Gold and Silver= buying $ U.S

southerncross

Well-Known Member
Silver Stacker
I read somewhere yesterday and also somewhere here on SS today about the possibility of the RBA wanting to devalue the Aussie dollar.

It got me to thinking that in effect all we are doing by stacking is buying U.S dollars , but then I also wonder that if that is the case then buying bullion is a no fail way of doing it at the moment.

Here's my reasoning.

Aussie dollar is high = Silver/Gold purchase is comparatively low in both price and U.S dollars. $1000 Au in gold or silver = $1000 + X in $U.S.

Aussie dollar drops back to $0.75 compared to U.S currency means that the previous bullion purchase is worth 25% more in $AU.

So am I right in thinking that if the global economy crashes and the U.S dollar is no longer seen as a safe haven for investment the price of bullion will still be a better bet than buying the actual currency of either the AU or US dollar ?

I am looking at this from the point of view that even if in a deflation scenario where all physical assets are devalued on account of currency issues that even then gold or silver will still be seen as a safer hedge compared to fiat if not more so, or on the flip side in the case of inflation bullion will keep pace with fiat value.

Where is the catch ?

The only downside I can see on the face of it is that prices plummet along with everything else in a crisis but they will never fall below the cost of production unlike shares or be arbitrarily devalued like a currency. That and the case for you wont lose unless you need to sell.

Am I missing something here? Just locally if I invested in the safe bet of real estate where I live five years ago I would be $100 K down on the median price at least as opposed to the gains in precious metals.

Another point I like to look at is the case for liquidation, I couldn't very well sell just a part of my house if I bought one to fund something else or take a holiday without redrawing on my loan and/or paying the extra interest. Or sell part of my business without sacrificing a proportionate part of the income and both circumstances would be reliant upon the market at the time along with many other influences.

Again, am I missing something ?

I know a lot is to do with personal circumstances, renting as opposed to buying and interest rates etc, Short term or long term investments on the share market or risk etc but overall if given the gift of hindsight, for maximum security as the first priority and medium to long term gain and investment as a second priority where would you have placed your hard earned dollars ? Liquidity being an important third but probably inapplicable to people who have purchased a property as a home rather than an investment.

I am really curious as to others opinions on this aspect of buying PM's. Are we just buying pseudo U.S dollars given the current standing of a global reserve currency or is there a benefit that is to be realised longer term?

Is there a potential large loss to be made compared to a safer investment?
 
Very interesting questions of yours.

If gold happened to be priced worldwide in Hungarian Florit,or in Mexican peso,would buying gold be the same as buying Florit,or Peso's.

Gold happens ,at the moment to be priced in USD,but may be priced in Yuan ,say, in the future.
For me,in Australia,the only thing that counts,apparently,is it's price in AUD.If golds value fell dramatically in USD, but rose in AUD,what would I care!

Its a question I find hard to get my mind around.
Perhaps "money" is much more complex than I think.
 
My 2c:

southerncross said:
It got me to thinking that in effect all we are doing by stacking is buying U.S dollars......
Not really true, as you haven't considered that metals may appreciate in value as measured in $USD. You are assuming a deflationary scenario.

southerncross said:
The only downside I can see on the face of it is that prices plummet along with everything else in a crisis but they will never fall below the cost of production unlike shares or be arbitrarily devalued like a currency.
IMHO, it is a dangerous asumption that values can't fall below the cost of production. This is a widely accepted theory, but has been proven otherwise with other assets, so why not PM's? Sure, in this case producers may stop producing, but that does not necessarily prevent a lingering overhang of supply.

southerncross said:
That and the case for you wont lose unless you need to sell.
Another fallacy. This flawed philosophy is often used to rationalise and excuse an investment mistake. Once in the red, you have lost as measured in opportunity. No matter which way you want to look at it, you are backward in oz's.

southerncross said:
Is there a potential large loss to be made compared to a safer investment?
Yes.
 
Hmmm - in my mind given the current circumstances, "a safer investment" sounds like an oxymoron. Hard to say what is safe or even safeer really!

To add my own 2c to wrcmad's wise words ...

There is effectively a currency risk with buying PMs, that is possibly a short term opportunity given the relative strength of the AU$ and the "pressure" to devalue/cap it by central bankers, plus the free market devaluing for any number of reasons (resource exports falling; resurgence of Euro and US$ as stable investments [haha]).

But for sure, there IS currency risk - and on the flip side, potential hedging (if you believe the AU will fall to historic averages against the US$). Both of these should be taken into account, depending on your needs.

Personally I have faith in mankind's historic valuing of gold and a shared "belief" in its intrinsic value, hence I buy as a wealth protection mechanism - and meaning I am "long" on my purchases and would happily pass it down to the next generation and beyond.

I think anyone right now DEPENDING on PMs to make a killing could be in for a volatile ride, that could even last 10 years or more, although overall I am a gold bug! At some point, I believe PMs will be revalued (upwards) but more to the point, this is in fiat, so it's buying power and wealth preservation that's important.

For example, I was looking at a tub of icecream yesterday in Woolies - use to be $4 about 5 years ago, now it's $6 (I was a buyer back then hehe, not now). 50% up in 5 years? Maybe I should have invested in icecream ... anyway the point is, my $ doesn't go as far today. If I'd been smart enough to starve myself of icecream and buy gold instead ... at some point the icecream market will go into meltdown you know (sorry, couldn't resist).

Price inflation is ugly, insidious and vastly under-reported!

So since in Australia, it looks like we're fast becoming an expensive country to live in, but with a great lifestyle AND local prices will probably always be determined by overseas interests and economies, PMs will always have some currency risk associated, but IMO this will be mitigated by the local buying power of your PMs.

If one is travelling OS with PMs (ie to migrate; travel; live in a more free-market friendly jurisdiction) then this would certainly be a concern and it could be worthwhile having some of your PMs stashed "elsewhere". But that's a completely different conversation ;)
 
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