[bkt]

OK, you guys will get a laugh out of this. "Gold isn't backed by anything, unlike the dollar which is backed by the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve which will be around tomorrow."

Gold Stupidity - YouTube

Where's that "The Stupid - It Burns" image again?

[shadamai]

Originally Posted by JonM

neither. now isnt the time to buy and hold precious metals. the time to buy gold was several years ago. now is the time to be selling gold like all the big investment firms are doing. thats where all the gold is coming from. when gold goes back to its normalish levels thos same firms will be using the money they made selling gold now to buy cheap gold when it crashes.

its going to crash overnite at some point.

If your goal is to make a profit in dollars, then you are right. If you invested years ago, selling precious metals now would give you lots of dollars for whatever you might want to do with them. If you are looking to invest that money in property, for example, this would be a great time to sell your gold.

However, I am not particularly excited about dollars right now and I am not looking to make a big purchase. I'm not interested in investing in precious metals for cash profit like the investment firms might be. I am afraid that the dollar itself will drastically decline since our solution to everything seems to be 'print more money.' The reason I have acquired some silver (U.S. minted) is so if the dollar crashes, I will have something of value for trading.

[Vincine]

Originally Posted by JonM

neither. now isnt the time to buy and hold precious metals. . (snip) . . its going to crash overnite at some point.

Yeah, I thought gold was in a bubble too, over a year ago! I sold about half my stash when it's price doubled from what I paid for it. My bad. I wish I had kept it. It's done better than anything else I've gotten, except for Ford.

If I was down south with you guys I would make do with a mini-farm too. Up here our growing season is like 20 - 25 minutes. Hence the need for non-perishable barter items.

[shadamai]

Originally Posted by bkt

OK, you guys will get a laugh out of this. "Gold isn't backed by anything, unlike the dollar which is backed by the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve which will be around tomorrow."

Gold Stupidity - YouTube

Where's that "The Stupid - It Burns" image again?

Lol...is that a real news station?! I'm glad I wasn't the other news anchor (in the yellow blazer)...I wouldn't have been able to say "Okay, thank you Bridget" because my jaw would be hanging open for at least fifteen seconds after that report.

[Vincine]

Originally Posted by bkt

OK, you guys will get a laugh out of this. . (snip) . . Where's that "The Stupid - It Burns" image again?

I think Bridget is on the take.

[Sniper75]

I am looking to buy some PM but honestly not entirely sure on how to do so could someone tell me what or where I should go and how not to get ripped off

[Vincine]

American Precious Metal Exchange won't rip you off. That doesn't mean you won't get burned by a bad decision, but that would be on you.

Their web site will guide you through a purchase or sale.

Silver, Silver Bar, Silver Bars, Silver Bullion, Gold and More - APMEX.com

I can't speak for any local coin dealers that may be near you.

[bkt]

Originally Posted by Sniper75

I am looking to buy some PM but honestly not entirely sure on how to do so could someone tell me what or where I should go and how not to get ripped off

Anywhere you buy will charge you a fee over spot price - the current rate per ounce of gold, silver, platinum, etc. What you want to do is find a place that doesn't charge very much over spot. You can find the current spot price on lots of sites (eg: kitco.com, apmex.com).

Call around to local coin stores and ask if they sell bullion and what they charge over spot for whatever metals you want to buy. Write down the info you gather. They will often charge more over spot if you're only buying a few ounces than if you are buying in bulk.

Go to a site like apmex.com and see what they are charging over spot and what they charge for shipping. Do the math - if it's cheaper to go with an online purchase like apmex, go for it. If it's cheaper to buy from a coin store locally, that's fine too.

I recommend you do not buy coins with numismatic value unless you're into coin collecting. That will bump the cost up big-time. U.S. silver and gold Eagles and Canadian Maple Leafs are very popular and very recognizable. You can also buy generic silver rounds and bars. Personally, I go for the generic stuff as long as the weight and purity are marked.

Pre-1964 silver coins which have no numismatic value are great - 90% silver - and often pretty inexpensive compared to sovereign bullion rounds.

[Sniper75]

I have been collecting the pre-'64 coins every time I get change but those are far and few

[12fretter]

I just did a quick comparison between my guys and the link above. Could someone verify my findings?

I went to the link above, found a roll of pre-64 circulated dimes ($5 face) and their cash price was $148.79. That works out to $29.76 per face dollar. The silver content of circulated pre-64's are about .715 oz per face dollar. Divide $29.76 by .715 and you get $41.62 per ounce. That's the price you're being charged.

At Provident Metals, where I have bought, the price per face dollar is $22.65. That works out to be $31.68 per ounce, where the spot value is $30.49.

Did I do something wrong? Or is apmex really expensive?