I had way more responses to my article about silver the other day than I expected. Why? Well, it’s not like I haven’t written about the stuff like a zillion times in the past, so I figured most folks knew my stance on things, and why I still think it’s one of the most undervalued commodities on earth.
But, as I said I got a lot of emails, a lot of questions and so I think I’ll use today to talk about them.
First off, the silver/gold miner stocks. Yes I like them. But NEVER get it in your head that any stock is safe. I repeat, any stock. Companies blow up, CEO’s get caught fondling kids, probable ounces in the ground get proven to be less than thought, their debt could catch up with them, I could go on and on. We “TRADE” the mining stocks. But they are not the same as having physical metal. You don’t “set it and forget it” with the miners. For maximum safety, you want physical.
Which of course brought up another question.
I appreciate your emails/articles about finance, life and more. I read your recent email on silver and while I would like to have more silver in my portfolio my issue is where do I store it?
I am not comfortable keeping large amounts of silver in the house. Not comfortable having large amounts in a safety deposit box in a bank so where? I would prefer my home not be a target for thieves if I can prevent it.
Lewis
Well Lewis, it’s like this. Anything you can’t stand over and protect with a gun in your hand…do you really own it? Safe deposit boxes are NO good. First off, most banks say you can’t store precious metals in them and secondly, what happens if the system goes down, and banks fold up? Did you know they’re legally allowed to go through your deposit box? Indeed.
Yes there are silver and gold storage companies, with mega high tech security, and each ounce you send there is registered, etc. But is that ideal? Do you want your silver sitting in a guarded establishment in say Nebraska, but you live in Florida? What if this whole world goes mad max, there’s no postal service/no UPS, no gasoline to drive there?
The secret to storing metals at “home” is you have to be concerned about 1) theft, and 2) especially if you have some cash along with your metals, is fire. So, how do we get around this? The theft part is relatively easy. First off, tell NO ONE that you own any. Why would anyone suspect that you’ve got enough precious metal, to want to come to your house? Don’t tell a soul you have metal at home. No one, including your kids. Secondly, consider shipping it to an elderly relatives place instead of yours. Even they don’t need to know what you’ve been sent, you can tell them it’s a heavy box of ammo or what have you. When it shows up, you go get it. That way, even if the UPS driver took note of a precious metal deliver and told his friends, it wouldn’t be “there.”
I had way more responses to my article about silver the other day than I expected. Why? Well, it’s not like I haven’t written about the stuff like a zillion times in the past, so I figured most folks knew my stance on things, and why I still think it’s one of the most undervalued commodities on earth.
But, as I said I got a lot of emails, a lot of questions and so I think I’ll use today to talk about them.
First off, the silver/gold miner stocks. Yes I like them. But NEVER get it in your head that any stock is safe. I repeat, any stock. Companies blow up, CEO’s get caught fondling kids, probable ounces in the ground get proven to be less than thought, their debt could catch up with them, I could go on and on. We “TRADE” the mining stocks. But they are not the same as having physical metal. You don’t “set it and forget it” with the miners. For maximum safety, you want physical.
Which of course brought up another question.
I appreciate your emails/articles about finance, life and more. I read your recent email on silver and while I would like to have more silver in my portfolio my issue is where do I store it?
I am not comfortable keeping large amounts of silver in the house. Not comfortable having large amounts in a safety deposit box in a bank so where? I would prefer my home not be a target for thieves if I can prevent it.
Lewis
Well Lewis, it’s like this. Anything you can’t stand over and protect with a gun in your hand…do you really own it? Safe deposit boxes are NO good. First off, most banks say you can’t store precious metals in them and secondly, what happens if the system goes down, and banks fold up? Did you know they’re legally allowed to go through your deposit box? Indeed.
Yes there are silver and gold storage companies, with mega high tech security, and each ounce you send there is registered, etc. But is that ideal? Do you want your silver sitting in a guarded establishment in say Nebraska, but you live in Florida? What if this whole world goes mad max, there’s no postal service/no UPS, no gasoline to drive there?
The secret to storing metals at “home” is you have to be concerned about 1) theft, and 2) especially if you have some cash along with your metals, is fire. So, how do we get around this? The theft part is relatively easy. First off, tell NO ONE that you own any. Why would anyone suspect that you’ve got enough precious metal, to want to come to your house? Don’t tell a soul you have metal at home. No one, including your kids. Secondly, consider shipping it to an elderly relatives place instead of yours. Even they don’t need to know what you’ve been sent, you can tell them it’s a heavy box of ammo or what have you. When it shows up, you go get it. That way, even if the UPS driver took note of a precious metal deliver and told his friends, it wouldn’t be “there.”
Now simply hiding it is pretty easy. You have the luxury of time. Most thieves don’t. So, if you climb up in your attic, go all the way to the back, and bury it under the insulation, which is under tons of old Christmas junk, boxes, old clothes and what ever else is rotting away up there, unless the robbers 1) think for sure you have a lot hidden, and 2) know you’re going to be away for at LEAST a couple days, There’s no way they’re going to have the time to rummage your entire house, all the way to that dusty corner of the attic that’s full of blown in insulation. Even if they brought a metal detector, the nails and brackets would be going off every moment.
Likewise if you have a shed. If it’s anything like mine, it’s jam packed full of crap and I detest the idea of trying to get to the back of it. Empty out some old paint cans, fill them with silver, put them in the back corner of the shed, put more half full can’s of crap on top and in front, and yeah… not many are going looking there. Got a basement? There’s a Zillion places to get creative down there.
While those will keep you safe 99% of the time, it won’t stop fire. That is an issue. So, your best bet is a good safe, BOLTED to the floor. Yes they cost money. Good one’s cost a lot. But I’m always amazed by the people that will buy 45K dollars worth of Gold, 20K worth of guns, and not want to spend 5K to protect it. ( along with, ammo, currency, important papers, etc)
Once again, a really good safe, takes an engineering marvel to be broken into. Chisels, torches, jackhammers you name it. Plus time, lots of time. They’re heavy. If they’re bolted down from the Inside, they’re stupid hard to move. You also don’t need one the size of a bank vault. A monster box of Silver Eagles has 500 ounces, yet the package is 15 x 8.5. x 5 inches.
Another question went like this:
When you say “buy silver” what kind do you mean? Just coins, or bars too?
Albert
Well Al, there’s a million opinions on this. I’ve heard people say “silver is silver, no matter what you buy.” Well that’s correct… but notice the term “what you buy.” What happens if you want to sell it? The plot thickens.
Silver can be bought in a myriad of ways. “Junk silver” are coins that are Pre – 1965 and have a silver content in them. So you can buy bags of say 1959 quarters and half dollars. You’ll have silver in them, PLUS the benefit of having a legally tendered coin if you want to spend it as such.
Then there’s “rounds” which are silver blanks that have been processed into any number of things. A one ounce blank with a panda bear on it. Or a nighttime scene, or an ocean scene, or a crypto currency’s label, or the mint that processed it or what have you. There’s thousands of designs.
Moving along you’ve got “bars” or bullion. They come in various sizes too. 5 ounce bars, 10 ounce bars, 100 ounce bars. These are great for storing silver, since the premiums are considerably less than on say Silver Eagles.
The most commonly bought silver is the US silver Eagle. It’s been around for ages, and is recognized around the world. And therein lies the beauty of it.
Let’s say you bought 50 ounces of rounds. They are beautifully engraved, gorgeous coins. But you need to sell some, or barter for some eggs and steaks. The guy you’re trying to trade this to, might not trust that what you have is 99% real silver. He’s never seen a “Don’t tread on me” Silver round. He might think It’s something you got at a discount store as a toy for your kid.
Don’t get me wrong, I have seen some absolutely gorgeous silver rounds, one was even etched like a hologram. Stunning. But when the SHTF, the silver you’re most likely to have success in trading for goods or food, will indeed be silver eagles. That’s why they carry the biggest premiums when you try and buy them.
So are they worth it? Yes for your insurance. I have no issue with having some pretty rounds, as they are collector items at times and they’re still pure silver. But for hard core “I want protection.” Then Eagles are the way to go.
As my research has shown, silver demand at the manufacturing level is soaring, but supply is getting weak. For years they’ve covered this up, beaten down the price, you name it. But ultimately, I think it goes higher, and having a few hundred ounces stashed is a mighty fine idea.
Buy Eagles. Find creative ways to store them at home. If you buy a lot, buy a safe. Finally, people have asked…When do I sell it? That’s pretty simple. When you need to. Let’s say you have some silver you bought at 12 bucks. It’s now 24. But, your Daughters wedding is coming up, and they’re expensive. There’s no shame in selling some of your silver to cover something that important.
No, I don’t want people selling it for date nights and such trivial crap. But emergencies, big ticket issues, special occasions, etc. At least you’ve kept up with inflation, which your dollars did not. Good luck.