Anybody buying silver?

[flatbutt]

I know people say gold is where to put your money but at 1500/ounce I'd lose all of my liquid assets with just a small purchase. So how about silver?

[gshase]

I sold my gold and bought SILVER.

[tabs]

I have been touting Silver for the past several years. In paticular Morgan Silver USD's or other American pre 64 Silver Coins. Another avenue is to buy Sterling Silver Flatware sets etc ...yes REAL SPOONS and not the erstatz ones that I like to buy...you can use them and still have a hedge.

In the 18TH century English royalty melted down their Silver coins to make Silver flatware and Hollow ware (trays, teas sets etc) during the good times and during the hard they would melt it back to coinage.

Gold and Silver have had steep declines recently. One thinks that a bottom paticularily in Silvr is close? Of course I was buying silver when it was $8 to $12 an OZ...

[abisel]

Silver is much more affordable. Personally, I like the US Mint coins http://www.usmint.gov/ and old Morgan silver dollars.

The Silver Eagle Proof dollars from the mint are outstanding in beauty.


Also, the America the Beautiful Silver Proof Quarters.

[on2wheels52]

Someone brought in a set of Westmoreland sterling a couple of weeks, I paid $850 for an 8 place set ($.55/gram).
But for the op I think 1 oz .999 would serve better.
Jim

[gatotom]

Tabs, you always amaze me on knowing the market but all I can say is when I got burned on a short sale about 10 yrs ago, I pulled a wad of cash and bought silver at 3.75 and 4.00 also got the au under 300.00.

IMHO, the best to buy is simple silver rounds say from Sunshine Mine in Idaho, if you want more premium the maple leaf or liberty, good luck on finding it at a good price.

When you get some just put it away, your children will appreciate it.

[NY65912]

The Old Man at Pawn Stars.

[coldstart]

Silver is an industrial metal. It was used in the photographic process, dentistry, silverware (cutlery), disinfectants and coins. It no longer is used in the mainstream for any of the above uses. It still gets used for those uses, just not to even remotely the same degree.

Silver's value as a collectible metal is substantially less than gold, which is heavily prized by people from India and to a lesser degree, China. At one point gold was the monetary standard and later the U.S. dollar was backed by gold.

Long term, silver's value is questionable as an investment commodity unless:

(a) there becomes a new specific use for silver; or

(b) a big investor makes a play for a huge portion of the market (like the Hunt brothers in the 1970s-1980s).

Personally, I would not buy either gold or silver at current market prices.

If you wanted to play the commodities, oil at $78/barrel with the Iranian sanctions scheduled to start on July 1st sounds more promising. It has the potential to hit $120/barrel (any disruption on the Straits of Hormuz) with a downside of $65/barrel (major economic collapse).

Disclaimer: I own minimal gold, silver or oil (no puts or calls either) and am not offering financial or investment advice. Plese consult your financial advisor prior to investing.

[Geary]

A bit of internet research will yield the following info:

Silver may be the most price-manipulated commodity in existence. This benefits the insiders who beat the price down with massive short contracts and profit from their control/timing (allowed because a lower price makes the US$ look good). Guys who really analyze this situation expect a possible drop below $25 some time in a few months (but the last time this price was reached it stayed there for about 10 minutes before before springing back upward).

India, China, Mexico .. they're all buying gold AND silver, despite today's high prices. While our citizens are dumbed down about the value of tangible "money", the average Indian or Chinese household has 30-50% of their savings in precious metals. (We're obviously talking about physical product, not paper contracts.)

Industrial uses for silver are numerous .. and its being used up faster than it's being mined. (It's said that 95% of all mined silver lays in landfills, while 95% of all gold mined sits in vaults.) As for physical investment, the US Mint has had problems keeping up with the production of silver Eagles, and coin shops can't keep enough inventory).

I'm no expert either, but I find the reading on this subject to be fascinating.

[futurefun]

Neither buying nor selling now. Circulated pre-'64 coins or "junk silver" offer more bang for the buck than numismatic coins that have collector value while being known quantity & quality not mystery rounds. Kinda depends on weather you are looking to make a profit in the market or protect assets from economic collapse. Barton Biggs book, Wealth, War & Wisdom has some practical approaches.

[Jim Bremner]

All of my metals are in Brass, Copper and Lead. When Hot or promised to become hot will easly get Gold, Silver or what ever needed for the time being.


I'm thinking of buying some oil. There's big saber rattling going on right now.

[tabs]

I also would recommend bags of pre 64 silver coins..

I think one needs to watch these markets for a while before purchasing to get comfortable with them.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

All of my metals are in Brass, Copper and Lead. When Hot or promised to become hot will easly get Gold, Silver or what ever needed for the time being.


I'm thinking of buying some oil. There's big saber rattling going on right now.

This is a market which does not have the same volatility as Gold and Silver. This is a market that even when every other market was careening about like a yo yo held up and has been appreciating steadily.

[J P Stein]

Why on earth would you buy silver when you are guaranteed .05% interest for your passbook savings at a local bank.....double that at a credit union?

Green is a PITA to read.