Posted on 03/07/2009 12:07:33 PM PST by dennisw
With prices setting new records, the worried wealthy are piling up ingots in home safes. NEWSWEEK goes shopping for precious metal.
On the day I held the gold bar in my hand, it was worth $100,000. My companion—an established, accomplished, affluent businessman of retirement age—had bought it as a hedge against the sinking Dow and his fear that Obama's stimulus package will inevitably trigger wild inflation. We had picked it up in the basement of an HSBC bank branch in midtown Manhattan. When I handed it back to him, he put it in his briefcase. We went upstairs, past guards, through metal doors. Out on the street, we said goodbye and I watched him go, a tall, thin man carrying a $100,000 briefcase. He doesn't want me to tell you his name—or anything about him—because he's keeping the gold in a safe in his basement. His friends, are doing the same thing. "There is an increase in the number of wise, reasonable, well-read, well-intentioned people who are buying some gold and putting it aside," says Dennis Gartman, editor of The Gartman Letter, a daily analysis of financial news.
John Wynocker, a hydraulics inspector, lives in Cincinnati and has been buying gold and silver coins and bars for 15 years, but since the passage of Obama's stimulus bill, he has been motivated to buy more. He is hiding the precious metal in places where not even he can find it, he jokes. Are you burying it? I ask. "Perhaps," he says. "Our country is so far in debt, it's staggering. I'd like to retire someday. What else am I going to do to protect myself?"
the number of Americans who are taking delivery of gold coins and bars is rising.
The last time gold sales spiked so dramatically was Y2K,
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
I have said that when Newsweek starts reporting on how to buy gold, we’ll either be nearing the peak of a bubble (I doubt it) or at the start of a mania-fueled rise (possible).
Even with a bag of gold, if there is nothing to buy we are all poor......
Prepare now or suffer later.
Stay Safe AB !
You too.
I don't know how it's possible to pump this much money into the system without having massive inflation down the road.
In a chaotic breakdown, antibiotics will be worth their weight in gold - maybe more. Food, water, cell phone chargers, solar powered lights, locks, fences ... the list goes on...
For reasons unknown the picture’s not loading. But please don’t let people know what you have. We really might be headed into bad times ... don’t tempt fate.
IMHO bullion in the form of coin , jewelry or ingots will be a post disaster resource. But I agree on the silver coins being easier to trade with if trade goods are available.
The biggest problem is that it would only require a "stroke of the pen" by Obama to outlaw the private ownership of gold again - done by presidential fiat, NOT an act of congress. Then, anyone trying to sell the gold they have would become a felon.
Mark
That's a very timely post! Earlier I was reading about the coming hyper inflation. When that hits the fan, perhaps it will be time to trade one of those big bars for 10M or 20M of those $1,000 bills. Maybe more?
Alas, gold bars are above my pay grade. However a small but respectable arsenal is NOT.
The two best uses I can see for it during a SHTF situation are land, and paying a government to allow you to immigrate to another country. Mostly gold is a temporary store of currency to see your wealth safely through the fan, and be able to convert back into another more useable paper money at sometime in the future. If we find ourselves in an actual fan situation, having stored food and supplies so that you don't need to trade till things settle down is the best.
I’ve been selling for the last 3 months and started buying back in a few weeks ago. I’ve been buying the smaller deniminations though; 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz.
I had about 54 lbs of scrap silver change (pre-1965 quarters and dimes) and although I was selling it off a couple of months ago, I’ve stopped and am holding on to the rest (about 25 lbs).
Neat picture. I can’t part with my 2 double eagles or my one little 2 1/2 dollar piece, oh, forgot about the $50 buffalo I got when they came out a few years ago! I just like having them around, along with the lesser old silver coins. Neat little pieces of history. Wish I’d bought more back when gold was cheap! Cheers!
In the classic SHTF scenario, private holders of gold are pursued by mobs, arrested by the government, and in either case - dispossessed at best; killed at worst.
Silver dimes and quarters, however, go well with bullets and beans in a survival scenario.
I’d just smoke the tobacco and drink the whiskey. good bye savings!
Wonder if I take my gold wedding band from my ex to WalMart to use to buy some beans to store in the pantry? LOL
Imagine trying to buy stuff with a thousand dollar bill.
Well, you can't cut of a $10 piece of a thousand dollar bill.
On the other hand, if you got a sharp pocket knife you can whittle off enough gold from your gold bar to buy some groceries.
I agree but premiums on gold coins are a rip off today. Gold bars trade much closer to the gold price.
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