@CommemKing said:
Sure, if you think silver is rising to $47 again.
I sold at about 40
Nice.......Too many people fall in love with the stuff, 'cause it's so pretty. You have to remember that it's all completely replaceable at any time you desire.
Neither are great investments. Rare coins, if you know what your doing, can be a good investment. Takes years to learn it and need to make friends with dealers(not all of us are nice). Bullion, I tend to believe silver would be the better investment metal as it has more upside compared to gold. Gold however has the huge bonus of holding a huge amount of value in a small space.
Yes but you have to read and stick to it. Buying consistently over time is a good strategy. Diversification is key. Stocks bonds bullion some ancients all good. Knowledge priceless
@david3142 said:
It Is wrong to say an investment needs to appreciate at a steady 7% to be considered as such, but in context it looks like you meant “good” investment, which is fine. An investment is literally defined as (check Merriam Webster) an asset designed to produce income or appreciate. Reading more it states “anything that investor believes will produce income or be worth more”.
Coins and bullion clearly fall into that category no matter how many people on this board say they do not. What those people really mean is “I don’t collect coins to make money” or “coins are not a good investment”, both of which are reasonable positions. Now, the answer to your original question is an unequivocal “maybe”. In the case of coins, a great deal of your return can be enhanced by knowledge. With bullion, much less so - that market is pretty efficient.
It is not an investment, IMHO, if it appreciates at rates less than inflation or the value of the money itself. Too may people buy a coin for $50, sell it 20 years later for $75 and think they "made money". When a EE savings bond outperformed you, it's not an "investment" - again, in my ever humble opinion.
There is a huge element of probability clouding the discussion that no one has mentioned. The expected return of stocks is about 6-10% any given year but there is about a 25% chance they will lose money. Historically, gold has a worse profile but there have also been extended periods (decades) where gold has outperformed. So while it may return only a few percent on average (over centuries) there is probably a 30% chance it will return 10% or more this year (you could look at options to get a better estimate). That may not make it a good investment in your eyes, but it is still an investment. I agree with you that something which returns 99 cents on the dollar of the initial outlay with certainty is not an investment.
Debating the definition of "investment" is not as relevant to the op question, as asking, "a good investment, Relative to What?
One cannot really buy $20 worth of "a duplex " the way you can a silver round, nor can you carry a stock in your pocket and take it to any coin, pawn, and many jewelry and We buy Gold place and have liquid, portable, anonymous cash.
Both have their uses, no need to choose either/or. Have some of each!
@Baley said:
Debating the definition of "investment" is not as relevant to the op question, as asking, "a good investment, Relative to What?
One cannot really buy $20 worth of "a duplex " the way you can a silver round, nor can you carry a stock in your pocket and take it to any coin, pawn, and many jewelry and We buy Gold place and have liquid, portable, anonymous cash.
Both have their uses, no need to choose either/or. Have some of each!
I somewhat agree. The problem is, no one loves their duplex the way they sometime love their coins.
@mustangmanbob said:
I retired at 53 without a pension by NOT investing in Bullion.
When did you retire? Gold went up every year from 2001 to 2012. It would've been kind of difficult to lose money in that environment if you just held.
And how did gold do relative to the S&P 500 or even bonds between 2001 and 2018.
And, you are cherry-picking your data. If you want to look at "Retirement investing", you need at least a 30 year window, want to look at 1981 to 2011? 1971 to 2011?
I don't see the need to look at a 30-year window when bull markets never last that long. 12 years is a long time to be wrong.
you are asking a question about Bullion and getting answers about Gold, Silver and collectible coins. I don't think there's a simple answer.
JMHO, unless someone is a bit off the nut they tend to buy Bullion and store it somewhere, they don't tend to look at it or derive any pleasure from it short of knowing they have it. collectible coins are different, we tend to study them, enjoy sharing them with other collectors and attach emotion to them. collecting coins, in that regard, is similar to any other collected item. Bullion is similar to a physical bank account.
buying Bullion over the past few years has been a net loss/zero gain undertaking. prices go up and down a little but viewed as a ten year chart probably look flat. from that perspective it might be wiser to have just held the cash. looking at Gold and Silver, the ratio has been something like 75:1 for a long time; that is way high. if it were to sink to 50:1, with Gold remaining steady, Silver would be about $25/ozt.
I expect the ratio to change a little but the powers that be will probably never allow it to be anywhere close to 50:1, and if it got there I would expect Silver would go up vs. Gold going down. if you feel pulled to "invest" in Bullion it seems that Silver is a better choice. I work for a big dealer in PM's and choose to buy neither. I go the save/bank account route and collectible coins.
with coins it is easy to stay at the net loss/zero gain point if you're careful. it's also just as easy to lose money or make money. for many members here, it has been expressed over the years that they are content to lose a little for the enjoyment that the Hobby gives them. that seems like a good trade off vs. buying Bullion and being nervous when the price runs the wrong way.
Comments
I sold at about 40
Nice.......Too many people fall in love with the stuff, 'cause it's so pretty. You have to remember that it's all completely replaceable at any time you desire.
Bullion is awesome!
You can make soup, gravy, broth.. yum!
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
I prefer stock.
Well played!
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
Bouillion.
Neither are great investments. Rare coins, if you know what your doing, can be a good investment. Takes years to learn it and need to make friends with dealers(not all of us are nice). Bullion, I tend to believe silver would be the better investment metal as it has more upside compared to gold. Gold however has the huge bonus of holding a huge amount of value in a small space.
Yes but you have to read and stick to it. Buying consistently over time is a good strategy. Diversification is key. Stocks bonds bullion some ancients all good. Knowledge priceless
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
It is not an investment, IMHO, if it appreciates at rates less than inflation or the value of the money itself. Too may people buy a coin for $50, sell it 20 years later for $75 and think they "made money". When a EE savings bond outperformed you, it's not an "investment" - again, in my ever humble opinion.
There is a huge element of probability clouding the discussion that no one has mentioned. The expected return of stocks is about 6-10% any given year but there is about a 25% chance they will lose money. Historically, gold has a worse profile but there have also been extended periods (decades) where gold has outperformed. So while it may return only a few percent on average (over centuries) there is probably a 30% chance it will return 10% or more this year (you could look at options to get a better estimate). That may not make it a good investment in your eyes, but it is still an investment. I agree with you that something which returns 99 cents on the dollar of the initial outlay with certainty is not an investment.
Debating the definition of "investment" is not as relevant to the op question, as asking, "a good investment, Relative to What?
One cannot really buy $20 worth of "a duplex " the way you can a silver round, nor can you carry a stock in your pocket and take it to any coin, pawn, and many jewelry and We buy Gold place and have liquid, portable, anonymous cash.
Both have their uses, no need to choose either/or. Have some of each!
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
I somewhat agree. The problem is, no one loves their duplex the way they sometime love their coins.
I don't see the need to look at a 30-year window when bull markets never last that long. 12 years is a long time to be wrong.
you are asking a question about Bullion and getting answers about Gold, Silver and collectible coins. I don't think there's a simple answer.
JMHO, unless someone is a bit off the nut they tend to buy Bullion and store it somewhere, they don't tend to look at it or derive any pleasure from it short of knowing they have it. collectible coins are different, we tend to study them, enjoy sharing them with other collectors and attach emotion to them. collecting coins, in that regard, is similar to any other collected item. Bullion is similar to a physical bank account.
buying Bullion over the past few years has been a net loss/zero gain undertaking. prices go up and down a little but viewed as a ten year chart probably look flat. from that perspective it might be wiser to have just held the cash. looking at Gold and Silver, the ratio has been something like 75:1 for a long time; that is way high. if it were to sink to 50:1, with Gold remaining steady, Silver would be about $25/ozt.
I expect the ratio to change a little but the powers that be will probably never allow it to be anywhere close to 50:1, and if it got there I would expect Silver would go up vs. Gold going down. if you feel pulled to "invest" in Bullion it seems that Silver is a better choice. I work for a big dealer in PM's and choose to buy neither. I go the save/bank account route and collectible coins.
with coins it is easy to stay at the net loss/zero gain point if you're careful. it's also just as easy to lose money or make money. for many members here, it has been expressed over the years that they are content to lose a little for the enjoyment that the Hobby gives them. that seems like a good trade off vs. buying Bullion and being nervous when the price runs the wrong way.