Lepista Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Just a little straw poll as to what people are up to. Multiple answers are allowed. If you'd like to add your explanations, it would be helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybee33 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Just a little straw poll as to what people are up to. Multiple answers are allowed. If you'd like to add your explanations, it would be helpful Hi - I'm holding both gold and silver (most of it about 24-12 months ago, with some smaller top ups late last year) but I'm not buying any more at the moment. My rationale for this is as follows: 1 - I think both metals have strong upside potential - especially when the proverbial hits the fan as it surely will - but I don't know when as there is a lot of can-kicking going on 2 - While I think that there will be big upsides, I also think that it's very likely that both metals will have significant swings down - when they correct, they do so quite fast normally - so if there are going tobe other buying opportunities, they aren't necessarily now IMHO. 3 - I have about 50% of my savings in PMs - which is pretty much all I'd want to - so I'm not keen to undiversify (if that's a word) much more than I already am. Hope this helps, A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingobob Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Just a little straw poll as to what people are up to. Multiple answers are allowed. If you'd like to add your explanations, it would be helpful I have around 10% of my portfolio in gold and am adding a little every or month or so (to the tune of about 10 sovs a year). For me this is a last resort emergency fund, I don't have an exit strategy but hope that I never have to sell and that my kids get a nice little nest egg when I go on along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Congreve Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Bought both gold and silver around 2 years ago. Originally half my savings, now more like 75% due to cash expenditure in that time. I am lucky enough to have the security of owning a modest 2-bed house thanks to a timely inheritance that allowed me to clear my mortgage. This fact, combined with the price point I bought my metals at, gives me extra peace of mind when considering the risk of precious metals taking a tumble. Having said that I am extremely bullish on the prospects for precious metals for the following reasons: 1. Continued sterling, dollar, euro and yen weakness. The debt of all these country's/regions is not going away and the solution being pursued is inflationary. The end result is a depreciation of all these major currencies and inflation in their economies. Holding these currencies is not sensible for these reasons, whereas not only will precious metals hold their value against serious inflation/devaluation, but they should likely increase in value over and above inflation/depreciation thanks to supply/demand as capital flight takes place from these currencies as people start looking for a safer home for their wealth. Indeed, this has already been happening for some time and will only accelerate as the situation deteriorates . 2. The precious metals market is essentially a fractional reserve system, just like banking. There have been many more paper contracts sold than actual metal that exists, reportedly the ratio is as high as 100-1. These contracts are promises to deliver that are rarely acted on, the contract merely passes from investor to investor while the alleged metal is held in a vault somewhere, hence a fractional system can hold up just like a banking system usually does, until there is a run. The reasons for the imbalance is partly to do with banks making easy money (by selling something that doesn't exist and counting on not getting caught out) and also do to with using paper to suppress the price of gold to boost the value of other assets like the dollar. By selling paper into the system they are diluting the supply of gold and lowering its value. As the value of gold rises more and more large buyers are asking for delivery and more and small investors are consuming the actual metal in the form of coins and small bars. There are already signs that this is putting pressure on metals exchanges to deliver the actual metal. Last month the Comex in the US actually settled some contracts in dollars +20% as they didn't have the metal! The cracks are starting to appear in the rigged gold/silver market. When it blows it will likely sink the dollar and send the value of the real physical metals rocketing as there true scarcity becomes recognised. Make sure you own PHYSICAL. 3. Sovereign debt problems abound in the US, UK, Japan and Europe. In reality the governments in these country's/regions cannot cut their debt to manageable levels without severe spending cuts that would impact society greatly and send their economies into depression. The only option on the debt in this case is default, which can be direct (we aren't paying!) or the more stealthly method of following an inflationary path, this is happening now. Either way, these country's/regions will default and the fallout will be terrible for their currencies. Even in the unlikely event if they choose depression, they will knacker their currencies as a weak economy cannot have a strong currency, so gold/silver are still a great bet. The big one of course is the US dollar. As it is the reserve currency backing all other currencies in the world, if it goes down, it takes everything with it. If the metals paper market blowing isn't the first to sink the dollar, then the crisis in the middle east may, as new regimes refuse to trade oil for dollars, thereby ending global demand for dollars in exchange for oil that help keep the value of the dollar propped up (although the yanks would probably find a pretext to go to war over this first - this is what Iran is really about BTW). If neither of these reasons, their debt will do the job in the end instead. There are a few other reasons, but these are the main ones why gold/silver look not only like a one way bet, but one of the few safe places to hold money. Ideally I'm hoping for a soaring metals bull, coupled with a collapsing housing market (it has happened in the US, gold up, houses down, so can happen here). Then I can sell my house and the next leg up the ladder will not only be closer, but hopefully fully covered by PM profits. Edited February 23, 2011 by General Congreve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Sando Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Why are you all giving away information on yourselves that should be private, don't do it! Any government agent watching this site will know who you are, loose lips sink ships! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Congreve Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Why are you all giving away information on yourselves that should be private, don't do it! Any government agent watching this site will know who you are, loose lips sink ships! I once used to pirate video games when I was about 12 years old, you know, Commodore 64, tape to tape, share with your mates. One day an idiot friend (I was only mates with him to copy his games - he used to wear dungarees FFS) came to me in a nervous manner and said in a hushed voice that he read that the Federation Against Software Theft (their job was to go after the professional pirates) were in the area, so he'd wiped all his pirated collection of dozens of games. Tw@t. You're right to point out that cheap talk costs lives, but there's nothing on here the authorities are interested in. If they want facts on which citizens have the gold, they'll go straight to the bullion dealers and copy their records. In that eventually, have a backup plan ready. Edited February 23, 2011 by General Congreve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepista Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 I once used to pirate video games when I was about 12 years old, you know, Commodore 64, tape to tape, share with your mates. One day an idiot friend (I was only mates with him to copy his games - he used to wear dungarees FFS) came to me in a nervous manner and said in a hushed voice that he read that the Federation Against Software Theft (their job was to go after the professional pirates) were in the area, so he'd wiped all his pirated collection of dozens of games. Tw@t. You're right to point out that cheap talk costs lives, but there's nothing on here the authorities are interested in. If they want facts on which citizens have the gold, they'll go straight to the bullion dealers and copy their records. In that eventually, have a backup plan ready. Who HAD gold. I lost all mine when I found a hole in my pocket. Dunno where it is now - honest guv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet Guy Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 If you have a large % of your money tied up in PMs, selling a little (say 10-20%) while prices are relatively high is a good insurance policy against a trend change. I am still bullish about PMs but I've been wrong before ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Congreve Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 If you have a large % of your money tied up in PMs, selling a little (say 10-20%) while prices are relatively high is a good insurance policy against a trend change. I am still bullish about PMs but I've been wrong before ... When were you wrong? Back in 1980? If you've bought any time between 2000 and now, all that you've been wrong to do is sell out of your position to take profit and then buy back in later at a higher price. If I thought fiat was sound I would consider taking some profit off the table, but seeing as one of the most bullish reasons for the gold bull market is the unsoundness of fiat, doing so would seem very counter-intuitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebandit Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I should have got around to this November 08, until today all our funds are held in various saving accounts. Today just purchased from weightons 10 ea. 2011 USA 1oz Silver Eagle Sub-Total: £280.00 RMSD £6.00 VAT 20%: £46.67 Total £286.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Congreve Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Who HAD gold. I lost all mine when I found a hole in my pocket. Dunno where it is now - honest guv. What's gold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Congreve Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I should have got around to this November 08, until today all our funds are held in various saving accounts. Today just purchased from weightons 10 ea. 2011 USA 1oz Silver Eagle Sub-Total: £280.00 RMSD £6.00 VAT 20%: £46.67 Total £286.00 Welcome to the party Time bandit! When you get them, take a bank note or two and a fistful of change and hold in one hand, then hold a couple of eagles in the other, you'll know you made the right choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebandit Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Welcome to the party Time bandit! When you get them, take a bank note or two and a fistful of change and hold in one hand, then hold a couple of eagles in the other, you'll know you made the right choice. Thanks I will. Lets hope its not party, when I arrive late to see everyone spread out after over indulging. Your comment here and others who recommended various metal websites, finally pushed me over the edge. 2. The precious metals market is essentially a fractional reserve system, just like banking. There have been many more paper contracts sold than actual metal that exists, reportedly the ratio is as high as 100-1. These contracts are promises to deliver that are rarely acted on, the contract merely passes from investor to investor while the alleged metal is held in a vault somewhere, hence a fractional system can hold up just like a banking system usually does, until there is a run. The reasons for the imbalance is partly to do with banks making easy money (by selling something that doesn't exist and counting on not getting caught out) and also do to with using paper to suppress the price of gold to boost the value of other assets like the dollar. By selling paper into the system they are diluting the supply of gold and lowering its value. As the value of gold rises more and more large buyers are asking for delivery and more and small investors are consuming the actual metal in the form of coins and small bars. There are already signs that this is putting pressure on metals exchanges to deliver the actual metal. Last month the Comex in the US actually settled some contracts in dollars +20% as they didn't have the metal! The cracks are starting to appear in the rigged gold/silver market. When it blows it will likely sink the dollar and send the value of the real physical metals rocketing as there true scarcity becomes recognised. Make sure you own PHYSICAL. Edited February 23, 2011 by timebandit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Sando Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 What's gold? What is gold? It seems to be a substance which causes HPCer's to react like a vampire to light or superman to kryptonite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesinamillion Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm buying silver, smaller denominations now, adding 1oz coins (from weighton) in lots of ten when I can afford, starting out really! Hold a small bit of gold but think silver has more room to rise in the not too distant future. No idea on an exit strategy and don't want to sell, but if i were to buy my small collection at todays prices, i'd be paying around £600 more already (only started out last October!) Sitting on a modest pile of cash earning a poxy 1.8% monthly and no idea what to do with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number79 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm buying silver, smaller denominations now, adding 1oz coins (from weighton) in lots of ten when I can afford, starting out really! Hold a small bit of gold but think silver has more room to rise in the not too distant future. No idea on an exit strategy and don't want to sell, but if i were to buy my small collection at todays prices, i'd be paying around £600 more already (only started out last October!) Sitting on a modest pile of cash earning a poxy 1.8% monthly and no idea what to do with it! I have always advocated physical rather than anything else but wouldnt in this case because of the 20% vat and premium. I would load up on silver through bullionvault or gold money, the gold/silver ratio is nearing 40 and should bottom in april. At that point I would sell the silver and buy gold. Trading the gsr isnt viable with physical but is where descent gains can be made so one of these accounts is needed. I would want to have all that you are going to invest in gold/silver in by aug/sept. I would want 50% of what I have set aside to invest in physical gold coins - sovs are my choice for many reasons. Exit strategy for silver is either ebay which costs you 15% and postage so not easy to profit unless silver prices rise considerably or to a dealer at as close to spot as possible, again not great when you paid vat and a premium. Gold sells anywhere close to spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingobob Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I'm buying silver, smaller denominations now, adding 1oz coins (from weighton) in lots of ten when I can afford, starting out really! Hold a small bit of gold but think silver has more room to rise in the not too distant future. No idea on an exit strategy and don't want to sell, but if i were to buy my small collection at todays prices, i'd be paying around £600 more already (only started out last October!) Sitting on a modest pile of cash earning a poxy 1.8% monthly and no idea what to do with it! Just had a look at Weightons, and from a quick look they seem quite expensive - have you tried Barid and Co? They seem a bit cheaper and I've always had really good service from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number79 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Just had a look at Weightons, and from a quick look they seem quite expensive - have you tried Barid and Co? They seem a bit cheaper and I've always had really good service from them. I think that the best way to buy from weightons is to buy the silver crowns rather than paying vat on bullion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesinamillion Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Just had a look at Weightons, and from a quick look they seem quite expensive - have you tried Barid and Co? They seem a bit cheaper and I've always had really good service from them. Weighton = £26.99 per maple. Baird = £29.10 per maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constable Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) I have always advocated physical rather than anything else but wouldnt in this case because of the 20% vat and premium. I would load up on silver through bullionvault or gold money, the gold/silver ratio is nearing 40 and should bottom in april. At that point I would sell the silver and buy gold. Trading the gsr isnt viable with physical but is where descent gains can be made so one of these accounts is needed. I would want to have all that you are going to invest in gold/silver in by aug/sept. I would want 50% of what I have set aside to invest in physical gold coins - sovs are my choice for many reasons. Exit strategy for silver is either ebay which costs you 15% and postage so not easy to profit unless silver prices rise considerably or to a dealer at as close to spot as possible, again not great when you paid vat and a premium. Gold sells anywhere close to spot. I don't know why you worry about the VAT because it is factored into second hand prices. Silver is silver, you have only a promise of silver. In the past I've bought from goldandsilver.com (US), Weighton, eBay and privately. Offer to pay by direct bank transfer on eBay and you can very often negotiate a discount. Re eBay you can accept bank transfers only (no Paypal costs) and the buyer pays postage (although I concede that this is factored into the price). Selling costs need be no more than 5%. I trade via ETFs and futures (low transaction costs), but buy and hold physical for the long term. Edited February 25, 2011 by Constable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constable Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Weighton = £26.99 per maple. Baird = £29.10 per maple. Indeed. We've had this conversation before and there is no one cheaper than Weighton. And he's a good guy too. I called him and he spent half an hour answering lots of questions I had on bullion some time ago. Edited February 25, 2011 by Constable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chugger Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Indeed. We've had this conversation before and there is no one cheaper than Weighton. And he's a good guy too. I called him and he spent half an hour answering lots of questions I had on bullion some time ago. Same here. Asked him a few total noobie questions and he very patiently explained things to me. He gave me a couple of great recommendations for a few lesser known coins on his site too. Aboslutely top bloke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constable Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Same here. Asked him a few total noobie questions and he very patiently explained things to me. He gave me a couple of great recommendations for a few lesser known coins on his site too. Aboslutely top bloke. Which coins?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepista Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Well, (perhaps unsorprisingly, seeing as we';re only allowed to talk about this in the gold forum), it appears that the vast majority's strategy is to hold / buy more approximately in the ratio of 2:1. I wonder what the result would be if we were allowed to include the general population of HPC over on the main board...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffneck Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Well, (perhaps unsorprisingly, seeing as we';re only allowed to talk about this in the gold forum), it appears that the vast majority's strategy is to hold / buy more approximately in the ratio of 2:1. I wonder what the result would be if we were allowed to include the general population of HPC over on the main board...? Mods are usually quick to move such topics but this one escaped their wrath : http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=157293&st=0&p=2846590entry2846590 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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