You're wanting some new tats and you have some pants you want to sell?
Why would you buy gold?
Probably to diversify your portfolio. I know several people that instead of just buying stocks and bonds for their retirement, they buy commodities like gold. Especially during times of turmoil gold stays pretty stable whereas the dollar can fluctuate a great deal with inflation or complete crashes.
I don't know how you can claim it stays pretty stable when it lost around 30 percent of its value in 2013.
Oh come on, it's not like it is easily manipulated...
Bitcoin's still doing well right?
Play off a weak or fluctuating dollar by trading/holding other currencies.
Seems like a pretty reliable site. You may want to look into silver; lower initial investment cost and a decent upside potential IMO.
William Jennings Bryan
...promised us some 120 years ago?
It wasn't the value of silver itself that he cared about. He wanted to break the banks hold on gold, cause some inflation, and have more money flowing through the economy - all of which he thought would help the little guy.
political platform, which was closely tied to the Populist movement of the 1890's; it was considered quite radical and too leftist by many at the time, though a lot of the elements of Populism were later adopted by more mainstream politicians.
But that's a subject that I'll end on that note, as it could and would quickly lead to the discussion of politics, a no-no on MGoBlog.
my father passed away recently. One of the personal items he left me was a gold chain with a rope bezel and a pendant inside. He wore it for decades.
He had the chain stored away because the gold had somewhat deteriorated over time causing it to break in a couple spots. The chain design is such that it's not really something you can fix without damaging the appearance. That, and I don't want to wear it and risk losing something that's so special to me.
I decided that I'd go ahead and buy new versions of the exact design of each piece and wear it, and store what he gave me.
All help is much appreciated.
That makes more sense. From the OP I thought you were looking into buying gold as an "investment".
I lost my dear dad just over 2 years ago and fully understand your sentiments in planning to duplicate that keepsake in his honor and in memory of him.
And mine to you, Rob. Thank you.
I apologize. I also misunderstood your OP. I lost my father a few years ago as well. Only time can heal. Glad you have that memory of him and that you realize what a wonderful thing you have.
Maybe a jeweler is more what you are looking for. If that is the case, I have bought jewelry for loved ones from Lucido's in Sterling Heights (not sure your location) a couple times and I have always been happy with what they produced and their customer service. I believe they can replicate jewelry as well. Just shop around because jewelery is a notoriously high margin business, so you may get some very different prices. Also, don't be afraid to negotiate hard with them, just like a house or a car dealer, jewelry is one of the few areas where you can negotiate really hard. Finally, if you can, find a place that does the work in house, versus sending it out, usually that results in better quality.
All common sense stuff I know, just hope it helps. Best of wishes to you during a difficult time.
Thank you Thief, that means a lot. My sympathies to you as well.
That information will definitely help.
This isnt bad all things considered...
just know that gold (III) is crazy freaking reactive. It started eating through my scoopula!
- Buy gold with goldmoney.com. People recommended this more than Bullion Vault. Goldmoney's sign up process was a big pain but I'm finally registered now. They offer you choices of which country to store your gold as well as the ability to take physical delivery of your gold.
- Buy Perth stock in Australia. Do your research on Perth though, as they are fairly controversial. IIRC they basically are a gold holding firm guaranteed to be solvent by the Australian government. Something weird like that...
- Buy a gold holding ETF. A friend recommended PHYS over GLD, as he is suspicious of the latter. Not the same as buying gold, but you could buy gold mining ETFs like GDX or GDXJ. I got in GDX a month or two ago and the results have been very good.
- Buy physical gold. I haven't done this yet but it's been recommended. This isn't the safest thing if capital controls are ever instituted but that hopefully is unlikely.
Even though they are the ETF I use, I have heard the rumors about them not actually holding physical gold. Can you imagine if that was really the case? Madoff would look like small potatoes.
Luckily a scam that big would lead to serious reforms of our economic checks and balances and recalibrate the fundamentals of our economy like the Madoff scandal did...oh wait.
I am no gold bug, but I do buy gold and silver regularly (try to keep it around 10-15% of my portfolio). I would echo the suggestion that silver may be a better commodity to buy if you are just starting since it is actually very usable (as I understand, it is one of the best conductors of electricity around) and may have a higher upside in the long run. I buy most of my silver in American or Canadian coins, and I buy them from a local coin shop. They come with a little markup, but they are the easiest to unload in a pinch and the most widely trusted. I am not buying them for any numistatic value but simply as bullion and I also don't plan on selling them for many years, so an extra $1 an ounce doesn't bother me.
That being said, if you don't want to go that route, I sometimes buy 1 oz gold bars online from Apmex. You can find gold cheaper by a fraction elsewhere, but that is not something I am willing to risk. That site has an impeccable reputation and in the half dozen or so transactions I have had with them they have never been anything but relaible. I simply hear too many horror stories about Ebay to ever buying anything from a seller there. Pennywise and poundfoolish, as they say. Finally, you can just buy the gold ETF (GLD). You buy it on paper like you would any stock and it is easily the most liquid way to get in and out of buying gold.
...to "TheThief" on this one. He clearly knows what he is talking about.
The thing about gold is not to think of it in terms of dollars, euros or any other fiat currency. Its value (and thus ability to protect wealth) is timeless. It might sound crazy but you could wake up one day and all your dollars are worthless but if you still have a bar of gold then you could potentially trade that for a boat or a car or something of practical value.
Granted something (probably another fiat) will come along to replace the old regime but how long will that take? Weeks? Months? And when it does come then you can trade some of your gold for the new paper. Again it is a protector of wealth.
Personally, I'd go a step further in protecting yourself from the vissitudes of fiat currency and suggest stocking up on cigarettes and bottles of booze. Again, because if there is a collapse in currency you'll need something (preferable at a small scale) to trade for food. Consider the way that cigarettes are used in prison, for example. And, obviously, don't drink& smoke your stash.
Just buy an ETF rather that the physical thing. Unless you have legitamite storage (READ: A HARDCORE SAFE), you're far better bying an ETF. It's also much easier (and cheaper) to liquidate an ETF rather than selling gold to a corner shop trying to make a large commission.
As mentioned above, Apmex and Monex are two of the largest gold/silver coin dealers. I've used a smaller outfit DBS Coins out of California, as of 6 months ago they did not ask for your SS#. You can buy right off their website. No issues with them so far.
While Gold will never be standard currency again, (unless that doomsday preppers show is right) I think the price has much more to do with the demand in emerging markets like China and India, and since those 2 countries seem to have tremendous upside over the long term, I am not too worried about the stability of gold prices going forward.
Of course stocks on bonds are where to put the majority of one's savings and retirement, just saying that gold seems no more volatile to me than the companies that make up the dow or nasdaq.
"Stocks and bonds, to me, are based on a real moneymaking activity rather than hoping others will continue to want a piece of metal."
Do you care to explain how the stock market has run ahead of business fundamentals? Maybe it has something to do with the debauchery of the currency. Which has been the single "success" story in the 101 history of the Federal Reserve.
Which brings us back to gold as the only reliable store of value in history.
I invest in precious metals ETFs so I can't offer advice on where to purchase physical, but kitco.com is a great site that my coworkers all recommend (I'm a stockbroker) and clients use regularly. You can purchase through them but it's the place where I go to check the spot price and I also use it for the charting.
My firm does have a site they recommend to clients for physical purchase but I don't remember the name. I'll find it tomorrow.
I love that John Blutarksy is a stockbroker.
in Birmingham (Woodward Ave). I've bought on the Internet too, but I got better prices from Abbott's, plus NO concern over fakes, copies, etc. Great people to deal with.
I prefer Provident Metals for smaller orders, APMEX for larger orders
Keep stacking
I''ve been using APMEX.com for several years. The service is excellent. I've never had a single issue with delivery or product quality.
Truly great post. I am going over right now to move my short term portfolio to hold strictly KO and WFC.
my entire portfolio to WTF!
/s
....keep in mind that there is a sucker born every minute and thus I present you:
China Tungsten, a very professional and serious company that makes genuine fake gold products.
Buyers beware!
If your looking at gold as an investment vehicle, you may want to consider a mutual fund for all the same reasons you might favor one over an individual stock (diversification, professional management, etc.) There's many that specialize in precious metals but I've only got personal experience with Franklin Gold & Precious Metals (FRGOX).
I wouldn't build my portfolio around this (or any commodity) but it's a nice hedge and potentially a good value. Just my 2 cents... with all disclaimers about not taking investment advice from random posters on a sports blog.
RICK on NASDAQ. Ultimate GROWTH stock.