Any silver stackers on the board?

[58pinson]

Platinum has a much shorter history as a precious metal commodity than gold or silver. In my opinion, at it's current value it is grossly underpriced when compared to gold and silver if based on no other criteria than it's scarcity. Numbers indicate that it is mined at a quantity 15x or so less than gold. The only platinum national mint coin that I am aware of is the Canadian 1 oz Maple Leaf. A beautiful coin. There are quite a multitude of platinum bars offered by different producers. It just doesn't seem to have the cachet, or "safe haven" status among precious metal "stackers" that gold and silver possess. Speculation with it is of course possible without taking physical possession of it. Personally, I think it has a high probabilty of increasing in value and a very small downside risk. Do I own any? No.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by 58pinson

Platinum has a much shorter history as a precious metal commodity than gold or silver. In my opinion, at it's current value it is grossly underpriced when compared to gold and silver if based on no other criteria than it's scarcity. Numbers indicate that it is mined at a quantity 15x or so less than gold. The only platinum national mint coin that I am aware of is the Canadian 1 oz Maple Leaf. A beautiful coin. There are quite a multitude of platinum bars offered by different producers. It just doesn't seem to have the cachet, or "safe haven" status among precious metal "stackers" that gold and silver possess. Speculation with it is of course possible without taking physical possession of it. Personally, I think it has a high probabilty of increasing in value and a very small downside risk. Do I own any? No.

US Mint produces platinum coins.
https://www.apmex.com/category/31100...merican-eagles

[58pinson]

Was not aware of that. Thanks for the info.

[Snapolit1]

Guys, one more ? on this kind of investing/collecting if you can bear it. . . . .

In looking at titanium, there seems to be a real differential between a 1 ounce bar and say a 1 ounce US mint coin. If you want to dip a toe in this is, is there really any reason to buy some 2018 US Mint coin? Is there really a market for these recent coins, whether Canadian, US, S. African or anywhere else, above and beyond the metal itself?

[I realize of course that vintage coins like a St Gaudens gold piece merits a substantial premium over the price of the raw material.]

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Guys, one more ? on this kind of investing/collecting if you can bear it. . . . .

In looking at titanium, there seems to be a real differential between a 1 ounce bar and say a 1 ounce US mint coin. If you want to dip a toe in this is, is there really any reason to buy some 2018 US Mint coin? Is there really a market for these recent coins, whether Canadian, US, S. African or anywhere else, above and beyond the metal itself?

[I realize of course that vintage coins like a St Gaudens gold piece merits a substantial premium over the price of the raw material.]

There is some collectible value to the coins, and even more for the graded coins. Most experts I have read say just buy metal though.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

There is some collectible value to the coins, and even more for the graded coins. Most experts I have read say just buy metal though.

This. The premiums on most coins are hard to recoup when you go to sell...not always, but many times.

[barrysloate]

David- I have a question, maybe you can answer it. Last year I had a gold chain I wanted to sell. I calculated the actual value of the gold (I know how to do that), and offered it for 90% of that amount. I put it on BST, and my wife listed it on ebay and I think on etsy.

We didn't have a single inquiry anywhere. So how cheap do you have to list a commodity to make a sale? I know nobody pays full value- if I bring scrap gold into the diamond district in Manhattan they pay at most 70%, if that. Wouldn't you think 90% of face would work? I assume if I offer ten dollar bills for $9 each, business will be very brisk.

[58pinson]

Barrysloate: There are several coin shops in Bergen County, NJ (Oradell Coin is 1) that will pay full spot for gold. There is a substantial "middle" between the spot price and the ask retail price. Plenty of room for them to make money. I'd say the middle is about 5% - or currently over $60.

Numismatic/bullion: As David said it is often difficult to recoup the premium paid for a numismatic coin as opposed to a bullion coin. Not always. There is also the idea that in buying a numismatic coin as a relative layperson that you can be had by unscrupulous sellers, and they are out there. Not a lot different than the baseball card market in that respect - see our current travails.

Peter: Although I know zilch about Titanium, on many of the precious metals that are sold the nation state mint coins can often demand a premium over bars and other forms. I have never purchased other than minted coins of different countries, but know of folks who have had to have their bars, etc. assayed before sale to satisfy the buyer that they have not been tampered with. Kind of a potential hindrance to a quick transaction. I suppose that coins could be hit too, buy my reading of the market is that is much less likely.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

David- I have a question, maybe you can answer it. Last year I had a gold chain I wanted to sell. I calculated the actual value of the gold (I know how to do that), and offered it for 90% of that amount. I put it on BST, and my wife listed it on ebay and I think on etsy.

We didn't have a single inquiry anywhere. So how cheap do you have to list a commodity to make a sale? I know nobody pays full value- if I bring scrap gold into the diamond district in Manhattan they pay at most 70%, if that. Wouldn't you think 90% of face would work? I assume if I offer ten dollar bills for $9 each, business will be very brisk.

What 58pinsin said.

Maybe there was an error in your weight/purity calculations where you thought it was worth more?

[todeen]

This was an interesting thread that died. I didn't really see any input by preppers, kind of shocking. Nor did there seem to be any historical explanations.

To make sense of a preppers' response, one must understand the historical understanding of currency. Over thousands of years humans have moved away from a barter based economy to a currency economy. Humans once used shells as a means of currency. Eventually, moving into minted coins - think of the Romans 2000 years ago. Although silver might seem like a worthless metal, it has defined human currency models for hundreds of years. Before the US Dollar, silver was the global currency. World exploration after Columbus was defined by silver when the most powerful global economies were based on the idea of mercantilism. England decimated the Qing dynasty (China) by robbing their coffers of silver, in exchange for opium. tsk tsk tsk. During the slave trade in the Atlantic, European economies realized they would bankrupt themselves if they purchased slaves with silver, so they turned to trading weapons and rum, among other trade goods. They took the slaves to the Americas where they were exchanged for silver, and the silver returned to Europe. Only in more modern times have individuals believed that paper currency can be backed by a country's GDP. It's an interesting concept that preppers think is based on sleight of hand.

Preppers therefore believe that if the global economy fails, or even the US economy, currency will revert to the previous system of trading in metals and trade goods. Why? Because historically, for thousands of years, people have believed that metals hold value. And gems. And things that glitter to the eye. One can't necessarily walk around with a Picasso or a Van Gogh, but one can walk around with a shiny coin in their pocket. One prepper book I read suggested a supply of junk metal, bullets, cigarettes, and some other trade goods that might be appealing to others. Obviously as has been quoted earlier, silver takes up a lot of space and is heavy. But it also can be divided much easier than gold. Can you imagine having to chip off flakes of gold? How bothersome! So junk silver, silver eagles, and silver bars would be much more beneficial in that regard.

[packs]

Anyone make any trades?

[ronniehatesjazz]

Cool thread, surprised I've never seen it before now. I've "stacked" on and off again since 2008. I'm not a prepper but I am wary of potential inflation and I think it's kind of a fun hobby. Worst investment decision I've ever made though was buying a bunch of palladium at $200/oz and selling it at $450 only to see it cross $2k years down the road.

The cool part about it IMO is the history... getting gold coins for Europe that are hundreds of years old at a slight markup to spot is a fair price and just incredibly cool. The bad part is when it goes beyond this IMO and collectors/investors fall victim to charlatans who are either projecting "Gold to $10,000 by 2025....buy my book" or slinging a "Collectors Edition Chewbaka 2 oz silver round" for only 4X spot... basically lots of people get burnt and have no clue what they're doing.

I will be buying some again in the near future but can't justify paying the spreads right now. I'll just play GLD until I get a chance.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by packs

Anyone make any trades?

Not me. Silver is very hard to find in my area right now with premiums of $5-8 an ounce (or more) when you can find it. And a lot of the online dealers are sold out or have very little stock. Even then, they're telling customers 5-6 weeks for delivery. If anyone has any for sale, let me know. I prefer junk silver, generic bullion or ASEs - nothing collectible with high premiums.

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by todeen

This was an interesting thread that died.

So have the Net54 accounts of many of the participants in it.