Chapter fourteen. Inflation or deflation?

 Our medium of exchange is . . .

 Today we use currency to pay for "stuff". Here in the USA we use dollar$. Usually they are a small slip of paper which proclaims it is a "note and legal tender" for some printed amount of dollars. WTH does that even really mean? IT ISN'T REALLY MONEY! It has zero store of value. It is only worth the amount printed on it because a government fiat tells you that.


People argue with me about this topic. They laugh and tell me that they can still go buy a TV with a few of those pieces of paper. They chide me about, "If I think it is worthless then trade me a few of those with 100 on them for some with a 1 on them." My favorite is, "You can't eat silver!"

As for not being able to eat silver. You can't eat paper either!
The difference is that today people readily exchange products for our fiat currency, but today they wont accept silver in payment. Today, the accepted medium of exchange remains fiat paper currencies. So silver, which you indeed "cannot eat", would first need to be exchanged for that fiat currency, then used to buy whatever product you wanted. The only difference therefore is that to "eat" silver would require two steps to acquire what you needed instead of just the one. But, that is just for TODAY.

As in many things in life, sometimes "facts" today become "lies" historically. Take the Zimbabwe dollar as an example. It replaced the Rhodesian dollar in 1980 and started off on a par with it. After a while they actually printed $100 trillion banknotes. No joke.

So, do I believe we will have inflation like they had? No! Ours will be far worse! In its effect at least. The Zimbabwe problem had little effect on people beyond their borders. In fact - most of you had no idea about what happened there. But let me assure you of this:
WHEN THE US DOLLAR CRASHES IT WILL BE FELT WORLD-WIDE!

When dollars are recognized as just paper - what will be used then to buy a TV? Food? Maybe I'm wrong, buy I suspect a person would then accept a one-ounce silver coin as a "medium of exchange". We will see how this shakes out. Since nothing even close to this has ever happened - all ideas are at best speculation.

It is quite possible there will be a strong deflation prior to the hyper inflation. Some believe it will go that way and it will entice people to dump stored value (precious metals and land). Many will, of course, sell off because they need to do so, or just through ignorance. It happens regularly when a stock drops. People try to cut their losses by getting out while they can, while those stocks still have some value. I believe that would be a big mistake for precious metals.
Hang in there!

Chapter thirteen. Obtain a safe or otherwise secure your investment


Place slabbed coins in one of these -
Place it all in something like this.

Silver has a problem. That is - it is a bulky way to store value. Historically, an ounce of gold is worth fifteen ounces of silver. So, basically, silver storage takes 15 times as much space as gold. As I mentioned early on, possession of precious metals is a balancing act between value and liquidity. An ounce of gold is far more valuable than an ounce of silver today, but what will it buy for you when the dollar crashes? Are you going to be able to buy groceries and get a clerk to give you back a pile of silver as change?

Remember when I said I DON'T KNOW what is going to happen? It applies here too.

What I do know is if you invest in silver, before long you will have enough to need a safe place to store it. Unfortunately, I haven't had this problem yet since every time I begin to collect some, I need to sell off to pay a bill etc.

Anyhow, you may be a smarter investor than I am. I hope so. So, you may need a safe place to keep it. Buying a home safe is one answer. A gun safe works well for this.

The cost of a safe can be pretty high. Depending on the size and quality they can range into the thousands of dollars. Cheaper safes are better than none. But a heavy-duty one bolted down is best.

 The safe pictured has both a combination lock as well as a key lock. Both are required to open it. Buy one like that then store the key off site someplace like at work or whatever. So, no matter what nobody can get in it without knowing where the key is and then going to get it. In my case that would by my job site which has a dozen armed guards working at any given time!

I am not going into the various ways to hide your stash here. That is available online in dozens of places. What I am saying is do something. Don't pile silver on a living room table. Think about the problem for yourself. But do something.

Chapter twelve. Storage


A ton of American Eagles!
Storage and/or display.
After you begin to accumulate silver in one form or another you will need to decide how to store it. When you buy bullion bars, they mostly come sealed in plastic from the dealer. So, if you are going to keep them in the wrap from the dealer (manufacturer) your problem is solved. If you purchase from a different source, it may be different. Plus, you may not like the plastic and want to do something else.

Coins sometimes arrive in "Airtight" plastic containers or in those little cardboard flips or maybe in small plastic bags. Again, this may solve your problem and leave you with no further action needed.

On the other hand, you may buy some junk silver which often arrives in small Manila envelopes or nothing at all. If this is so you will want to improve your collection by purchasing storage items for your bullion and/or coins.

The American Eagle $1.00 and Canadian Maple Leaf $5.00 coins store well in the mint tubes. Twenty for the Eagles and twenty-five fit in the Canadian tube. When you buy one at a time you wont have those tubes and need to buy them aftermarket, which is easy and not very costly.

 Bullion stores well in several ways. There are shipping tubes which hold twenty coins and keep them separated (see blog page one). Bullion rounds can be stored the same way in shipping tubes made for them. Junk silver dollars are nearly the same size as silver rounds and fit nicely in those shippers. You can buy Airtight plastic holders to hold each coin separately as well.

Slabbed, certified coins are already sealed in special plastic containers to protect them and to preserve the certification authentication. However, after you acquire some of these you may want to store those slabs in a box. PCGS and NGC (and the others) make boxes which store twenty slabs in slots separating the slabs from touching. Remember a scratch on the plastic is almost as bad as a scratch on that coin! It still looks bad and unless you pay to have it re-certified, it will reduce the eye appeal and value at resale.

 Here are a few photos to help clarify all this for you:

Flea Market coins are often in these.

Airtight makes most of these in clear plastic.

 Each coin or slab fits in the slots.

Coin "slab". NOT certified.
NOTE: Coin holders often have little hand written notes, like the quarter above, claiming the coin is "AU". Whatever it says is the OPINION of the seller and not the "Gospel" as they say!

Chapter eleven. Trusted dealers

OK. Let's get back on track.


One Hundred Trillion Dollars.

IF you decide you want to buy silver (or gold), From whom should you buy?

I already mentioned eBay in a previous entry. They, along with other online auctions, sell almost any type of silver you could ever want. Then there are dealers, both locally as well as online.

Most people probably live near one of these dealers. Here in the Palm Beaches there are several within easy driving distance. I find a better selection and often better prices online. Plus, there is usually a guarantee protecting you. For me, the local dealers have been limited in what they have to offer, and for some reason not always easy to deal with. But, that's just me.

Many "local dealers" also sell online! In which case they may be a really good place to deal. You can avoid shipping charges and simply drive over and pick up what you bought online. The shipping savings may give you an extra edge against others who may be bidding. For example, a coin selling for $80.00 plus $6.00 shipping gives you a six-dollar edge when bidding! Be sure to confirm with the dealer BEFOREHAND that you wish to pick up instead of having it shipped !

I will name a few online sellers for you to check out. This is but a very few of the many out there. Some sell coins and bullion and others either/or. Remember to shop around. You will find that from time to time one has the better price, then a week later the other is better. Don't marry any one of them. It is your hard earned currency you are spending.

Here is a short list with a comment or two as appropriate.

Good selection. Every sale is always FREE delivery. Sells "grouped" items at a discount. Has adequate stock without "sold out" on a lot, like some have. Fast delivery. Accurate sales. Discrete packaging. Very limited number of coins available. Coins priced a little higher than eBay coins.

Good selection. Offers FREE delivery on certain items and occasionally on everything they sell. Sells own brand items minted at Silvertowne. A few "sold out" items in a few sections like Canadian Maple Leaf coins and some other. Very limited number of numismatic coins available and prices on eBay sometimes better. Produces investor information pod casts.

Good selection. Usually requires minimum purchases. Sells own brand rounds. Good prices on larger quantity purchases. Producers of a great many videos regarding currencies and precious metals. Does not sell numismatic coins.

 jmbullion
Good selection. No minimum required. Priced competitively. Fast discrete shipping. Sells numismatics as well as bullion.

 apmex
Good selection. No minimum required. Priced competitively. Fast discrete shipping. No numismatics.

Supplies, JP'S Corner
Carries extensive inventory of coin and bullion related supplies like holders, tubes, albums etc.

 Onfireguy
Good selection. FREE shipping in lower 48.

Do a search or two to find dozens more.

Chapter ten. A piece of American History in your hand!

While US coins represent just a part of a typical silver collection, they are no doubt THE more interesting and enjoyable part!

Anna Williams posed for the Morgan Dollar.
Called a "Morgan" dollar. Named for the designer.
The pictured coin was struck at the US Mint in San Francisco in 1881. It is 136 years old (in 2017). The obverse (front) design is considered one of the most beautiful ever designed, and the Morgan dollar is the most sought after US coin by collectors. This pictured coin has been certified by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) Holding one of these in your hand is like holding a piece of history for our American republic!

My personal collecting involves part numismatist and part silver/gold "bug". Many, if not most, collectors will collect "type" sets. Most experts advise you to do this. A type set would entail having "all" of a particular series of coins. For example, you may wish to collect all the years of the Morgan dollars. Maybe even all the years and mint marks plus even the variations involved with errors etc. While I find that attractive - it simply is not what I am doing. 

I collect US (mostly) coins which are sometimes graded and are selling for an amount not much more than a raw version of the same kind of coin. This plus some raw (junk) coins which will perform the same. I believe these will increase in value along with the spot prices of precious metals and always hold their value in that vicinity. I believe this removes the risk associated with coins which are rare or mint errors etc. Yes, perhaps a penny selling for $3,000 dollars today will increase in value when the dollar crashes - but the number of customers (buyers) will be quite small and I can't imagine that buying food or clothing with a rare penny will ever happen. This is just my opinion and in no way advise.

Coin collecting gets in your blood!

 PS: It can be profitable, if you can ever bring yourself to sell one of these magnificent coins.
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