Buying silver, where to start

But 80 or 90 ounces is better than zero ounces.

 

Zero? Even after the big silver sell off I did 2 years ago I still had hundreds of ounces.
I say buy kilo or smaller, maybe one 50oz or one 100oz if you really want one, because you want it.
Really the biggest size that's practical is 10oz. I say only about 10% of your hord should be 10oz or bigger.
Almost everything should be 1oz with some 5oz. If you can get fractionals with out getting screwed definitely get those, normally I don't recommend fractionals because you can easily pay about 2x spot for them.

 

So, you are basically letting a bank store your PMs for you. What could possibly go wrong there? Banks are closed a lot (weekends, holidays, bad weather, riots, earthquakes, power outages, etc.), they are good for investors but not for preppers (would you store your guns, ammo, food, etc. in a bank?), and not very secretive as ANYONE with a bank examiner in tow can root around in your safe deposit box! Storage of PMs is the reason for ammo cans and backyards, and before you ask, there is a sealed letter with my will that details how to find it!

 

That is why the general public isn't going to live very long after a real SHTF situation. They are the people that don't have a plan, they don't even know that they need a plan! They think that the government is gonna save them! Their biggest concern is which teams will be in the Super Bowl or some such shit! They will have NO food, guns, water, heat, fuel, etc., and they are gonna die! Hell, most of the general public couldn't scrap together $400-500 for unexpected auto repairs! They don't know anything about PMs, and they don't need to, cause they will never have any and they have nothing worth trading for, and if they did have something of value you can just wait for them to die and take it!
PS You need to have a silver and gold test kit, and a coin book that gives the metal content of US coins!

 

I live in a geography dead area. Nearest fault that isn't even that active is about 200 miles away. If you live in an earthquake hot spot a safe deposit box is a dumb idea. I covered this in another post.
If you live in a liberal run shithole that has riots every time some loser dies, that's dumb too. Smaller cities, and towns.
People get robbed. If I get "died suddenly" looters can't just steal it. The police can seize it if I wrong think. Plus you can keep a gun and some ammo in a safe deposit box.
Ever hear of "all your eggs in one basket"?
Plus why are you assuming I only have one and keep everything in there?
Prepping isn't just burying stuff in the back yard. Do you have a lawyer on retainer? It protects you from state sanctioned criminals.
I would say have at least one in a different state and on a different power grid or different part of the power gird. In a small city or town. Not in a liberal run shit hole, not near a volcano or fault, or near the coast or flood zone.

 

I can just look out the window in the morning as I enjoy my coffee and know that it is still there...same as it was last night when I let the cat in. Robbers, looters, police, IRS...they can't take what they can't find! The same goes for guns and ammo, most are stored in the gun safe, but some are buried out in the woods where they will NEVER be found! If a Federal Bank Examiner even hints that he would like to view the contents of your safe deposit box, the bank manager will fall all over himself opening it and neither you nor your lawyer will know anything about it until they file charges for money laundering, tax evasion, etc.. It happens all the time and having a lawyer isn't going to stop it!

 

I don't have enough money to launder.

 

Tell that to legitimate businessmen and other individuals that have had cash seized while on the way to the bank or to make a major purchase. You stated that you had 100s of ounces of silver...don't you think that will raise a few red flags? TPTB are going to wonder why, if you have nothing to hide, you don't have all that money invested in something normal like stocks. After they freeze your assets and charge you with a number of financial crimes, your biggest worry will be staying out of jail! The same goes for having a safe deposit box full of cash!

 

I don't carry large amounts of cash for that reason. Plus I have been buying PM since 2008 I ought to have more than a few ounces.
Plus I invested in stocks, I have way more I stocks than I would like. Sound financial advice is have at least 10% in PM. I got more than that but less than half.
They can't seize all my assets. I got a lawyer on big old retainer, per advise from my father.
It won't raise as many red flags as burying PM and money on the back yard.

 

Today, I was exploring the APMEX website, just looking at some areas where I had never been before. I discovered that US commemorative silver dollars 90% coins in AU or BU condition can be considerably cheaper than Peace or Morgan culls. These coins were struck to commemorate the Olympics, historical events and figures, etc., and are priced as low as $25 for any quantity, which is about $4 less than the culls! I still prefer the more commonly circulated coinage, but these are US coins and if you have a coin reference book these might find a place in your horde.

 

Only IF they can find it! I never said just how big my backyard is, but the Tennessee River is about 2.5 miles south of my backdoor and it might not be technically buried on my property. I'm also interested in birding and star gazing which means that I have both binoculars (and well-thumbed bird book) and a telescope (and star chart) close at hand, so I can see a loooooong way if needed. Secret to keeping a thing hidden is to stay away from it, or have an innocent reason for visiting the site.

 

APMEX ... woo boy that's expensive.
Check out BullionExchanges and SDBullion for your best online prices.
Typically a LCS will give you a better price than online.
Also good to have a relationship with at least 1 LCS. Never know when you might need to trade PM for FRNs in an emergency or to fund a large purchase.

 

I like APMEX, I've been doing business with them for several years and like their prompt service and quality (no slicks)!

 

Wildbilly, I think i'd rather get generic rounds for 3$ over spot versus commeratives at 6$ over.
But that's the great thing about stacking. Somebody is gonna say that one should stack big ass bars of silver or maybe even say silver is stupid expensive and say one should be stacking gold!

 

And I prefer coins that were made by the US Mint, and thus of a known quality, to a coin, bar or round produced by the "Zoobewando Mint" at a cheaper price and difficult to sell, exchange, trade, etc.. I'm reminded of that period in American history when local banks printed their own paper money, and the value of your paper "money" decreased the further you got from home...eventually it would become worthless. This was mostly due to over printing of money by the banks and counterfeiting by individuals, and the difficulty of exchanging your paper money issued by XYZ Bank for gold or silver (aka real money)! There are a lot of counterfeit gold and silver out there, and having "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" stamped on the coin just gives me, and others, than added level of security and confidence.

 

I didn't find my apmex, JM, credit swissie, Scottish, Chicom, Turkish silver any haEder to sell than US mint stuff.
The swissie and JM consistently
sold faster and brought in more than US mint stuff.

 

@Wildbilly my only problem with US Commerative coins is that they are not marked as to the fineness of silver they contain.
Sure you know they are 90% but they are after 1964.

There ain't no silver in those coins sayeth the man at the barter shop. Nineteen hundred and sixty-four .. last date they put silver in US coins. That's what my daddy and his daddy taught him. What kind of scam are you trying to pull there mister. Your no longer welcome at this here trading post. Now scram.

Yeah, you know and I know, but i don't want to have to educate the unwashed masses. I'm sticking to pre-64 and bullion.

 

That is why I recommend having a couple of reference books that give the metal content of any and all coins that you have. Also have a test kit for gold and silver, and you may have to cut-up a random coin in order to prove that it is solid silver or gold. Don't have ALL commemorative coins and be prepared to take your business elsewhere! If you got plans to operate your own trading post, like I do, that won't be a problem.
That made me think of a short story that I read about a guy after the SHTF. Seems this guy took shelter in the ruins of a very upscale home, and in the rubbish on the floor of the nursery he found a couple of framed Disney coin-holders that contained silver coins for all of Disney characters. Seems that they got left behind by the family and no one else had noticed them. He was in luck, however I could just imagine him going into a trading post full of tough survivalist types with his Disney coins
Like I said, I prefer pre-1965 90% junk silver US coins for the reason that there are a lot of dumb and stupid people out there!

 

Example, once again many of the people of Texas are at the mercy of a winter storm! They are freezing in their darkened homes without power or heat! You would think that they would have learned a lesson from the last winter storm, but nooooo! Like I said, they aren't gonna last very long in a real emergency, and that's a shame....cause they are gonna stink something fierce!