Is anybody still buying silver and gold?

Discussion in 'Bullion Investing' started by ahearn, Jul 27, 2011.

  1. Daniel M. Ryan

    Daniel M. Ryan New Member

    Well, you got your buying opportunity. Silver's down more than three bucks today.
     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. InfleXion

    InfleXion Wealth Preserver

    This is enough for me to pull the trigger on some of the Australian Lunar silver coins I've been eyeing, but it needs to go down another 10 before I'm backing the truck up.
     
  4. Collector1966

    Collector1966 Senior Member

    The USD certainly isn't a "safety net" here in Japan, where it has lost 25% of its value versus the Japanese yen in just the past 3 years.
     
  5. InfleXion

    InfleXion Wealth Preserver

    I believe the USDJPY just hit a multi-decade low as well. This does not inspire confidence in fiat currency for me as the two that are supposedly the strongest right now (Japan and Swiss Franc) are also being deliberately devalued, and Japan just did it's second intervention this year. Precious metals are the safety net.
     
  6. Cloudsweeper99

    Cloudsweeper99 Treasure Hunter

    I don't think it's always that black and white. From what I can gather, the recent yen appreciation happened because Japanese finanial institution are selling foreign [e.g., USA] investments and repatriating the proceeds to fund rebuilding from the recent catastrophe. So the "strength" of the yen is a function of enormous domestic problems. In a sense, the "strength" is due to a shortage of capital, which is hardly a good thing for a nation. Another thought is that the US may go down the same road over the next decade. The dollar may stay stronger than many here expect due to the shortage of capital needed to pay down debt and put folks back to work. The hyperinflation that many expect as inevitable might turn out to be an unexpected deflation instead. It's too soon to tell, but it might be a mistake to dismiss the possibility until there is more evidence.
     
  7. Collector1966

    Collector1966 Senior Member

    And yet, Japanese holdings of US Treasuries have actually increased since the disasters.

    http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/mfh.txt

    There's not a shortage of capital in Japan, which has one of the world's highest personal savings rates. Also, the dollar has been sliding downward versus the yen for many years. At one time in 2002, for example, it took more than 123 yen to buy 1 dollar. Three years ago, it was roughly 100 yen per dollar. In February of this year, before the disasters, a dollar could be bought with 80 some-odd yen.
     
  8. Collector1966

    Collector1966 Senior Member

    Actually, the dollar reached an all-time post-war low versus the yen just after the disasters. It is close to that now.
     
  9. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    The weakening of the Dollar is striking since 2001. Take a look at this chart of the Dow Jones Index Stock Market Price priced in Ounces of Gold from 1996 to the present. The scale on the left shows you how many ounces of Gold it took to buy the Dow Jones Index in any given year over the past 15 years.

    Today the Dow is a 11,477 and Gold is $1660, so today it takes 6.9 ounces of gold to buy the Dow. Back in 2001, it took about 40 ounces of Gold to buy the Dow. The price of the Dow in Gold terms has been basically declining for the past 10 years. At the March 2009 Stock Market lows, it took only 6 ounces of Gold to buy the Dow -- so we are approaching that historic low again (at Today's 6.9 ounces of Gold level).

    In other words, any stock market gain in the past 10 years has been an illusion, it's really just a measure of how much the dollar has declined. In real (hard) money terms (namely Gold) the Dow has been going down, down, down for a decade.

    When all the talking heads on TV talk about how much we have "recovered" since the historic lows set in early 2009, think of this chart and laugh (or cry).

    DowGoldChart.jpg
     
  10. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    Remember that the DOW companies change often, whereas gold is always the same entity.

    Jim
     
  11. Pepperoni

    Pepperoni Senior Member

    For those who take their 401K seriously this hurts. Most receive their companies shares, as the portion the company pays. Hope they at least have a dividend .
    I do not think we will forget this soon.
    Europe has had two wars on their soil and tend to be much more interested in gold /silver.
    We have been exposed to the financial rubber glove treatment for years.
    Pep
     
  12. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    I'm still not buying the "gold is the ultimate reference for value" idea.

    When gold fell from $700 to $300 in the early 1980s, I certainly didn't see the price-in-dollars of my groceries or my tuition drop by over 50%. And while prices have certainly gone up somewhat in the past 10 years, they sure haven't quintupled as gold has.

    Gold isn't "just another" commodity, but it is a commodity, and its value fluctuates. Its value has spiked here of late, much more sharply than the value of the dollar has fallen.

    Or, if you insist: the value of gold has remained constant over the last five years, and the value of the dollar has decreased fivefold. But the cost of nearly everything else -- food, housing, gas, clothing -- has tracked closer to the dollar than to gold. That makes gold a poor yardstick of value, IMO.
     
  13. Cloudsweeper99

    Cloudsweeper99 Treasure Hunter

    You are correct, of course. What some people miss is that in ANY free market, the price of everything will fluctuate with changes in supply and demand for them. That includes food, energy, services, gold, silver, paper currencies, haircuts, cars, snowblowers... EVERYTHING. Nothing is exempt, including gold.
     
  14. Pepperoni

    Pepperoni Senior Member

    We need a new widget that exists in a garage somewhere. It was the automobile , computer, may be a revelation in medicine or a substitute for crude oil in several models.
     
  15. InfleXion

    InfleXion Wealth Preserver

    Gold had been the ultimate reference of value for much of recorded human history until as recently as many of the people here have been around.
     
  16. filmbo18

    filmbo18 New Member

  17. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    For sure, no one knows what prices the future holds. Currently, with free mailing and silver fairly strong, it seems a high offer ( little less than $45 oz delivered, but Monday, it may be a very high price or a good price. Sometimes in the classifieds here you can find a lesser price. One problem I have with the offer myself other than price , is that he says the photo is stock and they will be "GEM" which most accept as MS-65, which They probably will be, but I might suspect he is keeping the very high grades and selling off those a little lesser, but maybe I am just suspicious, and it wouldn't be the first time it has been done :)

    Welcome to the forum!

    Jim
     
  18. imrich

    imrich Supporter! Supporter

    A personal good buy price?

    I believe that what one buys is a personal choice, based on available relative criteria. I've looked at the auction and the credentials of the seller, and although I've read seemingly disparaging comments, I've yet to see a comparable offer/seller.

    It appears that almost 2 thousand individuals have posted their approval of this seller/offerings, I personally would consider that as a significant factor when evaluating the quality of this offering.

    I trust that when purchasing, you also consider the quality of evidence provided in a listing, and aren't influenced by naysayers who haven't provided a any/better option.

    Personally, all factors considered, I believe you've made a good choice, until someone clearly provides one better.

    To answer the query of the OP, I'm currently constantly trying to buy at a premium above the general standard advised in this venue, but am outbid in the majority. I also appreciably sell at a greater price than the majority advise, to many pleased return buyers who recognize a quality offering. I personally consider this evidence that there are many searching for alternatives to the status quo.

    Just my humble opinion.

    RICH
    :thumb:
     
  19. brightspirit1

    brightspirit1 Member

    I expect the price of precious metals will rise on Monday with the downgrade of US credit. But you never know for sure.
    Perhaps the recent highs have already factored in a possible credit downgrade.
    On another note, years ago, I read somewhere that an ounce of gold, through recent history, has the buying power of a good men's suit. By this benchmark, the value of gold is somewhat high.
     
  20. buzzard

    buzzard Active Member

    I still buy, Mainly to collect and pass my coins down. As long as things go right.
     
  21. Kirthew

    Kirthew New Member

Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page