The case to be made for gold vs silver

"How does it "all depend on his investment strategy?" This is like not giving advice at all. There are people literally this week discussing buying pennies once again because they are worth 2 cents each instead of 1 cent. *face palm*"


I didn't see anyone on the thread in this forum calling for people to buy pennies...So if you are talking about at this site, it LITERALLY didn't happen.

Some of us track copper and other base metals prices, doesn't mean we're calling for people to buy US cents.

 

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First of all, to try to break this topic down into black and white or near absolutes is probably a waste of time. Most of that is because nobody has the same situation, goals or objectives as you have.

Your #1 is trying to make something an absolute which may not be true. You don't know how or why people invest the way they do and it's probably not your place to give that advice.

Your #2 is wrong because often enough collectibles in PMs will see a premium increase. You're trying to see the results using a very narrow perspective that your only way to recoup your capital is by using spot price as the only variable. You're missing the collectibility of some items, changes in the market of collectibles and other factors.

#3 is correct, but that would mean sellers would need to do their homework before they sell and make intelligent decisions. Unfortunately not everyone does that.

I'm also not sure advice is a often sought after. Offering up your opinion, experience or observations is probably a good idea, but giving somebody very specific advice might not be the best idea, especially if you're not an expert and I don't know any true experts when it comes to bullion.

 

Peacepeople makes good sense with his points. I would add my thoughts

#4 Bullion Investors who are really wanting to make money most often can't, except by accident , because they won't sell anything unless their need is so drastic they sell at whatever they can get. They are "Shine Hoarders" or catastrophe hindered. If you are trying to invest, you have to know when to sell as well as when to buy and hold. You can either use Hard metal, or use Options, Futures, etc as paper assets. Sure, some people set arbitrary points where they intend to sell, but then as that approaches, they keep raising it until it sinks back again. AND is has always fallen faster than it rises and then to buy, but then they keep lowering it hoping to get a better price, so the circle continues. It is not wrong to like to hoard, nor to buy/sell, but you have to be honest with yourself and your personality. IMO. Jim


Predicting bullion future in long terms is much worse than forecasting weather or the price of land on the Florida coast long term.

 

I put out local adds and get silver bullion under spot way more than I do gold if you don't count 10-18k jewelry. Not all of us buy bullion online.

 

I kicked the idea of buying sub fine jewelry around when I started reading about the refining process. If you do bulk with the jewelry and chems (aqua regia) you can do very well. But at the scale I like to start into things it just wasn't worth the time and effort. Have you tried this?

 

Sorry I have not read all 8 pages on this subject.
I apologize if it's not relevant or have been discussed.
Buyers of PM buy for 2 main reasons.
1. Storer of value &
2. Prepare for a worse scenario.

Both gold & silver should be bought in case of #2. Silver can easily be exchanged for things like milk bread meat etc.
But not gold at least as easily as silver.

 

People who care about #2 should go find a preppers forum somewhere else on the internet.

I was trying to have a rational thread discussion here.

 

I have completely given up on having gold and silver for anything besides an investment or speculation. And even those are weak compared to where else I can put my money.

 

That is very true, too. I have felt the same way. The amount of gold I have is so minimal to other investments. I'm afraid some posters may be putting way too much of their savings or investments into gold. If I posted how many ounces of gold and silver I own, many forum members would probably condescending laugh. (Of course, I'd have the last laugh, but I'll keep that private).

Gold is not really an ideal investment. An investment should, ideally, be paying you back some form of interest or dividend.

Precious metals are just a hedge for the worse case scenario where you lose your ass in all other forms of investment or the economy is terrible.

 

I agree. I just don't buy the stuff anymore and will keep what I have for the reason you stated above. Now, I will admit there is some form of utility I get from just being in possession of the stuff, mainly because silver is shiny and gold is just cool, lol.

 

Last laugh?...Why would you laugh at anyone's misfortune?
How do you know how any of us are doing financially or what we own? I'm not competing with anyone on this forum, more power to who ever does great financially no matter what route they take or what boats I missed.

 

I've done some calculations recently on all my gold and silver. I could have made more investing. However, this is more enjoyable. And, I own PMs in case those other savings fail.

 

I can argue all day about equities being a better investment than gold and silver, but I will never attack the "because I enjoy it" defense.

 

Are you calling the Boy Scout Motto irrational? Always be prepared. Being unprepared is not very rational to me, regardless of any unpredictable future.

Precious metals are a hedge against inflation over a smoothed out timeframe. Something you can leave your grandchildren without having to worry about central bank policy or highly leveraged markets. If you're trying to get rich in one lifetime, then maybe precious metals aren't the best way to go. It's more of a keep what you earn type deal.

Saying that you're afraid people are putting too much into gold doesn't make sense to me. You're afraid people will be able to keep what they earn? You're afraid people won't let other people play with their money? Maybe you're afraid there will be a bank run? I can't say I've ever met a single person who bought gold yet wasn't happy to have it, but then most people don't buy gold.

What I'm afraid of is the lemming mentality in this thread.

 

PM are fun.
I collect images of Eagles. My next purchase is actually a 1oz Platinum coin coming up, the 2018 Declaration of Independence coin when it becomes available. I have to debate amongst myself whether to buy it now from the Mint (25th actually) or maybe wait down the road for it to be cheaper in the secondary market. Though I usually buy these directly and pay the additional premium. Back in 97 I bought the original 1oz platinum eagle .. cheaper back then.

 

Despite the confusing wording of the OP's assertion, I think that it's easy to damage a Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin (.9999 pure) by dropping it on the floor on its edge, or just by careless handling