I had made a thread in the wrong forum I guess, lol, so here I am. I am interested in beginning to invest in precious metals, particularly silver first (affordable) and when I (hopefully) see profits with my business, begin investing in gold as well. I am only seeking to make small purchases at first, 2-3 ounces at a time. Can someone start me off - types of silver to buy, where to buy (apmex, etc.), when to buy, etc. I am completely new at this and would appreciate any help. Thank you! Happy NY!
I'm sure you'll get lots of advice here. My 2 cents are this: 1st cent: Buy on the dips (when spot has fallen). Today that might mean waiting until it's under $30. 2nd cent: Never pay more than spot price for silver bullion delivered. With prices as high as they are right now, silver bullion can be purchased for under spot price delivered if you shop around. As far as where to buy? Consider pawn shops, coin shops, and online BST boards. I like 90% silver U.S. coinage as bullion and it can be found under spot price. Best of Luck!
I agree with Fishy. 90% junk silver can be bought for less than spot in a number of places. In the last couple of months I have purchased dimes, quarters, halves and silver dollars all below spot. You can find silver at estate auctions, coin auctions, coin shows and even coin dealers. My best recent find was $9 halves when silver was $28.50. Other folks have a different way of looking at it and they prefer to pay a premium for their silver. To me it is all silver and as long as it is marketable and widely accepted my goal is to get it for the lowest possible cost. 90% silver coins work for me.
For beginners, there is nothing better than one ounce American Silver Eagles. They are simple to resell for fair value and it is almost impossible to make a mistake when buying them. Welcome to CoinTalk.
Just buy, buy, buy. Let your family and friends think of you as the bullion bully. Push those green backs into silver every chance you get. Since you are only talking about a few ounces at a time and you are new, then just jump in. The dollar cost averaging will happen on its own at the rate you might be making your purchases. For larger purchases (over $3,000) I like Franklin Sander's prices at the MoneyChanger, but that is not your question. There are tons of people and places to check out with the larger bank roll. Just start getting some. The Canadian Mapels are one my personal favorites. I like the $5.00 denomination vs. $1.00 with Silver American Eagles. Also, if you are in the US, consider places where you can pick up old 90% coins still in their cardboard holders from longtime collectors. These are often a real deal. Learn to make a approximation of what actual melt is to spot for the various silver compositions that you come upon, 100%, 90%, etc. (understand the spot to face denomination of the coin you are considering, .10 .25, .50, 1.00). Just get in. Get in ASAP. This is not rocket science!. I have goofed so bad in the past - so I thougth at the time. As it turns out, I am sitting pretty good. Time heals a lot of errors in judgement when it comes to silver (and gold too these days). One other thought to consider with online dealers, it is called shipping and insurance fees. Good luck. Remember, just get started. Be careful to not trip over thinking on your way to freedom (based on: "don't trip on pennies on your way to dollars.")
Infowars, welcome to the forum! Please do a lot of research into precious metals before you buy anything of it. It is not a slam dunk by any means. Silver has advanced about 70% last year and the year before that for many reasons which do not seem as significant at this time to me. I could not go wrong with gold in 2009/10 and silver later in 2010, but as the price goes up, the risk of reversal does also. For me, the risk ratio got high enough that I got out of silver and gold with good profits. If prices drop 10-20% I might re-enter, but I feel there are better vehicles at this time. There are several on the forum, who believe for their own reason that we are only in the middle of the run, and so the risk factor is considered much less by them. I have no argument with them, I wish them luck, and each must ask how much risk they can handle. You should be reasonable, and have only a certain amount of your investments in PM, and use other investment instruments. Gold could reach 1800 + this year or even 1000 -, with equal possibility in my opinion. The higher if the world economy worsens, the lower if the reverse. Best wishes. Be Cautious. Jim
If the economy gets better there will be some increase in the use of silver, what that does to the price is once again speculation. Manufacturing uses silver and when it does, most of it is gone forever. I have read that of all the silver mined, 90% is gone being used up in manufacturing. Most of the Gold mined can be accounted for. Some has been used in manufacturing but most of that is reclaimed. Nobody knows which way PM will move the only thing I do know is that it will always be worth something. Being worth something is better than some of my investments turned out.
Thank you Jim for responding to my enthusiam from 01/09/2011 on this thread. It is true, silver could drop like the devil. I have a close friend that insist spot silver will drop to below $5.00 an ounce this year. If I was so certain of $5.00 or any specific amount I would tell you, but I am not. I am in silver for the very long term, though I would like to see a giant move up in the next 10 years. Who knows? I agree with DesertGem, study and learn all you can. In the end it will be a decision that you will be responsible for. I appologize for any recklessness my enthusiasm has exposed to new members to CT. Thanks, TESS
I recently started (within the past 2 months) collecting silver. I personally enjoy looking through rolls I buy from the bank and so far it has been doing well. I have come up with 6 40% halves, 3 90% halves, 3 Roosevelt dimes, and a quarter. I bet if you looked at your local coin shop you could look around and find something you might be able to get. I also asked many of my friends and relatives to keep an eye out for me. Good Luck. Hopefully it proves worthwhile for you and fun as well.
Some major suppliers are running out now, if silver dips close to $20, I believe the supply would vanish. Probably never see $5 silver again.
One thing you MUST be aware of is the scoundrels out there selling 100 and 500 mil clad silver and gold bullion bars. There are a lot of these sellers especially on eBay that claim it as solid .999 fine silver when it is actually a copper or nickel bar layered in a very thin layer of silver or gold. I've even seen manganese bars layered in silver. Terrible. If it is silver or gold it will state it on the bar or round, "One troy ounce .999 fine silver" or " .9999 fine gold".
I would say, and I advise that everyone take this advice to heart, that you don't tell anyone, and especially extended family, that you are buying bullion. It has a habit of disappearing when you advertise it to the world. Only the most trusted and close people in your life should know what you are doing with PM purchases.
First, consider that gold and silver are different investment vehicles. Do your research to understand the differences. One place to start, governments hold gold as monetary and reserve assets. They don't hold silver. Why is there gold in Ft. Knox, but not silver? Second from an investment standpoint one doesn't cost more or less than the other. You can invest the same amount in gold as you can silver. You get less physical mass for your money, but the investment is the same.
Good stuff all, I like the American Eagles of course but also the other newer bullion coins from around the world. I've got books for Maple Leafs and Libertads and am using albums for the others. I also have an interest in silver crowns - say one from as many countries as I can. Make it fun. Collect silver, even as a bullion stash, in a way that is fun. peace, rono
