In Case Of Emergency......

Discussion in 'Bullion Investing' started by Randy Abercrombie, Feb 26, 2019.

  1. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    I maintain some nice PM holdings. I like the stuff and it comforts me to know my kids and grandkids will get something of value from me when I leave this party. I also have maintained that should some unforeseen act of God wreak havoc on my life that I could turn to my PM's for some immediate relief.

    So the way my overtaxed brain works is that I'll wake middle of the night with some pressing concern or worry and today this is it...... I have several times carried as much as $900.00 in PM's to my dealer buddy to free up some cash. But let's say the unspeakable happens and I need to liquidate a sizable chunk of PM's. Is it practical to think my guy would have the means to do a sizable crisis transaction like that?

    I suppose the reason I ask is that I am a habitual planner and like to carry things through to conclusion in my mind. It gives me the ability to anticipate alternate scenarios. And all I am getting to is this....... My guy is not only a dealer but my friend. Am I out of line to directly ask him this question? If it were me being asked, I would feel like I was being cased for some mischief..... Dang, sometimes my brain is my own worst enemy.
     
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  3. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    I did something that I rarely do. I saw your post in the list in the right hand column of the Index page and it caught my eye. I suppose because of the title and because you posted it. In any event I think your question is a good one. And also one that I think few people ever think of.

    But think about it Randy, if somebody like you is needing money/cash because the unspeakable did happen - do you think you'd be the only one ? And, do you think your friend would be any different than you to begin with ? And, do you really think he'd be interested in acquiring more of something that he's already got more of than he knows what to do with ?

    Ya see, these the kind of questions that I don't think people who save up, acquire, (choose your word) precious metals actually consider. Sure, there's probably one kind of "emergency" that could happen where a store of precious metals might come in handy, but I think there's only one, and even it is unlikely. In the event of some kind of actual emergency I think a store of precious metals is likely to become about as useful as box of rocks. For that matter so will cash.

    If people wish to "prepare" there's a sizable list of things that your going to need - and precious metals aint one of 'em ! And if you think you'll be able to trade precious metals for the things ya do need - I think I'd be thinking again, real hard. Because if you don't want 'em - nobody else is gonna want 'em either. And for the same reasons.
     
  4. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    Rest easy Randy . . . as long as you're willing to leave enough on the table for a bullion dealer to make a decent profit on the transaction, you should be able to secure cash in short order . . . that is, and this is an important qualifier . . . as long as you are not panic-selling into a sudden steep decline in the metal. No bullion dealer will be eager to buy under those circumstances.

    Now, if you can wait a few days for payment, you can ship to someone like APMEX or Provident. If you need cash immediately, you might be able to get your friendly local bullion dealer to play middleman to a major bullion house, where they'll front him the cash for goods actually received at his storefront. Unconventional, but doable.

    Doug's right, of course . . . if you haven't already got a significant cash cushion and stores of the rights necessities, you shouldn't have as much in PM's as you appear to because there are other things you should have too.
     
  5. Victor

    Victor Coin Collector

    I wouldn't hesitate to discuss this "worst case scenario" with your dealer friend.
     
  6. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    This is exactly the sort of thing that I wasn't aware of. This is precisely the question I would ask..... See, my crisis scenario isn't a doomsday sort of thing at all. I am thinking more along the lines of a fire, tornado.... The kind of unforeseen thing that happens and brings a families life crashing down around their feet. I have insurance in place and all that. See, seven years ago my daughters house burned to the ground. Her family watched in horror from the street wrapped only in the blankets they ran out of the house in. They needed everything but most urgently they needed immediate cash. That's rather where my thinking/planning comes from.
     
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  7. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    Just bear in mind that some dealers wholesale directly with the major houses, and others deal directly with smaller middlemen. It would be smart of you to know in advance if your local dealer friend has that sort of relationship with his wholesaler which could be relied upon under the circumstances you describe, rather than finding out too late that he doesn't.
     
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  8. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    I generally try to avoid friendship with finances. But, in the instances where those cross, I feel those are actually the best places to ask direct questions. Who better to get a straight answer from than a friend? I would ask him if you are concerned about getting an answer to that question.
     
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  9. kaparthy

    kaparthy Well-Known Member

    It is an axiom of planning doctrine that you can never plan for a true emergency.

    I was working as a security guard in Albuquerque and a few of us were at headquarters standing around out back and the topic of duty bags came up. We had fire starters and rabbit traps and freeze dried water and all kinds of gear. And the lieutenant starts laughing at us. "If anything like 9/11 happens again, you are not going to be caught in the desert. You're going to be trapped in an elevator." And he pulled a 6-inch pry bar from his leg pocket. Last year, working as a technical writer in one of Austin's oldest skyscrapers, having worked there as its security guard when I first moved here and having seen the elevator control room, I put a pry bar in my office backpack.

    That backpack has some silver rounds but also a roll of quarters for vending machines along with an extra Swiss Army Knife and an extra BiC lighter and a personal Brita.

    Back in 1971, when I bought my first sovereign, I thought that the world was going to end pretty soon... but it did not. When we got past Y2K, I just figured that the world is always going to be pretty much the way it looks right now. Y2K, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Harvey... Do you know any stories of people who were grateful for their stash of 1-ounce silver rounds? Did anyone's big bag of gold and silver restore anyone's electricity in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria?
     
  10. CoinBlazer

    CoinBlazer Numismatic Enthusiast

    I don't know how well your Dealer compares to mine. But mine, about 3 months ago, wrote a $160,000 dollar check for 4 considerably rare coins! I have confidence that mine has to resources to pay out right then and there.
     
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  11. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    My local dealer up here has contacts that will take as much PM he's willing to bring in. I helped an elderly friend liquidate her mothers collection. The value was mostly in gold and silver. My dealer friend wrote her a check for over $27k.
     
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  12. Victor

    Victor Coin Collector

    Sometimes at coin shows I am amazed at the big wads of cash I see dealers pull out of their pockets.
     
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  13. mpcusa

    mpcusa "Official C.T. TROLL SWEEPER"

    Always a good thing to be prepared :)
     
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  14. Sullysullinburg

    Sullysullinburg Well-Known Member

    Well it depends on the type of emergency. If it’s a personal emergency (car is totaled, house burns down etc.), then I wouldn’t be terribly concerned. If it’s a national or international emergency, then I doubt whether they’ll be around. I think it’s important to have a mix of cash, items with trade value and, basic supplies (food, water, etc.).
     
  15. mpcusa

    mpcusa "Official C.T. TROLL SWEEPER"

    So are you a prepper ? i think some people go around thinking they live in
    Brick houses ( ok some of us do LOL ) just making the point that life
    Happens, and that thinking ahead or outside the box isnt always a bad
    Thing :)
     
  16. rte

    rte Well-Known Member

    I'll second that.
    Just think of all the DRAMA it saves.
     
  17. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    If you mean a single house fire such as a personal emergency you will be fine. If you mean widespread things like what happened in California you have to get way out of town before you can convert the heavy space consuming PMs to anything useful. Look at Paradise California for instance a lot of them had minutes to leave and ended up leaving their safes behind. Hurricanes, Tornadoes if you have to go you have to go. The last thing you want to be doing is trying to grab bricks of silver or whatever.

    If you are concerned about emergency situations have cash ready. You can grab that in a second put it in your pocket and use it right away. If you want PMs hoping they will go up in price that is your call. But don't confuse the two. PMs are an investment play and a hindrance in an emergency
     
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  18. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    No... Not even remotely.... However I am well stocked on ammo....
     
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  19. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    You can always bury the PM in the backyard; safe from fires, tornadoes, and other natural disasters:rolleyes:
     
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  20. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    Would make for a happy metal detectorist in a hundred years
     
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  21. mpcusa

    mpcusa "Official C.T. TROLL SWEEPER"

    What about floods ? that.s why they bury people above ground...LOL
     
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