posted on May 14, 2002 06:08:17 PM new
I want to convert my musty books, old baby toys, hull pottery, extra towels, old clothes, into in-hand gold and silver. I read somewhere silver is more valuable in that it is in shorter supply.
What is a way to do this without paying all kinds of commissions and do you think it's worth it?
posted on May 14, 2002 07:19:01 PM new
last itme i looked gold was apx 331 an oz silver apx 5.00 an oz silver has been pretty stable platinum seems to be moveing ahead of gold for several years now last time was over 400 an oz, What you really ought to do is get out of ny there is still land cheap in upper michigan and western minn a few places in wisconsin especially southwestern corner you cant eat silver or gold but a few acres with apples berries nuts and pears wont ever make you a rich man in the eyes of a banker or a fool but then theres a few things money cant buy, after a few short years you could be eating fruit that you know some jerk has not poisoned or selected because that tastless variety sits on a shelf longer, you should to see what free range chicken tastes like compared to clinton specials at the supermarket. We live in a society where the more worthless a peice of land the more value the money grubbing clowns put on it. I know I would be financially set with a few feet of broadway.
but only a fool living in a fools paradise could truly be happy there, we were meant to be a part of the land and truth is we all will someday. what we do in the time bewteen makes all the difference in the world.
posted on May 14, 2002 07:41:31 PM new
so you think you know a place that doesn'y sit on a toxic waste dump or down wind of a nuclear power plant and where kids are actually educated and care about other than their Nike's do you?
posted on May 14, 2002 08:55:59 PM new
the southwestern corner of wis has dirt cheap properties, no work either but great for retirement or disabled types, other areas of the state all pretty high many areas of upper michigan low priced if actually considering a move I could tell you the pros and cons of each county there was a good mother earth news article in the mid 80's as far as the values taught to the kids mine are grown but I doubt any area will make you thrilled. when trying to move things move then individually or you wont get what they are worth. a lot of newspapers have specials like in this area one has a free ad once a week one day for items under 100.00 another has one a month under 50.00 check for the free ads and move the stuff that way.
posted on May 14, 2002 09:58:54 PM new
My advice to you as I do know a little bit about that yellow stuff is that if you buy gold, buy it in pieces that are small, say about 1/4 ounce each bullion coin.
Buy silver in one ounce bullion coins, they are known as spot rounds and usually sell for 50 cents over what the spot price of silver is on the day that you buy it.
I haven't bought alot of gold so I can't say what the over spot selling price usually is. I get my gold directly from the ground where I dig it prospecting.
It is important to note the difference between troy and avoirdupois weights. There are 12 troy ounces in a troy pound which weighs the same as an avoirdupois pound which has 16 ounces to the pound. This is important because troy ounce coins are heavier than avoirdupois ounce coins and when you go to sell them if you have coins weighed in troy the buyer may try to give you an avoirdupois price.
Bullion coins are the best as there is no numistatic value added on to the cost.
If you buy gold in small amounts then when you go to sell it, if you want to sell part of it rather than all of it at once you can then sell as small or large amount that you want rather than having to sell a gold bar weighing a pound or more.
There are alot of mints striking silver spot rounds and each has their own design. Some of the designs are really neat looking and one could easilly become a collector of these coins for the different designs on them. If you were to buy these silver bullion coins one or two at a time which would cost you about $6.00 each, in a short time you could amass quite a large amount of silver.
posted on May 15, 2002 12:37:20 AM new
If you are buying metal as a hedge it will only work if there is a complete collapse of the economic system. The current system is completely removed from any physical standard backing the money. It is based on the abstraction of credit and trust in the government. Metals today are just another commodity - gold is for jewelry, electronics, and coins that are worth whatever someone will give you for them. Inflation even at very modest levels will erode the value of your holdings very quickly. You are losing 3 or 4% a year instead of gaining if the money is invested. So it is a poor hedge unless you sincerely believe there will be a major collapse of the markets within 2 or 3 years.
Also if that is the sort of event you are buying for the portability of the metal becomes important. At one time I used 100 oz. siler bars to make my safe too heavy to move by hand and it did not take many to make a mass I would never want to have to carry. You can however carry quite a small fortune in gold sewing small gold coins into a vest or belt.
posted on May 15, 2002 02:13:19 PM new
What scenario are you preparing for?
Some sort of hyperinflation, whereby dollars become worthless, a la Germany in the early 1900s? All you need to do is to not keep dollars around, you can buy anything (food, gold, jewels, etc) and use tangible items to retain the value of your wealth. No sense going to the time and trouble of selling things and converting to gold. In fact, if you did have a bunch of gold coins, what would you do with them? I can't see the local supermarket all of a sudden converting to a gold standard and figuring out how much a can of corn costs in gold on a daily basis.
A collapse of civilization itself? In that case, dont buy gold, buy tools, antibiotics, and other things that will swiftly become unavailable. Basic necessities will be priceless, gold and jewels will be worthless. Toilet paper alone could make you queen.
"so you think you know a place that doesn'y sit on a toxic waste dump or down wind of a nuclear power plant and where kids are actually educated and care about other than their Nike's do you?"
posted on May 15, 2002 02:16:18 PM new
I have some old Silver Dollars. What is the average weight of those, and their value as silver--to give me an idea. Anybody?
posted on May 15, 2002 06:38:42 PM new
A war ? How about this in the 1930's there was fighting in China and the Us along with other nationas had ships there to protect thir interests. word came up that the japanese troops were advancing not wanting a fight the us citizens were gahteed up into the usa gunships and started moving up river along with the Uk gunships and some american corporate ships, oonce very clear of the fighting the sailors were invited to come abord the better stocked corp ships to partake of delights they did not stock in the us navy now or then, Japanese pilots saw this in the distance so an officer was dispatched to investigate if any chinese troops were being rescued. The japanese officer asked the US Navy Captain to be allowed to inspect his ships for evidence of Chinese. The American told him in front of his men to go to hell. he had lost face in front of his men he did not make a scene. he went back to hq and reported that the Us and british ships were crawling with Chinese troops. Japan dispatched planes. WHO HIT WITHOUT WARNIING !, the gunboat Panay was sunk lives were lost, later Japan paid reparations to the sailors families, but when the incident reach the top levels of government Japan balked at an apology, we had our waring right them of world war two, No one listened.... last week several North koreans sought refuge in the Japanese embassy
An Embassy is supposed to be like foreign soil of the country that has the embassy, China sent troops into the Japanese embassy to take the Koreans by force and had the guts to use the convoluted excuse that she was fighting terrorism. Several points here, first off the Chinese well know of the Japanese Charector and the importance of saving face, in that culture. second the chinese have shown a callous disregard for the most basic rights of other nations here,On the other Hand Japan asked us to get out in the 1850's we did not instead we imposed our will on them with superior firepower something that until now China has never been able to do, The leadership of japan took from 1858 to 1941 to strike back something no western nation currently has the backbone and structure to do, to plan a series of moves that would put the nation on top, a war is coming and allthe while the clowns in dc can only think of how to line their pockets.
posted on May 16, 2002 05:47:42 AM new
"Would you want to be a flatlander in VT"
I *am* a flatlander in vermont. Even after being here 18 years, i'm still not a native. However, there is no crime here to speak of, dont have to lock doors, you can walk the streets at night safely, etc. So, yes, I very much want to be a flatlander here.
Historically, gold and jewels were useful as small, valuable objects that could be quickly and easily carried when someone had to make their escape from some sort of local disaster (war, economic collapse, etc). However, these items are only useful if there is somewhere to escape to that values them. Its pretty hard to envision the scenario whereby the US is completely devastated by some sort of disaster, such that you need to flee the country, and yet there remains enough of an economy somewhere you could then get to that would give you much for gold and jewels. If the US is destroyed, whats the chance that mexico or canada survives to want your gold? And even if, say ,australia survives, how do you get there? Its not like Europe in the 1800s, say, where lots of local wars broke out, so people were constantly needing to run somewhere...and the next country often used gold as a currency, so having gold in that scenario made a lot of sense.
War or collapse coming? I dont see them in our lifetime, but who knows? Little wars, yes, but nothing that would make me want to have everything I own in gold.
However, I might not want to live in NY or DC, since the probability of a small-scale dirty nuke/bio bomb is large enough not to be ignored (IMO). But even if that happens, it wont cause a country-wide collapse.
posted on May 16, 2002 08:29:19 AM new
Gold and silver, while perhaps an edge against economic "collapse", are for more than that. In an catastrophic collapse, food and guns are what you'll need, but more likely than not, you will be able to buy food and guns only with gold.
Gold and silver provide a hedge against inflation as well as catastrophy.
These metals are also easier to acquire and maintain for inflation rather than real estate.
I am surprised more of you don't remember the late 1970's and early 1980's and how gold and silver performed.
While my house went up in value, I would have to sell and replace it to realize the inflated value, and after replacing it, the deal would be a wash.
However, I can sell gold and silver and realize the value and not need to replace it.
A significant oil embargo or production interuption will cause gold and silver to soar more than it already has.
I recommend buying only US government coined gold and silver. It brings a premium because weight and assay are guaranteed, and counterfeiting presents a felony for US coins, rather than a fraud or civil matter for counterfeit bullion.
US coined gold and silver are accepted readily while bullion products may require a wait.
As example, when I cashed in gold and silver in the early eighties, cash was readily given for the US coins, no questions asked. My bullion products were not. For bullion I was given a receipt and had to wait until the weight and assay were verified for the bullion.
I also reccomend small denominations. If gold hits $1000 an ounce, it is much easier to unload a 1/10th oz US gold coin for $100 than a one ounce US gold coin for $1000, but you can still sell an ounce of gold using ten 1/10th oz coins if you need to.
The cheapest place to buy US gold Eagles right now is on eBay. 1/10th oz Eagles are retailing for around $41 plus shipping, but on eBay many are selling at $38 or less plus shipping, but I don't know how long it will last. I think there are many eBay sellers taking a profit on the $250-$270 an ounce gold they purchased over a year ago.
In any event, a castrophic collapse isn't necessary to realize gains from precious metals, just a severe interuption.
The terrorist attacks have given gold a 30% kick. But it is the underlying oil question that is driving the prices.
However, the acceptance of gold in world wide exchange is why gold, instead of as example computer chips, is valued. Gold is recognized as a medium of exchange in any major city in the world as well as the most remote villages on earth. You may not be able to "spend" your gold in a resturant in a large city, but there will always be someone willing to give you local currency for it.
Also, don't put all your eggs in one basket. I would have a little in NASDAQ QQQs now too. Bad times, just as good times, don't last forever, in the long term you're dead, in the short term, you have to eat,and have a place to live, and as for gold assets or any others "Ya Gotta Know When To Hold'em And Know When To Fold'em".
