The Verdict: Should You Invest In Silver Or Gold
As you can see, there are clear benefits and drawbacks to investing in both silver and gold. So, how do you make the decision? Which is better?
Consider your investment objectives, the amount of money you have to invest, and the amount of risk youre willing to take on the safer side of your asset allocation.
Best Way To Buy Gold And Silver
In todays digital online world, we seldom own assets that we can physically see and touch that hold and increase their value despite . Gold and silver are the only currencies that have been in use for the last 5,000 years. What is the best way to buy gold and silver in todays markets?
Assets such as gold and silver are ruled by the law of physical supply there is only so much gold and silver available. When you buy gold or silver, you can physically see the item and weigh it yourself if you chose, so it is much easier to determine the actual value.
Where does gold and silver bullion come from? After the metal has been mined and then refined, it is generally sold to bullion banks. These banks are the middlemen between the suppliers and the buyers.
Just like a normal bank is the middleman between you and the governments reserve bank, bullion banks are the intermediaries between the gold suppliers and the buyers.
Gold producers sell to the banks, despite what the market demands at that particular moment are, and buyers purchase from the bank. The bank stores the gold, handles financing and basically distributes the gold across the globe for investment or industrial purposes, or jewelry. The buyers in this instance are the companies or mints that sell the bars or coins.
Check Current Gold Spot Prices
It’s a good idea to follow the price of gold for some time before deciding it’s the right time to invest. You dont want to buy at the peaks, so you’ll want to understand what factors affect the price of gold. For instance, gold coin dealers maintain that numismatic coins are worth more than just the metal contained inside of them, which is how they can justify charging a premium when you buy. There’s really no getting around this, so be cautious of any dealer that claims it isnt charging a premium.
Shop around dealer websites to make sure you’re paying a fair price for gold. Check exchange sites to find out what the spot price is, and expect to pay a 5% to 8% premium above the spot price for a gold coin.
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Gold And Silver Authentication And Certification
Bullion generally comes with a certificate of authenticity or an assay card. While most national mints, including those in the U.S., Australia and the UK, guarantee the purity of the metal in the coins they sell, retail sellers of bullion must certify or issue an assay card to confirm the purity of the metal they wish to sell.
A certificate of authenticity consists of a seal or sticker that is placed on a piece of paper or certificate. The CoA seal guarantees that the coin or bullion item is authentic, although the CoA does not certify the exact purity of the item like an assay card does.
Despite the fact that a CoA does not seal the bullion piece like an assay, it does include vital details. These might include an approval stamp of authenticity, purity and mintmark proving the metal item is legitimate.
Purchasing Gold & Silver Nearby In The United States
Purchasing gold and silver bullion — whether in the form of coins, bars, or rounds — is a prudent decision for investors and wealth protectors alike. The Federal Reserve continues to issue huge numbers of debt backed instruments, called Federal Reserve Notes , thereby devaluing each unit already in existence and levying the most insidious of taxes, the hidden inflation tax.
Top Products:
Money Metals Exchange, the national source for buying and selling precious metals named “Best in the USA,” has unveiled a new local directory. Along with local coin and bullion shops, our directory includes our state law information pages containing up-to-date information on sales tax laws, capital gains laws, bullion depository laws, legal tender laws and more important details pertaining to each individual state in the union.
Use the map below to find gold and silver in your area:
Some important things to consider: In some jurisdictions, local dealers are subject to regulations which force them to collect substantial personal information from you, and they will generally pay less when you sell your precious metals than Money Metals Exchange will pay. Meanwhile, local dealers often do not have as much inventory available or competitive pricing.
So if you do choose to do business with Money Metals, the dealer ranked #1 in the U.S. by an industry ratings group, there are many great options listed here on this website.
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Commodity Exchange Traded Funds
Exchange-traded funds exist for all three precious metals. ETFs are a convenient and liquid means of purchasing and selling gold, silver, or platinum. Investing in ETFs, though, doesn’t give you access to the physical commodity, so you don’t have a claim on the metal in the fund. You will not get the actual delivery of a gold bar or silver coin.
Tips To Avoid Gold Scams
Even though it is relatively easy to find and buy precious metal, there are some risks to consider. Avoid Craigslist, online dealers offering massive discounts, pawnshops, TV ads, cold callers and any dealer without a brick-and-mortar location, since there is no way of verifying that the dealer actually exists. Dealers that offer free storage or delayed delivery might not be legitimate, and you may never see the gold that you paid for.
Don’t give in to the pressure of late-night telemarketers insisting you call them immediately for a limited-time discounted rate on gold. Take your time to find a reputable dealer.
Don’t give in to the pressure of late-night telemarketers insisting you call them immediately for a limited-time discounted rate on gold. Take your time to find a reputable dealer.
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Choose A Payment Method
This step may seem self-evident, but the importance of how you pay for gold or silver shouldn’t be overlooked. Although your options will depend on the seller, ideally they should offer multiple payment methods. Be wary if a seller only accepts one type of payment, or doesn’t accept online hours 24 hours a day.
Most precious metals dealers will take any traditional payment method: credit card, personal check, or cash. Online dealers may also accept cryptocurrency like Bitcoin as payment.
Paying by bank wire is often your best value if this option is available. Wire transfers are fast, secure, and avoid certain fees, making them especially useful for large purchases.
Does Buying Gold And Silver Make Sense For You
Gold and silver have historically been a popular choice as a store of wealth, although owning physical gold carries the risk of theft if stored in a relatively unsecured home or even a home safe. Gold storage facilities represent an excellent and safer alternative in many cases, as do bank safety deposit boxes.
A gold storage facility has a prorated cost of roughly 0.5% to 0.7% of the stored metals average daily value and could make sense if you own a large amount. Also, a reputable storage facility is more likely to stay open in a financial event that could close banks, making safety deposit boxes unavailable.
You can also open a precious metals individual retirement account that would allow you to save the value of your metal holdings for your retirement with deferred taxes. The bottom line is that gold and silver have historically retained value throughout history and may provide you with a long-term hedge against inflation.
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The World Leader In Investment Grade Bullion Coins
Congressionally authorized United States Mint Bullion Coins provide investors with a convenient and cost-effective way to add physical gold, silver, platinum, or palladium to their investment portfolios. The American Eagle Bullion Coin Program was launched in 1986 with the sale of American Eagle Gold and Silver Bullion Coins. Platinum was added to the American Eagle Bullion Coin family in 1997 and palladium in 2017. In 2008, the American Buffalo Bullion Coin Program was introduced. The America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin Program followed in 2010.
Increasing Your Core Position: Bullion
As mentioned, most households Emergency stash will range between a few $thousand to a low 5-figure $sum.
Among those households, a number will want to own more precious metals beyond the Emergency stash for increased protection against monetary devaluation/economic crisis/asset price bubbles. But they dont want exposure to the increased risks involved with storing greater amounts of bullion.
For investors like this, who are likely the majority of those reading this article, bullion storage companies can be an excellent solution.
In this space, PeakProsperity.com has, for years, endorsed solutions like the Hard Assets Alliance, which is representative of the benefits these storage companies can offer.
The Hard Assets Alliance is commercial-grade platform that allows you to purchase gold and silver at very competitive prices, and then have that metal stored in your name in a high-security vault of your choice.
The HAA offers such good pricing because it uses Gold Bullion Internationals industrial-grade platform which ensures that a minimum of 4 dealers are competing to fulfill your order.
In terms of storage options, the HAA holds any precious metals you buy in your name. This is allocated storage no one else has claim to that same bullion. This differs from unallocated solutions where buyers have a fractional claim on a pool of bullion. When using a storage company, definitely choose allocated solutions over unallocated.
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Start Buying Precious Metals From Gainesville Coins
Now you are equipped with the valuable know-how you will need to start investing in precious metals. Visit Gainesville Coins for excellent pricing and exceptional customer service when you buy physical precious metals. That includes gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
We also offer secure vault storage and ship to over 40 countries worldwide. Call us at 482-9300 and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have about buying gold and silver.
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Difference #: Silver Stockpiles Are Falling Golds Are Rising
This difference may not seem to have immediate importance to an investor, but its a behind-the-scenes development that could potentially have big consequences in certain circumstances.
Governments and other institutions used to hold large inventories of silver. Today, however, most of them no longer have stockpiles of the metal. In fact, the only countries that warehouse silver are the US, India, and Mexico.
Look whats happened to those inventories since 1970.
The primary reason governments dont hold a lot of silver is because its no longer used in coinage. But as we outlined above, silver is used in industry to a much greater degree now so if future industrial needs rise, or the supply chain were interrupted, governments will be ill-equipped to support those needs.
In contrast, central banks hold over 34,000 tonnes of gold in official Reserves. And on a net basis, they continue buying every year. These ongoing purchases contribute to the overall demand for the metal.
This source of demand isnt present for silver. However, it does put the silver market in a precarious position. If the need for physical silver were to suddenly increasea monetary crisis, a shortage in industrial supply, a spike in investment demandgovernments wont be able to meet these needs with such tiny stockpiles.
- If governments started to buy silver for any reason, it would have a huge impact on the marketdemand would spike, and the price would skyrocket.
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So Once Ive Bought My Emergency Stack Where Do I Keep It
The first rule of owning bullion is to convince the world you dont own any. DONT TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT!
Greed and crisis do weird things to people. Dont make yourself a target unnecessarily by revealing your holdings or where youve stashed them.
Except perhaps to your spouse, or key family members you trust. You dont want the gold disappearing forever should you suddenly kick the bucket
The point of having an emergency stack is to be able to get your hands on it quickly should you need to. Some people put it in a home safe, some in a bank safety deposit box, some hide it in the walls or bury it outside. There are pros and cons to each. Youll need to decide for yourself which is the best option for your unique situation.
The main risks to holding precious metals on your own property are personal safety and loss. If you decide to keep bullion in your home, in a safe or elsewhere, the smart thing to do is to TELL NO ONE. The fewer people who suspect you have any gold, the lower your risk of robbery. As for loss, many insurance companies will not cover more than a small sum if your bullion is lost due to theft or disaster. Be sure youve reviewed your homeowners policy to know what your limit is.
Holding your metal in a bank reduces the theft/loss risks, but introduces others. For example, your access is more limited as it depends on the bank being open .
In the end, youll need to decide for yourself which option best fits your personal risk tolerance level.
Chuck Norris Five Principles
Now you have a chance to protect your future with the first ever, legal tender, Chuck Norris 1 oz. silver coin. Struck by the New Zealand mint, the front of the coin is engraved with Chuck Norris 5 principles for life: Faith, Family, Fitness, Freedom, and Fight. The coin comes ready to showcase in a beautiful wooden box that includes a Certificate of Authenticity.
- Producer: New Zealand Mint
- IRA Eligible: No
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Find A Reputable Seller
There’s no better place to buy your metals from than a professional bullion dealer. They will always be your most reliable and trustworthy option.
That begs the question: How do you identify a trustworthy gold dealer? Here are some quick tips.
- Read customer reviews. What have past clients or customers said about this seller?
- Check their Better Business Bureau profile. Anything besides an A+ rating is a red flag.
- What is their product selection? Make sure the seller has the type of products you’re looking for.
- Do they have clear policies? You want to work with a company that clearly states its policies for returns, cancelled orders, etc.
It’s also useful to comparison shop between several dealers. This will give you a sense of which sellers offer the best prices and the widest selection.
Whether you’re shopping for silver products at your local coin shop or are buying physical gold bullion, comparing prices is the best way to understand the current market. You may also want to read up on the latest market research from the World Gold Council.
Product selection is an important consideration when you invest in precious metals.
Where To Store Your Silver
This is an important consideration, not just because silver is valuable and thus needs to be stored safely, but also because it takes up a lot of space!
At current prices, you can get roughly 65 times more ounces of silver than gold for the same dollar amount. As a practical example, youd have to stuff 65 one-ounce silver bars in your pants pocket to equal one ounce of gold, and it would weigh almost five pounds! In other words, youll need a lot more space to store silver bars than gold. Its also more difficult, expensive, and cumbersome to transport.
This can be a dilemma when trying to use home storage or a bank safe deposit box, since it takes up so much space. There are ways to do it, though, and we devoted a full article and video to the topic here.
Once your stash starts to grow, however, I recommend you consider professional storage. Your risks of keeping it all at home increase as you accumulate more metal. You dont want to be wiped out if something happened to your stash.
Mike Maloney and I and thousands of other investors use the allocated storage program at GoldSilver.com. Your holdings are highly secure, 100% insured, and can be bought and sold online instantaneously. Its your safest option once you have a reasonable amount of bullion stored close to you.
Silver bars are one of mankinds most definitive forms of moneytheyre a tangible asset, are highly liquid, and will protect your portfolio from various financial crises.
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Positioning Only Works If Done In Advance
So, why issue this primer now?
As mentioned, I was at a conference recently where precious metals were a key topic. At that conference was Peter Schiff, who underscored the trap the Fed finds itself in. While nearly quintupling the money supply, through QE1, 2 and 3, the Fed promised us it would normalize by selling off all of the assets it hoovered up from the market. But its recent capitulation has unveiled the lie the Fed can neither raise interest rates nor reduce its balance sheet without killing the economy. There will be no normalization.
From here on out, its going to be ever more easy credit and ever more stimulus until the economy collapses under the weight of Too Much Debt. On that journey, the purchasing power of the US dollar is going to be destroyed.
The best hope for the average investor is to own tangible assets that cant be inflated away. Gold & silver are the easiest for the average investor to access.
To get a sense of whats in store for precious metal prices under these conditions, watch this analysis from Mike Maloney:
But to benefit from the purchasing power protection of precious metals, you have to be positioned in them in advance of the coming fiat currency devaluation.
If youre not well-positioned already, make it a near-term priority to become so.
