Thinking about buying gold

[Riprorin]

Looks like it's dropped to about $405 oz.

Planning on buying American Gold Eagles. Small portion of my net worth (about 2%).

Any reason I shouldn't?

 

[kranky]

AGE's give you the best value for your money. Obviously the key is to pay as little over spot as possible. Buy the 1 oz coins which have the smallest buy/sell spread.

Tulving has probably the best prices but they have high minimum purchases.

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

yeah... minimum purchase of 10 ounces will cost you $4269.50

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: kranky
AGE's give you the best value for your money. Obviously the key is to pay as little over spot as possible. Buy the 1 oz coins which have the smallest buy/sell spread.

Tulving has probably the best prices but they have high minimum purchases.

I'm probably going to buy about 10K worth to start.

It looks like if I buy them locally I'll pay $20 - $22 over spot. Is it worth the hassle of having them shipped?

 

[StageLeft]

Where will you store them? You should have a small chest in your bedroom full of gold coins

 

[eakers]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Where will you store them? You should have a small chest in your bedroom full of gold coins

oh man, there is such a booty in the bedroom joke here.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Where will you store them? You should have a small chest in your bedroom full of gold coins

I'll get a safe deposit box or buy a small safe. How much space do ~25 coins take up?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
Is it worth the hassle of having them shipped?

Since part of the reason to own gold is protection against economic collapse, yes! And preferably in your direct possession not under third-party control, since (tinfoil hat time) in such a situaton the government might seize or at least monitor access to safety deposit boxes.

If you're really doing this you might also want to buy 20-30 1 oz silver bars for petty cash. Otherwise you'll pay $400 for a loaf of bread instead of just $5.

Some firearms training isn't a bad idea either if you've never learned to shoot.

 

[Riprorin]

Have you read "Conquer the Crash" by Elliot Wave theorist Robert Prector?

An economic collapse isn't as outlandish as it sounds.

Here's a good article by Robert Gordon:

A Foggy Day in Uncharted Waters

p.s. wouldn't you want circulated silver coins?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Is he the one who wrote the "letter to his grandchildren" article you posted last year? Interesting stuff, and yes, long-term quite a bit of economic power could shift away from the US.

I was actually serious about keeping the gold under your personal control -- in other countries facing economic collapse the govenrments have tried to lock the general population into using only the state currency and prevent the people from changing their money to gold or US dollars. Seeing how swiftly Ashcroft & Co. have moved us towards a Big Brother environment it's entirely plausible that "national security" could one day justify seizing your gold when you went to retrieve it from the bank.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Any reason I shouldn't?

it is a really bad investment

unless you are buying it for teeth or jewelry or something practical, don't buy it

 

[DaveSimmons]

PS don't buy $10K in one order, at least with banks that's the level of money transfer at which they report your activity.

Coins vs. silver bars: I don't know, silver bars marked with "1 oz .999 silver" or something like that would make their value clear, possibly clearer than coins where people aren't sure of their silver content.

I haven't done any of this myself, yet, since I don't see a collapse happening for at least another decade.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Is he the one who wrote the "letter to his grandchildren" article you posted last year? Interesting stuff, and yes, long-term quite a bit of economic power could shift away from the US.

I was actually serious about keeping the gold under your personal control -- in other countries facing economic collapse the govenrments have tried to lock the general population into using only the state currency and prevent the people from changing their money to gold or US dollars. Seeing how swiftly Ashcroft & Co. have moved us towards a Big Brother environment it's entirely plausible that "national security" could one day justify seizing your gold when you went to retrieve it from the bank.

No, that was Robert Gordon. I posted another editorial he wrote above.

Pick up Prechter's book at the library. It's a good read!

Here's the site where I found this info:

Bearmarketcentral.com

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
PS don't buy $10K in one order, at least with banks that's the level of money transfer at which they report your activity.

Coins vs. silver bars: I don't know, silver bars marked with "1 oz .999 silver" or something like that would make their value clear, possibly clearer than coins where people aren't sure of their silver content.

Yes, I meant to ask about reporting. Do you know what order size will trigger an IRS filing?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Yes, I meant to ask about reporting. Do you know what order size will trigger an IRS filing?

No, I only know the amount for bank deposits and withdrawals ($10K).

I haven't done any of this yet myself, since the earliest I'd expect a collapse to happen is a decade from now. Right now I'd rather have the money in stock funds while the US economy is still growing.

 

[kranky]

Any transaction over $10,000 will be reported. If you want to buy them all at once, split your order between two different dealers.

I don't think there's any shipping hassle. At that quantity, most places would ship them free overnight.

 

[Riprorin]

Thanks. As far as silver, any thoughts about coins vs bullion?

 

[WinkOsmosis]

What are you gonna do with that gold after economic collapse? Take it to the store?

 

[kranky]

For silver, I think the coins vs. bullion question is a tossup. The American Silver Eagles have a big markup over spot. The silver bars aren't marked up that much, but stick with a big name like Englehard or Johnson Matthey. The bigger the bar, the less the markup, but big bars aren't as easy to sell.

Probably the best combination of liquidity and low markup is old pre-1965 US silver coins. They are available in $1000 (face value) bags and contain about 715 ounces of silver. They sell for about $4750 delivered. That works out to about $6.64/ounce. Advantage is that you have small denominations. Disadvantage is the size/weight of an entire bag.

 

[Riprorin]

I assume that's for 90% silver?

Do you know a reputable seller?

Any advice on how to store gold and silver in my home? Can you insure it in case of fire or theft?

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: kranky
AGE's give you the best value for your money. Obviously the key is to pay as little over spot as possible. Buy the 1 oz coins which have the smallest buy/sell spread.

Tulving has probably the best prices but they have high minimum purchases.

How can I check out if Tulving is reputable?

 

[kranky]

Yes, US pre-1965 silver coins are 90% silver. But the 715 oz. per $1000 bag refers to the total amount of silver (i.e. there are 715 oz of pure silver in a $1000 bag of US silver coins)

I guarantee you Tulving is a reputable company. Check your PM.

I don't know if there's a way to insure against theft, that's a question for your homeowner's insurance agent. May need a rider. Probably one of the safest ways to store it is in a container buried in the ground, if you have a way to get it there without neighbors seeing it. If I could do that, I wouldn't even worry about paying more for insurance.

 

[Gyrene]

Eh, if the economy collapse, methinks that people would much rather trade goods for other goods, rather than gold. Wouldn't we just revert back to a barter system?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: dtyn
Eh, if the economy collapse, methinks that people would much rather trade goods for other goods, rather than gold. Wouldn't we just revert back to a barter system?

If only the US economy collapses, gold & silver will still have value in the rest of the world.

After a worldwide collapse, your best "trading" item might be an assault rifle and a case of ammo

 

[JoeKing]

FALLOUT!!!