CORP/BIZ Silver and Gold...The General Precious Metals Thread

Doc1 said:
Just my take FWIW: When silver briefly hit $120 in January my equities were up significantly. I didn't sell anything, as those are long term investments and I honestly expect silver to go much higher. There are just too many factors in silver's favor and too many negatives attached to the US Dollar. Anyway, when it comes to stocks I have horrible market timing. It would've been just my luck to sell my stocks at the recent highs, with the idea to repurchase them when they declined, only to see them continue to rise without me getting a good re-entry price.

Like I said, I've had terrible market timing with my equities; I've done much better with physical metal. Additionally, I see my equities as very much long term assets. Watch the silver market. Tonight it was up into the mid $80s, up from its recent lows in the lower $60s.

Oh, another thing. I have warned TB2Kers about buying any metal from China. I think the rest of the world is finally getting clued-in, because now - finally - I'm seeing eBay silver listings from China getting much lower prices than silver originating from US sellers. Even US sellers can't be trusted, as I've seen Chinese sellers simply using a US account to sell their crappy counterfeits! If you want to buy any metal on eBay, stick with the reputable US dealers on that site.

Best
Doc
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Ditto on the stock market. I lost and lost and lost over the years. Nothing big, because I never had big to invest.

I'm buying mutual funds now, and primarily big ones: Black Rock etc. I will probably cause that to crash too.

Good point on China selling fraudulent crap. China and India are historically notorious for not dealing honestly., especially long-distance.

I just buy from Teh Dood down the road, cause he doesn't track sales, so there's no record of what I gots, and I know who to go see in case there's a problem.

I'm still not sure why the gold/silver ratio is still in the high 50s, but way back in the mists of time I heard it was much lower. I'm still not buying gold, because it's SOOOOO freaking expensive. What if I get stung by counterfit? I would be out a boatload of money.
 
Ref: Counterfeit gold

Buy only from a reputable dealer. Until one is better educated avoid Ebay, Craigslist or your local pawn shop. Usually your local coin store is safe but I have bought most of mine from Apmex. The big dealers verify all the coins/bars they buy with expensive equipment before they pay for the metal they buy. Keep the receipts that you could show or give to a buyer when you sell to them. In addition I usually buy slabbed and certified coins from NGC and you have those serial numbers that can also help verify authenticity.
 
Doc1 said:
Like I said, I've had terrible market timing with my equities; I've done much better with physical metal. Additionally, I see my equities as very much long term assets. Watch the silver market. Tonight it was up into the mid $80s, up from its recent lows in the lower $60s.
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Yes, the phyzz has been easier to make long term profit on.
This time, unlike 2010-11 run, I have done extremely well in equities. I had more to invest and went with quality miners, with a whole bunch of NUGT/JNUG excitement thrown in.
Last years gains were 140% or so. Sitting at 15% this year.
Looking at this mornings action, that may get eaten up. The volatility is horrendous.
 
China's Record Silver Imports Drive Prices Above $88 per Ounce
Last updated 58 minutes ago
Official data shows March imports nearly tripled the 10-year average, fueled by solar panel makers stockpiling ahead of export tax rebate cuts and rising electric vehicle exports, plus retail investors seeking cheaper alternatives to gold. Spot silver jumped from $71 to $88.21 per ounce in days, with Shanghai prices hitting $98 amid tight supply signals like spiked lease rates. While analysts see potential for $90-$100 short-term, solar firms consider copper substitutes to manage costs, highlighting ongoing demand pressures in this key industrial metal.
This story is a summary of posts on X and may evolve over time. Grok can make mistakes, verify its outputs.
 
I just noticed gold is above 4700. I must of been sleeping through this rally. Silver seems to be withstanding the paper shorts too.
I asked my dentist a couple of weeks ago after I had some work done if he would accept American Silver Eagles for payment based on spot price. Without blinking he said yes, and gold too. Hummm. The barter economy is indeed growing.
 
Doc1 said:
Just my take FWIW: When silver briefly hit $120 in January my equities were up significantly. I didn't sell anything, as those are long term investments and I honestly expect silver to go much higher. There are just too many factors in silver's favor and too many negatives attached to the US Dollar. Anyway, when it comes to stocks I have horrible market timing. It would've been just my luck to sell my stocks at the recent highs, with the idea to repurchase them when they declined, only to see them continue to rise without me getting a good re-entry price.

Like I said, I've had terrible market timing with my equities; I've done much better with physical metal. Additionally, I see my equities as very much long term assets. Watch the silver market. Tonight it was up into the mid $80s, up from its recent lows in the lower $60s.

Oh, another thing. I have warned TB2Kers about buying any metal from China. I think the rest of the world is finally getting clued-in, because now - finally - I'm seeing eBay silver listings from China getting much lower prices than silver originating from US sellers. Even US sellers can't be trusted, as I've seen Chinese sellers simply using a US account to sell their crappy counterfeits! If you want to buy any metal on eBay, stick with the reputable US dealers on that site.

Best
Doc
Click to expand...
The Chinese are responsible for 2 million Morgan fakes over the years, so I won't touch them. Most are obvious but there are some clever ones out there. Even if it pings correctly, I still won't buy any.
 
Great Northwet said:
The Chinese are responsible for 2 million Morgan fakes over the years, so I won't touch them. Most are obvious but there are some clever ones out there. Even if it pings correctly, I still won't buy any.
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I don't blame you one bit. I won't touch any coins or bars with a Chinese pedigree. I have a small collection of counterfeit silver dollars given to me by friends in the PM business. Some are poorly executed, but others are very, very good fakes. I wouldn't catch them with the naked eye!

Still, counterfeit Morgans (or Peace Dollars) can't pass the "ping", weight and measurement tests. Additionally, one of my local pawnshop friends has a "Verifier" machine. These are excellent machines, but they're still very pricey. I do see the prices on them coming down, but they're still too rich for my blood.

If any of our members are buying significant amounts of precious metals, it is very much in your interests to acquire a micrometer and a sensitive grain scale. I have some very sensitive, professional Ohaus scales, but for single coins or small bars, I just use my grain-calibrated reloading scale. It's also very much in your interests to learn how to do a specific gravity test. That requires no special tools and instructions are widely available online.

Best
Doc
 
Doc1 said:
I don't blame you one bit. I won't touch any coins or bars with a Chinese pedigree. I have a small collection of counterfeit silver dollars given to me by friends in the PM business. Some are poorly executed, but others are very, very good fakes. I wouldn't catch them with the naked eye!

Still, counterfeit Morgans (or Peace Dollars) can't pass the "ping", weight and measurement tests. Additionally, one of my local pawnshop friends has a "Verifier" machine. These are excellent machines, but they're still very pricey. I do see the prices on them coming down, but they're still too rich for my blood.

If any of our members are buying significant amounts of precious metals, it is very much in your interests to acquire a micrometer and a sensitive grain scale. I have some very sensitive, professional Ohaus scales, but for single coins or small bars, I just use my grain-calibrated reloading scale. It's also very much in your interests to learn how to do a specific gravity test. That requires no special tools and instructions are widely available online.

Best
Doc
Click to expand...
Hehe, I also have a few fakes. I've heard from a dealer that some people actually collect them.

I deal with a very reputable dealer who opens up the tubes to inspect for "milk spots" then weighs the tubes out and it should be 669 grams. Possibly 670 grams depending on packaging.

The really fun part is that if I go to my bank to withdraw $5k it takes 20 minutes and they have to verify my Identity, check my ID, and such. When I go to the coin shop and do the same transaction it takes 3 minutes. We both know each other by face, and I've been doing business there for nearly 20 years and he doesn't even know my name.

So, imagine if some financial emergency grips the nation and lots of people are lined up at a bank-there is a way around that, and I found it years ago. Just get a relationship going with a coin shop.

I hope this helps any new preppers out there.
 
Great Northwet said:
Hehe, I also have a few fakes. I've heard from a dealer that some people actually collect them.

I deal with a very reputable dealer who opens up the tubes to inspect for "milk spots" then weighs the tubes out and it should be 669 grams. Possibly 670 grams depending on packaging.

The really fun part is that if I go to my bank to withdraw $5k it takes 20 minutes and they have to verify my Identity, check my ID, and such. When I go to the coin shop and do the same transaction it takes 3 minutes. We both know each other by face, and I've been doing business there for nearly 20 years and he doesn't even know my name.

So, imagine if some financial emergency grips the nation and lots of people are lined up at a bank-there is a way around that, and I found it years ago. Just get a relationship going with a coin shop.

I hope this helps any new preppers out there.
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Right. Add, for new preppers use the words exchange, gold, silver, coin, and jewelry store as key search words to find your LCS.

Also ask what there buy and sell is on what your interested in.

And some will loan you cash for your PMs. And give the same PM you gave them as collateral after you pay back the loan.
 
Great Northwet said:
Hehe, I also have a few fakes. I've heard from a dealer that some people actually collect them.

I deal with a very reputable dealer who opens up the tubes to inspect for "milk spots" then weighs the tubes out and it should be 669 grams. Possibly 670 grams depending on packaging.

The really fun part is that if I go to my bank to withdraw $5k it takes 20 minutes and they have to verify my Identity, check my ID, and such. When I go to the coin shop and do the same transaction it takes 3 minutes. We both know each other by face, and I've been doing business there for nearly 20 years and he doesn't even know my name.

So, imagine if some financial emergency grips the nation and lots of people are lined up at a bank-there is a way around that, and I found it years ago. Just get a relationship going with a coin shop.

I hope this helps any new preppers out there.
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this is EXACTLY what I do, bring in cash, and walk out with silver, after about 18 years of buying from him, still dont know his name, I call him silver he calls me green money same with coin shows, even gun shows have people selling and buying coins no names are ever used,
 
A friend went to a gun show a few weeks ago and said there were three tables selling PMs. All of them were asking around $20 over spot for silver and none would allow my friend to weigh the coins. My friend said he thought some of the coins were fake and he noticed no one was buying any. One table had South African one ounce gold coins asking $6000. The dealer said they were a very limited run of a special commemorative coin in a very limited number. What BS.
 
Wyominglarry said:
A friend went to a gun show a few weeks ago and said there were three tables selling PMs. All of them were asking around $20 over spot for silver and none would allow my friend to weigh the coins. My friend said he thought some of the coins were fake and he noticed no one was buying any. One table had South African one ounce gold coins asking $6000. The dealer said they were a very limited run of a special commemorative coin in a very limited number. What BS.
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There is no way a Krugerrand would sell for that much, BS.
 
As far as the fakes go, PT Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute", I'll employ that level of thinking if I need to in the future as things go south.
 
Decades ago bought with cash a big/heavy safe from dealer in Austin, loaded it up in my pick-up, he then wanted my name and address for receipt and warranty, etc., told him, sorry, not giving out address where this is going and to just write down my name as "Johnny Cash".

Panic Early, Beat the Rush!
- Shane
 
shane said:
Decades ago bought with cash a big/heavy safe from dealer in Austin, loaded it up in my pick-up, he then wanted my name and address for receipt and warranty, etc., told him, sorry, not giving out address where this is going and to just write down my name as "Johnny Cash".

Panic Early, Beat the Rush!
- Shane
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I bought a safe a few months ago because it was getting too weird to keep stacking and hiding the silver tubes behind the books on the bookshelf. I weighed it out recently and I can't move it all at once because it's simply too heavy.

A Monster Box weighs 45lbs. and I can put it on my shoulder if I need to and not easy at my age. No wait, there's more than that.
So, I can't carry it all at once. And then there is the weight of the safe itself.
 
Great Northwet said:
I bought a safe a few months ago because it was getting too weird to keep stacking and hiding the silver tubes behind the books on the bookshelf. I weighed it out recently and I can't move it all at once because it's simply too heavy.

A Monster Box weighs 45lbs. and I can put it on my shoulder if I need to and not easy at my age. No wait, there's more than that.
So, I can't carry it all at once. And then there is the weight of the safe itself.
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My metal is in the stuffed full safe and it's bolted down to the subfloor. Good luck to anyone trying to get it out before I find out they're trying. I'm not sure I could even move the safe empty today let alone full.
 
Great Northwet said:
I bought a safe a few months ago because it was getting too weird to keep stacking and hiding the silver tubes behind the books on the bookshelf.
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Hfcomms said:
My metal is in the stuffed full safe and it's bolted down to the subfloor. Good luck to anyone trying to get it out before I find out they're trying. I'm not sure I could even move the safe empty today let alone full.
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Anyone who has a safe needs to also have a monitored alarm system and an indoor cam that covers the area. Hardwired cams might be best for security, but one can always name a wireless cam “Leak cam” and point it just so the safe and other things like tools can’t be seen. If the feed is ever hacked, a person will likely think the cam is just to see if a pipe is leaking or something.

Carrying out the safe isn’t the issue. The issue is prying the door of most entry level safes followed by cutting into the side. Plate doors and bolted down near a wall or closet are the best for pry defense. At least 1/4” thick. Also, the gap between the door and body should be as tight as possible. The only real defense against cutting is said to be stainless steel interior sheet.

These attacks on quality safes would take hours. Since everyone has to leave home at some point, the monitored alarm and cameras come into play. For dog people, a dog that barks at strangers is another deterrent.

There have been two recent stories of burglaries where the loss is claimed at seven figures. One was PMs and the one in my area, jewelry. I’m guessing inside jobs. If I recall, both happened when homes were empty.

For people who want to hold tens of thousands or more at home, invest in a quality safe. One local company has prices starting at $3K and topping out at $6,500. This is for a 3/8” door and 7ga. body. 2,300 degrees at one hour ceramic fire liner. For those with over six figures being stored, pay the $10K or more and get a Graffunder. Then buy a cheap decoy safe for all the fake PMs and cheap firearms with firing pins removed.
 
Another fun story: I worked a gig at Sams Town in Las Vegas 3 decades ago and they put me in a steakhouse called Diamond Lil's.
Some 20 something had raided his dads safe and took his GF out for a steak dinner paying in silver at the face price ($1). The kid didn't have a clue, but my co-worker did. After a full dinner she got them to order "Bananas Foster" and it requires tableside flambe' after the total check and tip, he had given them about 69 silver coins.

At the time silver was less than $8oz. and she used as a downpayment on a new car.

The moral of the story is the same as my PT Barnum response. Always check quarters and dimes at the grocery when you get change. I use a debit card like everyone else, but I always have some cash if I think I might get something in change that's worth more than face value. A pre '64 quarter is worth $5 now.
 
Well, the option boys at the Comex must be out of town tonight.
Oh yea, long holiday weekend after crushing PM's for the last month.
I have to laugh, though. looking at the action, it is quite strong. I do expect more sideways, we will trend up, as the structural problems have not been addressed. Outstanding Silver options are few, and, net long.

5/24/2026 Evening trading:
Gold, Up $64.60 to $4,573.10
Silver, up $2.80 to $78.19
 
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1911user said:
Random year BU silver maples for $2 over spot.

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If I was in the market right now, thats a fair deal. To bad old Ronald McDonalds profile is on it.

:D

They should of never updated the profile. Still looked kinda horse like but much better...

1988-silver-1-oz-maple-leaf-coin-obverse-young.jpeg
 
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