Buying Physical Silver as a long-term investment?

[DSM_1]

Wanted to ask you guys what you think of investing in physical silver at this time for a long-term investment?

What do you guys think about getting into silver at today's prices? +- $19.72cad / Ounce (Feb.09.2010) @Albern Coins N.E

I wanted to see if I can get some insight into this, since there are a lot of investors on beyond, to see what you guys think about it? where do you see silver going in the future? where to buy? What kind of physical silver to buy and so on..

Im starting to buy a few (.999 fine) 5oz bars or 10z here and there and 1oz .9999 purity Canadian Maple Leafs. What are your thoughts on this?

Also I have done a search for silver, and I cannot find much information it and no threads dedicated to it.

Where do some of you who own physical silver buy it locally? Do you prefer a cash purchase with no trace, or would you also purchase from a website, ex. Apmex.com (US Site).


Thanks guys.

[Weapon_R]

Silver isn't a great investment because of its crazy fluctuations. It has historically gone up so it all really depends on your timing and how long you are willing to hold it.

[Meback]

Chances are the price of metals will go down. I'm willing to bet that the green back will gain back some strengh this spring/ summer.

[BigMass]

At this point in time I’d be scaling into gold and not really bothering with Silver. As much as the regular Joe would love to believe, silver is not a monetary metal. Even though we’re off the gold standard, Central Banks still close in Gold and hold gold as a store of value. Silver has been relegated to strictly a commodity play. If you feel the fundamentals for silver are strong in regards to supply/demand, then go ahead and buy silver.

My research has shown that the shortage of silver has been blown out of proportion and the demand is flat lining and even slightly decreasing. It’s interesting to note as well that %90 of silver is not mined directly, but as a byproduct of something else. If silver prices were to skyrocket then there is tons of untapped silver producing capacity waiting to go online.

During a real world-wide fiat money crisis or as a hedge against inflation Gold is going to remain strong and end up being the go to monetary reserve for the big players. All commodities will rise with inflation but during a real crisis I’d stake my paper money on gold over silver.

Another tip is don’t consider Gold as an investment. It’s a store of wealth. Something paper fiat money has failed at doing since it’s inception.

[DSM_1]

Thanks guys, yeah I agree, I am thinking more long-term 5-10 years to hold it, and ride out any dips, and in times of a bear market purchase more. I do agree that the dollar should rally in the short term, I thought i'd see this dip in the metals in febuary, and also im predicting there might be another dip in the metals in summer as well, june/july, some of it due to the rise of the american dollar. Im just thinking of putting some money into to it now and then, and if the price dips buy more and hold it, due to its industrial use and demand and the possible silver shortage 10 years from now or longer

[DSM_1]

Thanks BigMass, great points you present there and I agree as well about gold. I do put some towards gold, just not as much because of its high price. I guess like you say I will need to due much more research on the supply/demand side and figure out for sure where that is going, and if there really is a shortage like some claim to be.

[DSM_1]

To add to your comment BigMass, I do also see silver and gold as a preservation of wealth in times of crises not just as an investment. Even if there isnt great money made on it later, it will preserve my wealth as I clearly im not good at doing that myself lol. Its much easier to waste Fiat currency in hand on stupid stuff then going off to sell your metals just to buy something. I guess what im trying to say is its less tempting to sell off a 10oz silver bar and get cash to buy something then wasting 200 bucks in hand, at least for me. So maybe i will split it put a bit more towards the gold when i got a 100 bucks laying around here and there, as it will preserve some of the wealth for a later day and maybe even rise in value. Thanks for your input, and taking time to add in good info.

[BigMass]

Originally posted by DSM_1
Thanks BigMass, great points you present there and I agree as well about gold. I do put some towards gold, just not as much because of its high price. I guess like you say I will need to due much more research on the supply/demand side and figure out for sure where that is going, and if there really is a shortage like some claim to be.

remember you don't have to buy 1oz of gold. There are smaller increments you can purchase. Take a look. This guy is in town
http://www.diverseequities.com/index.php?cat=17

Also note the buy and sell price. The spread is much smaller than silver. This is because the gold market is much larger than the silver market and far more liquid. The relatively small size of the silver market is also a reason why silver fluctuates so much.

Here is a good article on Gold vs Silver
http://www.garynorth.com/public/5700print.cfm

also I’d recommend listening to Jim Rickards
St7TF8q0T18

50min interview with him
http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2010/1/9_Jim_Rickards.html

[BigMass]

Originally posted by DSM_1
To add to your comment BigMass, I do also see silver and gold as a preservation of wealth in times of crises not just as an investment. Even if there isnt great money made on it later, it will preserve my wealth as I clearly im not good at doing that myself lol. Its much easier to waste Fiat currency in hand on stupid stuff then going off to sell your metals just to buy something. I guess what im trying to say is its less tempting to sell off a 10oz silver bar and get cash to buy something then wasting 200 bucks in hand, at least for me. So maybe i will split it put a bit more towards the gold when i got a 100 bucks laying around here and there, as it will preserve some of the wealth for a later day and maybe even rise in value. Thanks for your input, and taking time to add in good info.

It’s also better than putting it in the bank as saving account interest rates and CPI factored investment vehicles never make up for real world inflation. Gold is also an asset class in itself. The stock market can also be a great inflation hedge but can also be dangerous if you’re not astute enough of an investor or stock picker. That’s why many intelligent advisors recommend a mixed portfolio of all asset classes not just stocks and especially not mutual funds.

[DSM_1]

Thanks very much BigMass, great info from you, I agree on your views and I thank you for the links and videos. I am gonna watch the interview, i haven't seen Jim Rickards stuff, ive mainly watched Jim Rogers, Peter Schiff and hints here and there read from the morgan report. At this moment I will stick to this until I have a better understanding of the stock market, i dont wanna plunge in without knowledge and lose. This is merely saving some money and rather then spending on stupid stuff, putting it in silver and gold so one day maybe it becomes useful. I have bought a few small denominatoins of gold like Johnson Matthey 5gram gold bar and such, but i really like your link to the guy in calgary for precious metals. Thanks again

[Angelo01]

Silver is not that good of an investment. The prices are very low and don’t seem to rise too much. But whereas gold seems to be a good investment. The prices have sky rocketed in the past few months and the chances are that it will increase even more.

[Xtrema]

Only if you are preparing and predicting a werewolf outbreak.

[Manhattan]

What's the deal with all the silver nuts lately? What makes them so sure silver is gonna jump 200%? And holding physical silver in their house?!? :nut:

[broken_legs]

Originally posted by Manhattan
What's the deal with all the silver nuts lately? What makes them so sure silver is gonna jump 200%? And holding physical silver in their house?!? :nut:


Why is it so shocking to you that people would keep something valuable in their home?

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Manhattan
What's the deal with all the silver nuts lately? What makes them so sure silver is gonna jump 200%? And holding physical silver in their house?!? :nut:

Lately, as in 2 years ago?

As a side note though, if the OP had boughten silver when he posted, he could have doubled his money if he sold today. Or even tripled it if he sold last May.

[rob the knob]

the canadian mint often sells $20 99.99% silver coins for $20

money value is more than silver value but if you want to take long term hold its not bad way to hold some silver yes

[msommers]

I just want to buy a gold bar one day. How boss would that be.

[CanmoreOrLess]

Originally posted by msommers
I just want to buy a gold bar one day. How boss would that be.

Use it for a beer coaster.

[JDMsomething]

You can buy some 1 oz gold bars, but if you mean the real big gold bars they are about $500,000 right now

[max_boost]

Why not just a buy a silver ETF non leverage to get exposure? Unless you really want physical silver? Same thing? non?

[BigMass]

Originally posted by max_boost
Why not just a buy a silver ETF non leverage to get exposure? Unless you really want physical silver? Same thing? non?

Physical gold and silver don’t carry any counterparty risk like ETFs do. If you want to trade gold and silver it’s a no brainer. Use an ETF like you would a stock. If you want gold and silver for a long term store of wealth, buy physical. Because of the high liquidity of gold and silver the premium over spot is very low.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[BigMass]

i love the Chinese ingots
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uZOCxWUSsZQ/Txk_0u9s-sI/AAAAAAAAEi8/uOCZ1mU9V_g/s1600/jim_sinclair.jpg