I've never bought gold or silver

[tavalon]

How does one go about doing that? I haven't seen a store front anywhere. Is it through the stock market? Will I get the actual nuggets? Probably stupid questions, all, but I really have no idea how to go about this.

[rfranklin]

1. Buy it from a dealer...

http://www.monex.com/prods/gold.html

[NMDemDist2]

2. i get it at my local pawn shop

I buy old rings and such for the going rate of gold :evilgrin:

[Goblinmonger]

3. I believe the numbers show

that over time, precious metals only offer about a 4% return. You get get almost that in an ETrade savings account without all the hassle.

[tavalon]

14. It's just that if we get to the point of needed a wheelbarrel to carry our

paper money to get a loaf of bread, Having silver and gold can allow you to eat.

[havocmom]

19. Buy seed instead of gold

Veggies are easier to digest.

[tavalon]

29. I already garden

I also bought a few 20 lb sacks of rice and dried beans.

[DFW]

4. I have a name for you

Call Heritage Auctions (they do direct sales as well) in Dallas, and ask for Chris Lane.
He does usually only wholesale, but if he has anything like common gold or silver laying
around, he'd probably be OK with selling it to a private person. Any retail store will
charge you more, often MUCH more, of a premium over the metal value. Heritage usually does
fancy collectibles, but they are also the biggest supplier of old American gold coins to
retailers around the country. These coins have a HUGE premium on them right now, so if
you are looking for just bullion value, ask for something else--something that might have
an oddball weight, and is not suitable for big retail promotion.

There will always be SOME premium over the actual gold value to cover their cost of
processing or shipping, but as they are mostly a wholesale operation, supplying retailers
around the country, you might get a deal off of them. It just depends on what they have
lying around. Just ask for what they have that carries a low premium over melt value.

Don't call them for anything under $1000, but over that, there is no sales tax issue in
Texas, and they are usually OK with issuing an invoice to a private person over that amount.
There is no sales tax for sales to most other states, but as they deal usually with other
dealers ordering from them, they prefer not to have to deal with the issue at all.

on edit: I noticed someone gave a link to Monex. They are OK, but are retailers. Make sure
you compare the PREMIUM over gold value on anything you buy. If they want 10% over gold for
a Krugerrand or an American Eagle, it's not such a good deal. If they want 2% or 3% over,
then you aren't paying an excessive premium. Most gold coins these days, due to VERY high
demand for physical product, are carrying historically high premiums.

[Bonhomme Richard]

5. All I know is that the day I buy gold................

will be the day it starts going down, the recession/depression will end, and all things financial will go back to old levels.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

7. No! That's MY job!

Also please keep your eye out for when I buy any new technology. It will become passe within the week due to some new product and prices will plummet by 60%.

[pipi_k]

9. That would probably happen to me, too...

I'd be stuck with all kinds of gold and they'd switch to some new standard, like those little pieces of glass that make rainbows or something. That I just threw out the week before.




Oh well...I like copper better anyway


:)

[wildbilln864]

13. Gold isn't the standard now. nt

[DFW]

11. Give us all a few days advance notice, would ya?

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. We wouldn't be in this mess if only I had....

bought gold a year ago.
My bad.

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. Hey, that's the same theory I have

about filling my gas tank!

[scheming daemons]

28. Well then... save the rest of us and START BUYING you selfish ass!

;-)

Just kidding...

[pipi_k]

6. Forgive my ignorance, but

I have to wonder about this...




(From the Monex site)

Gold bullion is real, honest money...and, many say, the best form of money the world has ever known. It is a store of value and a safe haven in times of crisis. Gold is rare, durable and does not wear out in the manner of lesser metals (or paper!) when passed from hand to hand. A small amount, easily carried, can purchase a significant amount of goods and services. It is universally accepted, and can be easily bought and sold around the world.


Do people actually go into the local supermarket and hack off pieces of gold bullion to pay for their groceries? Or trade a pair of real gold earrings for a tank of heating oil or use a gold ring to pay for car repairs?

[DFW]

18. No, of course not. Remember, this is a retail site

They want you to buy your gold from them. Their ads will tell you the upside, not the downside.

Gold may be considered a store of value, but "real, honest money?" I know of no place
left on earth where gold coins really circulate. What gold IS, is a very liquid asset,
with a value quoted in any (convertable) local currency in the world. Some countries
restrict its ownership and prohibit buying or selling it. Except for coins with collector
value, between 1933 and 1975, this list even included the Unites States of America. Gold
is a panic mode purchase, or a "safety haven" purchase. It's all a mater of perception.
In early 1980, it looked like inflation was going to run wild and wipe out the value of the
US dollar. It rose to $800 and ounce. Twenty--one years later, at the end of Bill Clinton's
term, it was $252 an ounce. How safe was that for those people who panicked in 1980, and
held on to their gold all that time?

A piece of gold just sits there. It pays no interest, doesn't increase in size. It's value
is a reflection of the value of the currency in which it is quoted. Today's $945 an ounce
may seem like a lot, but adjust for 29 years of inflation, and it has gone down in terms
of 1980 dollars. Looking at it another way, if an ounce of gold was worth $252 when Bill
Clinton left office and is worth $945 today, has gold "gone up" four times in price? It's
still that same one ounce of gold it always was. It is the US dollar that has gone down 75%,
not that THAT is anything to be proud of.

[enough]

8. I have never understood how you know that what you are buying is real.

I have the same question whether we're talking about physical gold or ETF's, etc.

Can anyone enlighten me?

[pipi_k]

12. All I know is that

Yukon Cornelius could tell the difference by tasting his pick axe.



Sorry...not very helpful...

:hide:

[EstimatedProphet]

15. An example:

Coins as bullion are often issued by governments, in which case they are verifiable. They will say so on the coin. Also many of the bullion producers (ex. Pamp Suisse) include certificates of authenicity. So if you're worried about whether a coin is real, buy certified bullion.

[distantearlywarning]

10. Here's a couple of websites:

www.kitco.com

www.bulliondirect.com

[tavalon]

16. Are these two you're recommending or did you just grab a couple

From google search? I'm kind of soliciting people's experience with the process as well.

[ret5hd]

20. go to a local coin dealer.

for silver, ask if he has any 90% silver coins (dollars, halfs, quarters, dimes) he will know exactly what you are talking about.

for gold, ask if he has any krugerands (south africa), maple leafs (canada) or ....uhhh my mind has gone blank on the u.s. gold coins. but he will know exactly what you are talking about.

there have been many reports of shortages lately though. Many people are doing exactly what you are talking about.

[Statistical]

22. Gold = insurance against inflation.

Like in the 80s when we were pushing 12% inflation and 30 T-bonds were yielding 18%.

We are in a DEFLATIONARY enviroment right now.
Until economy picks up there is 0% risk of inflation.

Think of inflation as the friction when the engine (economy) is running too fast.
Right now the engine can barely get started.

All the money the Fed has pumped in hasn't done anything to restart that engine much less result in any friciton.

Buying gold right now is not a good idea.

Always have a plan when you invest:
Ask yourself "Why am I buying this?".

For Gold the answer would be to protect against inflation. What inflation?

[ThomWV]

25. And a guaranteed no return on your investment beyond that.

[arcadian]

23. You can buy gold bullion

In the form of coins. It's distributed through the U.S. Mint to select dealers. At least U.S. American eagles are distributed that way. Other countries you can buy on line.

[ThomWV]

24. You can buy all you want on E-Bay

[tuckessee]

26. Educate yourself on ebay.

Look at the bullion gold coins.

The most common types of these coins are US Gold Eagles & Krugerrands which are 22kt. (90% pure gold) and Canadian Maple Leafs & Austrian Philharmonics which are 24 kt. (99.999% pure gold).

They are all available in demoniations of 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 oz.

Of the coins mentioned above, all will have the same AGW (actual gold weight) so if you buy a Gold Eagle (90% pure) it will have the same amount of gold as a Philharmonic (99.999 pure).

[NNN0LHI]

27. Wherever you decide to go bring a magnet with ya