc. I'm just tired of my paper assets going down the drain, in ways that not even my broker has control over, much less myself having any control and I'm too lazy to want to do my own paper investing.

30 posted on 11/07/2008 7:16:12 PM PST by LegendHasIt (Vote for Common Sense '08 ......... OOPS! too late.)
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To: Gorzaloon
Suppose you bought an ounce of gold at today's price of $737.10. Will it be worth $1,000 when you liquidate it? There is at least as good a chance it will be back to 400. Look at the last year's changes in base metals for an example of volatility.

What do you think of platinum?

31 posted on 11/07/2008 7:20:43 PM PST by tacticalogic ("Oh bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: LegendHasIt

They are coming..... for your wallet.

32 posted on 11/07/2008 7:46:58 PM PST by Republican Extremist
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To: Republican Extremist

It doesn't just apply to swords and spears. ;-)

33 posted on 11/07/2008 7:54:50 PM PST by LegendHasIt (Vote for Common Sense '08 ......... OOPS! too late.)
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To: LegendHasIt

Come and take them....

34 posted on 11/07/2008 8:06:59 PM PST by Republican Extremist
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To: tacticalogic
What do you think of platinum?

I expect it to go down directly proportional to car sales. Catalytic converters use the most of it.(And they are being recycled more and more by junkies.). It is used in industrial and polymer catalysts, too. But if general sales and manufacturing continue to drop, people will also be buying less silicone rubber, etc.

The other platinum group metas have been dropping as well. Palladium had a big investment rush when "Cold Fusion" hit the papers years ago and was artificially inflated for a while. Ruthenium has dropped.

If one wants to "salvage something from the wreckage" and just survive, buying it as a currency might be acceptable to some, but the buying should really have happened a couple of years ago. It was supposed to be "Buy low, Sell high", and the people who have been selling the last few months are the ones who made the gains-The gains that pay for network TV ads.

35 posted on 11/08/2008 3:15:01 AM PST by Gorzaloon (Roark, Architect.)
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To: jas3
And while you are right that gold is losing value now in a deflation in US$ terms, try pricing gold in Zimbabwean currency right now and tell me that one would have been better off not buying gold.

Oh, with that currency, goats and chickens, maize, sugar, ANYTHING would have been a good buy. We could have gotten rich on pocket lint, with a million percent inflation.

All fiat currencies eventually go to zero. As you point out, it is the timing that is tough to figure out

That's why I am sitting here, and not in the Cayman Islands, counting my money. I did NOT sell gold when it hit 800 once years ago, holding out for 1000. Then it went to 400. Then I sold it when I should not have. So take anything I say with a grain of salt because obviously I am an @sshole!!(Realizing that if I had made a correct guess about peaks and bottoms, of course, I would have been a revered "Expert!)

I definitely want some of that food...got any good sources?

All the places selling MRE-Type military or survivalist stuff are backordered and way overpriced. But in the supermarket are those room-temperature stored microwaveable meals at much lower prices. Even Taco Bell puts them out, if you are into gastronomical self-abuse. (Just joking..actually they are not bad.)

The manufacturers would rather die than put scary words like "Radiation" on their packages..but of course they are.

36 posted on 11/08/2008 3:29:11 AM PST by Gorzaloon (Roark, Architect.)
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To: LegendHasIt
And if worse comes to worse as far as bullion prices go, I can start making jewelery again.

Food for thought: In the Carter Depression I did well.

Everyone who was laid off suddenly became a "Silversmith" of varying degrees of expertise. Flea markets and crafts fairs became a whole underground cash economy. Usually, when the unemployment benefits ran out, the less skilled ones were shaken out and went back to manstream jobs.

37 posted on 11/08/2008 3:33:15 AM PST by Gorzaloon (Roark, Architect.)
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To: hinckley buzzard
But, if you go the private purchase route and buy real metal to have and hold, at least you will be invisible to the gubbermint. And that makes it the safest move available.

Fly under the radar and buy casting grain, 14 or 18K. If worse comes to worse, you can weigh out small amounts and use it for currency to buy food, the way miners and gold panners payed for their whiskey. Why pay the value-added for minted coins and have the paper trail?

38 posted on 11/08/2008 3:40:38 AM PST by Gorzaloon (Roark, Architect.)
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To: LegendHasIt

Any of you gold folks aware of this?

Venezuela offers Russians big gold projects

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/americas/2008/11/08/182231/Venezuela-offers.htm


39 posted on 11/08/2008 4:06:11 AM PST by EBH (The Day the Music Died)
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To: EBH

Yes, I saw that. Or something similar from another source.

Lot of gold in Venezuela. Don’t know how good this particular area is.

Years ago I had a friend down there that ran a dredge along one of the rivers. He actually got gold and diamonds at the same time. I thought that was pretty cool.


40 posted on 11/08/2008 10:45:50 PM PST by LegendHasIt (Vote for Common Sense '08 ......... OOPS! too late.)
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