Where does one begin to learn about holding precious metals?

mrpaseo

Learning about it, how to price it, starting from ground zero.

I would like to add some bullion to my SDB, any suggestions?

Thanks for your guidance (PMs are welcomed),
Ray

derryb

spot price of metals is where you start:

kitco quotes

bullion is priced based on spot plus a premium. Spot price is set by trades in paper metals, not the physical stuff. Premiums (price that exceeds spot) vary based on metal product (gold eagle will cost more than gold bars).
Consider ease of resale/demand in deciding on the product. Higher premiums are usually recovered. A review of products at apmex.com will give you an idea of the going premiums on various products. The bigger the chunk of metal the lower the pool of potential buyers.
Find your source. I buy on ebay when price is right. I buy quantity from tulving.com and onlygold.com, never had a problem. Many dealers out there, be sure to consider all of your costs when buying.
Consider storage space - you can store more dollars in gold in a much smaller space than you can store silver.
Read all you can on the metals markets - learn what makes them go up and what makes them go down.
Ask specific questions here on the forum, lots of knowledgeable members.
When trying to determine if spot price will go up or go down everyone has an opinion, best to learn what affects price and develop your own opinion. PM prices are greatly affected by economic news and forecasts.
My weapons of choice for the SDB are gold eagles and gold buffalos. Good luck!

mrpaseo

derryb,
Great advice, thank you. I intend to continue to learn as much as I can. The minimums are quite large on both of those sites. I want to look at the local B&M but I want to go in a little educated.

Thanks again,
Ray

KUCH

If you have local Pawn Shop, nickname "B&M" Brick and Morter, they can be a good source of learning. Certainly don't buy anything there until you develop a relationship. Some places like to rip people off. My local Pawn Store has fairly good prices, but when I've gone in to sell something their buy offer is horrible. Insulting! Also, google Apmex. This company site is a good source for learning.

Good luck

jmski52

Remember not to be in a hurry. Ask as many questions as you need to ask.

I find that liquidity is good, which means that for stacking purposes I standardize and buy all one type of coin until I accumulate a nice even number of them.

Keeping it simple is good for accounting purposes, and buying only one denomination for awhile allows you to see and feel the fluctuations in pricing for that specific coin while you are accumulating them. Once you have a feel for the pricing fluctuations and do a little shopping around, you'll have a better idea as to when you're getting a fair deal. If you buy a variety of things, it gets harder to keep track of what the market for each thing is actually doing.

Convenience and liquidity have a cost, but they also have a value. For me, that means I'd rather buy a 1/10th oz American Gold Eagle than a few grams of Swiss Credit bars. If I lived in Geneva, I'd probably go the other way around. Yeah, you can calculate out the gold content and pricing for every oddball piece but in the end, that becomes a p-i-t-a for virtually no advantage.

Keep it simple and make it easy on yourself.

derryb

PS: keep good purchasing records and treat your purchases as investments for tax purposes just as you would a stock. No filing info needed until you sell.

tneig

Create an end to end plan. Purpose! Budget. Record keeping. Holding time. Selling methods. Purchasing method over time.
You'll be changing it of course, but it really helps to have a defined plan early.

mrpaseo

<< <i>Create an end to end plan. Purpose! Budget. Record keeping. Holding time. Selling methods. Purchasing method over time.
You'll be changing it of course, but it really helps to have a defined plan early. >>




End to end? Does that mean have a planned amount say 100 oz Silver, 50 oz Gold?

Budget I understand I am going to try to earmark a set amount to put aside each pay period and save up for future purchases.

I intend to track each purchase (QT and price) as well as each sale. Am I correct in assuming I claim taxes on the profit? i.e. Buy for $100, sell for $110 then I claim $10 at the end of the year. Also, what if I am in the red? (At a loss?)

I assume dollar cost averaging would be good for bullion purchases as well.

What should my holding time be based off of? I'm thinking slow and steady purchases with the intention to keep the product long term. I mean I am putting money into Precious metals as part of my retirement portfolio so long term.

Thanks,
Ray

mrpaseo

<< <i>PS: keep good purchasing records and treat your purchases as investments for tax purposes just as you would a stock. No filing info needed until you sell. >>



Good advice, will do.

mrpaseo

<< <i>Remember not to be in a hurry. Ask as many questions as you need to ask.

I find that liquidity is good, which means that for stacking purposes I standardize and buy all one type of coin until I accumulate a nice even number of them.

Keeping it simple is good for accounting purposes, and buying only one denomination for awhile allows you to see and feel the fluctuations in pricing for that specific coin while you are accumulating them. Once you have a feel for the pricing fluctuations and do a little shopping around, you'll have a better idea as to when you're getting a fair deal. If you buy a variety of things, it gets harder to keep track of what the market for each thing is actually doing.

Convenience and liquidity have a cost, but they also have a value. For me, that means I'd rather buy a 1/10th oz American Gold Eagle than a few grams of Swiss Credit bars. If I lived in Geneva, I'd probably go the other way around. Yeah, you can calculate out the gold content and pricing for every oddball piece but in the end, that becomes a p-i-t-a for virtually no advantage.

Keep it simple and make it easy on yourself. >>



No rush, read the book first they say, I hope to learn a lot before I spend any money.

How does one decide on what to buy? Is it just personal preference? Cost? Resale? (I would assume all three actually).

Thanks for your input,
Ray

mrpaseo

<< <i>If you have local Pawn Shop, nickname "B&M" Brick and Morter, they can be a good source of learning. Certainly don't buy anything there until you develop a relationship. Some places like to rip people off. My local Pawn Store has fairly good prices, but when I've gone in to sell something their buy offer is horrible. Insulting! Also, google Apmex. This company site is a good source for learning.

Good luck >>




I will start popping in and checking them out to let them get used to my face. Hopefully I can learn enough and get a few deals. I looked at APMEX, lots of good info over there. Thanks.

Ray

derryb

As an investment, taxes will be paid on the gain after you deduct cost and selling expenses. Losses work in your favor.

PerryHall

<< <i>As an investment, taxes will be paid on the gain after you deduct cost and selling expenses. Losses work in your favor. >>



I know taxes are required to be paid but realistically how many people pay taxes when they buy and sell a few ounces of silver for cash at the local coin dealer or even on the BST?

Mesquite

Hey mrpaseo,

APMEX and Provident Metals are two good onliners I've bought from in the past; PM typically has the better price. In bulk, Tulving is close to if not the best. Buy what you like, but I would not buy anything for which they did not list a buy-back price. Most liquid (popular?) are AGEs and ASEs, Maples, Libertads, Kruggerands, JM and/or Engelhard silver bars. Have a mix (in Au) of smaller (1/10 oz) and larger denominations; the smaller being being, perhaps, more liquid down the road. Au, Ag, Pt, and Pd are the main-stream pms - shy away from Rhodium (just my opinion);focus on Au and Ag (again, just my opinion). Proof gold carries a bigger premium when you buy, not so much (typically) when you sell. No real advantage to it as a store of $. Nothing wrong with the pre-1932 stuff if you can get it near spot (unless you're one who thinks the govt. might confiscate down the road). That's about it. There will be person to person variations on the details, but I believe that this covers the high points.

renman95

Remember Comrade Renski's Rule: Only buy what comrade can run with under fire.

nibanny

All good pieces of advice you got already, mrpaseo.

In my little experience (and considering I am still at the beginning of the learning curve) the most important part in learning about PMs was to stick to this forum.
People here are always willing to help and share their great knowledge.
I wouldn't have been able to invest/collect/stack (whatever you want to call it) without the PM forum!

mrpaseo

What about 90% silver? Is this good to have?

DrBuster

<< <i>What about 90% silver? Is this good to have? >>



I'm a fan. Generally cheapest, plus it's got history to it. Bulky though if you have to move quantity.

As far as anything else, gov issue is always good and you'd be fine stateside with anything Eagle or Maple or Peso/Libertad really. Lower preimum is always good, check for online sales, the bst here, local shops, etc that everybody has stated already.