I haven't been in a position to add much to my stack recently so it has been nice of the market to back off a little for this time. I am back into a position where I can so I'm ready for a takeoff. Lol. In all seriousness I bought most of my stack late last/ early this year so I am very much so in the black. I'm not stressed. I enjoy where my interest in the metals has taken me with research into markets/fundamentals of the world economies etc.
My mood ring still tells me that silver is boring as hell (as is gold) . The amount of time people spend obsessing over the price and future profits is hilarious (talk of a future metals-backed currency with gold or silver re-valued to the moon is hilarious to me too). For me, 'investing' in the metal was about keeping a few thousand out of a filthy bank. I don't care if I don't make a cent of profit (and I haven't). To me, it's all about knowing where your funds are, and not having them used in activities I don't approve of. In other words, my freaking savings, my way. If I had to do it again, I'd keep more filthy cash so I can spend it when I want and I'd invest a heck of a lot more in myself (knowledge) and self-sufficiency. I still don't care about the price, nor have I ever bought or sold paper silver.
Abso-bloody-lutely. Spot on. The two best decisions I have ever made (with help) are (1) paying off my mortgage as early as we could, and (2) going to university when I was in my thirties, for the first time. Both those 'investments' have been paying me back ever since, and will continue to do so, even in retirement.
For me the mood is definitely upbeat and not least because I was lucky enough to get in low, and luck is all it was. It has allowed me to more closely examine the coin collecting side of things and I agree with the idea that semi-numis (read Perth Mint collector coins) aren't all they're cracked up to be, cost me a few bob to figure that one out (duh!) Still, there are reasons to be cheerful - DYOR
I originally vowed to stack by the cheapest means possible, which would be blobs. Then I started to think about what the world might look like when I come to sell. If the economy is in real strife, then blobs might be best because you'd be unlikely to recover any premium attached to minted items. Heck, you might not even get your money back on blobs. However, if the world is still operating as normal, or in only a mild to moderate recession, with some people still having money for 'non-necessities', it might actually be easier to sell items that have some aesthetic or collectible quality, so minted items might sell well. Eventually, I landed on a strategy of diversification within diversification. Buying PMs is a diversification strategy in itself, but additional layers of diversification can be added by collecting both gold and silver, plus again by buying blobs, minted bars and semi numi coins. You could go so far as to add real numis, but that requires some depth of knowledge I can't be arsed developing. For those who do, I reckon it's worth having a go, within reason of course. If you buy minted but otherwise unremarkable items, the premium may still be lost at the point of sale, but shouldn't be material. If the items are rare or valuable in some other way, then of course you rely heavily on there being a cashed-up buyer looking for that item at the very same time you want to sell - and both of you finding each other. In normal economic times and when you're not desperate to sell, this might not be a problem. If you're in a hurry however.......
Strange attitudes ? I bought silver at AU$14.00/oz, $18.00/oz, $25.00/oz, $30.00/oz and $40.00/oz. So its up on many purchases and down on a few? so what? My AU$ was worth US$1.10 a few years ago now its a weak 75c. What a terrible asset. I am so depressed about the AU$ What are you all depressed about ? has your silver vanished like a Greek bank account ? Gold and silver is a long term ploy. Its not a trade its a saving. If you want to trade, physical metals are not the medium.
Sums it up for me also. I think that if you don't buy more than you can comfortably afford and balance it out with other investments/ savings it's all good. I have about 535 ounces which I have picked up over the past 4 years and I simply buy whenever prices get around $23-24 which has turned out to be a fairly safe buying point. My plan for silver is pretty simple, have fun and enjoy responsibly acquiring more and more (when prices are right)- then in 40 years when I retire cash it in and see whether it was worth it.
I have never seen such a pessimism among friends. People hate metals. They don't want anything to do with silver. So I just purchased another 200oz today. This is a bargain.
My stack stops me blowing my cash on impulsive buys-even though i am an impulsive buyer of the shinny stuff, i am in it for the long haul and if nothing else at least i will have something shinny to look at when i retire.
Silver's to heavy. I was about to add another 100oz but I decided gold was just overall easier. Not sure what the future will bring, but I'm happy that some of my savings is in physical PM's. Which are accepted everywhere in the world as money.
It's not accepted as money anywhere in the world, bar few places, like a bullion dealer in Iraq. US dollars are more likely to be excepted in a Australian coffe shop than gold. Plus it is easy to exchange US to Aus dollars in thousands of money exchangers everywhere, gold well you need to find a dealer.
OMG. For how many years can we keep reverting back to that imaginary line of self-validation? :lol: This is how I know it:
Yes you are right, but that is not what I meant. USD and any other currency are probably easier to convert then gold at this point in time. To me it's just a true form of money, even though I need a bullion dealer, it's value as a store of wealth mean it will always be accepted almost anywhere, where the USD one day will not. Silver is just way to heavy. silver has the potential to exponentially increase greater then gold, the weight is a turn off.
I just feel buying and forgetting, maybe someday the value will be realize. I enjoy it much more as a hobby. I never sell any coin once it enters my stack. I hope at least after 10-15 years the trend will improve. It is a great loss if still 30usd/toz after 15yrs and i can not accept that to happen. I would rather put them in silver than going back to some retail businesses and other money activities. My source of living is enough for waiting till my retirement.
