klau2005

@Dougall1 would be interesting to see what your thoughts are and if you have decided what direction you are going.
I ploughed 70-90% of my spare cash into the mortgage, for years my commission and bonus were used to pay off the credit cards as I set myself the goal to be mortgage and debt free before 40.  I’d did this by 38,  I’ve only had normal jobs and been made redundant 3 times in the process.  
 
Peole look at their money being stored in lots of different pots, I’ve found this a bizarre view.  If you are minus 100k in debt and have plus 10k in a bank account you are still minus 90k plus compounding interest.  As boring and possibly condescending as I may sound (which I’m not trying to do) debt control is key, it’s nice to have shiny stuff, stocks etc and yes you could make money, but as close as a guarantee you will ever get is to pay debt off quicker, it’s not glamorous, trendy or something you can talk about in the pub but it’s totally life changing and anyone can do this.  
 
I know people on the face of it you would think they are seriously well off, they need 4-5k per month income to keep the lights on.  Many people have slipped into a lifestyle that’s  simply unsustainable.  
 
Being made redundant early on in life has taught me some serious life lessons, before you buy or invest in anything a good question to ask yourself is, if it all goes pear shaped and  you lose some or all of your income how long can you last before the wolfs are at the door? 

Yes, that's me..
Put me back in the matrix, I don't want to remember a thing and make me a movie star. 
 

Yes, in my opinion, dare I say, everything has been weaponized against we the people who have a basic inherent right to prosper and live free from slavery/usury.
The war of words is poisoning many minds who cant see the implications or how they are manipulated to an end that doesn't suit their short or long term interests. Double Speak is everywhere.

I've come to see that nothing in the world is by a completely natural occurrence or means, except for nature where un-corrupted or unpolluted, in other words everything is controlled by a hidden hand for a hidden purpose or agenda that you pay for and are coerced deceptively to be part of but are not privy to the truth, unless you can figure it out for yourself. As an aside, I think that's why a lot of us were attracted to silver. I basically trust a 180 deg flip of what spin narrative were fed in the mainstream is more likely the truth.

False balances are more popular than ever, and so are corporate and global government/currency/reset/green new BS deals etc. and excused with bogus agendas like Covid to kick it off, eg. The magic word to be a cover for any nonsense not normally acceptable, and quacks and scientists lost every idea about morality look at CERN and their new particle beam that they are sending into space WTF, these vaccine forcing and spin doctoring going on in mind boggling and in every country, they are all in on this agenda and whatever you believe I bet you see the motives are not good and based on control.

The world has become a mess and 2001 was the major turning point, things looking forward from here 2021 don't look pretty, we must remain hopeful but do what we can to bring change that actually suits the people. The Silver Squeeze Redit group for example has made waves and this is a great example at how we can unite together for a cause.
We will lose more rights if we do nothing. And what gives in the end, I believe evil will destroy evil, but a huge toll will be paid for our iniquities for being misled and giving our posterity away for a bowl of porridge today, like the historical story of Esau.

We all play a part in the emerging world and we all have an opportunity to make it a better place for those who come after us. Thank you too for your angle ScentSation
 

The Great Reset. Global corporate tax. Vaccine passports. Universal Basic Income. Green New Deal.
It isn't the Book of Revelation I'm worried about. It's the individuals who appear to be using it for world domination. Certainly we agree that it's too coordinated to be coincidental. Definitely words like "righteous" and "morality" are important, appropriate and accurate and no one should ever be barred from using them. But even their counterparts like "equality," "equity" and "justice" have been corrupted by the opposite by the other wing to have a stigma to them that was not originally intended. They were supposed to mean "equality of opportunity" "kindness, respecting and loving one's neighbor." When all the words you could possibly use have a stigma to them on one "side" or the other, it would seem that no choice could really be wrong, even if all of them have been redefined to leave a bitter aftertaste. A word that came to my mind, an old word, is iniquity, meaning "a false balance." The concept that a person or organization can decide what is best for others and take from the other what is not theirs, primarily a lust for power and control.
You posts are wealth of information and wisdom, OldCoin. Thank you.

This dialogue was interesting. Some of my thoughts are that JPM is nothing more than a puppet for a emerging power, a New World Order if you like. If they intend to transition to a one world digital currency which I believe is their plan, then they do not want the fact silver is such a raving good buy and has been suppressed for a very long time, they don't want that cat out of the bag, so unless the short squeeze by physical believers can outrun their manipulation, I'd be expecting the manipulation to continue and even become more entrenched. The fact they can get away with it tells me it's a far bigger agenda way above JPM, Billy Goats, and all the other demons without any moral compass. This financial terrorism is the emerging Totalitarian Communism regime, and so is the Socialism that will always lead to said Communism, as Vladimir Lenin was quoted. Like in Revelation, the beast made war with the saints for a time, but eventually evil destroys evil, and good prospers. But my addage is, not if good people don't stand and uphold the righteous morality. Financial morality is getting away from fake money in every way, as they can't control metals in the long run and if every last oz is bought up by the righteous people, and we form our own system of trade and settlement, then there would be no support for the existence of these demonic parasites. That's why everything is regulated to hell in this current system so you and I can't bypass these rotten scoundrels and their sick evil agendas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13VMlFPNFHM

I see you have already received a few replies from like-minded people, and as usual the advice contains a number of varying opinions.
There are probably similar posts and questions most days.
I sometimes give some input, but I prefer to give answers which are as complete and comprehensive as possible. This means they are long and time-consuming.
In the pre-historic early days of the internet (1998), I started to add advice and opinion pages to our "new" website. Now it belongs in a museum, and not all of the old content has been ported over to our newest site.
I thought about giving you a link to our "Newbie" advice page, but realised it needed updating, so I just wrote the first draft of it, which will get added to our site soon.
Here it is: https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/precious-metals-information-and-advice-for-newbies/1008 (link added 18th June 2021)
Meanwhile I am happy to give you a preview, complete with typos:
 
Newbie Information and Advice
For people thinking about starting to collect, invest, or stack coins or precious metal bullion.
 
First, ask yourself some questions:
What is your prime goal?
Interest in the historical or numismatic aspects of coins.
Investing to make a maximum return.
Investing to protect wealth against inflation, etc.
 
Most interested in:
Coins as numismatic items.
Precious metal content of coins and bars.
 
Metal Preference:
Most interested in:
Gold
Silver
Platinum
Palladium
Open minded
 
Budget
How much do you intend to invest?
Lump sum or regular purchase?
 
Timing
Want to start now, or ASAP
Wait until prices come down.
Wait until prices go up.
 
Home Base
Where do you live, which country, state, etc.
Legal considerations. Is what you want legal to buy or import in your country.
Tax considerations.
In the UK and EU, “Investment Gold” is exempt from VAT.
Other precious metal coins and bars are subject to VAT in the UK and EU.
In the USA, there may be sales tax in some states.
 
Secure Storage
It is worth thinking about how and where you intend to store your stash. For small amounts, this might not be much of a problem, but for higher values, you might need to think about a safe, alarms system, and insurance. Some banks may still offer safe deposit boxes, and safe deposit companies also exist. Check whether your insurance can include these. Alternatively, some companies now offer secure storage usually including insurance. If the storage is in a favourable tax regime, this may also legally avoid VAT on silver, platinum and palladium. Charges vary.
 
Bear / Bull Market Cycles.
Very few people can accurately forecast future precious metal prices, including many people who think they know. If you don’t know, then you are not alone, and at least your are not deluding yourself that you do know.
 
Relative Merits of Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium
As a UK based dealer, we obviously concentrate on the UK market, but we do have a number of non-UK customers and suppliers, so while we are aware of some international markets, most of our thoughts relate to the UK.
Gold is the only one of the four precious metals which is exempt from VAT in the UK and EU, so it is the most obvious metal to choose for investment. Its unique VAT status is probably because it has historically been a monetary metal, renowned for retaining its value, and a range of other factors.
Silver is the other historic monetary metal, but because it is subject to VAT, we do not recommend it as a prime investment metal. It does have its enthusiastic supporters though, and it is relatively affordable.
Platinum and palladium are the other two precious metals, although both metals are newbies compared with gold and silver. Both are also subject to VAT.
Gold:Silver and other ratios.
The ratio of gold to silver prices has had a profound influence on monetary systems for thousands of years, until the last century, when “fiat” currencies have prevailed.
It is worth getting familiar with the current, and also historic gold:silver ratios. This will help you to decide between gold, silver, a different metal, or a combination.
 
Production Costs
Gold has a well-established international market, as does silver to a lesser extent, platinum and palladium markets are smaller and less liquid.
Mining is the most obvious production cost of any metal, but refining and other processing costs also come into play. Gold is cheap and easy to process in relation to its value. Silver is worth much less than gold, but the cost to manufacture a one ounce coin, for example, are not much less than for a similar gold coin, which explain why the percentage premium for silver coins or bars is generally higher than for gold. Platinum and palladium are more difficult to process, so their percentage premiums are also usually higher than for gold. Transport costs are also a higher proportion for silver than for gold. Silver requires more space to store compared with its value, so storage costs are also higher.
 
Coins or Bars?
I’m primarily a coin dealer, so I prefer coins, but there are other good reasons to choose coins rather than bars. Coins have tax or legal advantages in many countries compared with bars. Coins are issued by countries, bars by companies. I hesitate to suggest you trust governments rather than companies, but think about it. Coins are mass produced, and are usually available in a selection of different weights at competitive prices. One ounce coins are a universal choice in modern bullion coins, and hit a “sweet spot” for premiums, but historic coins such as British gold sovereigns (approximately quarter ounce) are also available competitively. Many other countries have their own traditional historic coins which are worth considering.
Bars are also made in many sizes, and you should expect to pay slightly lower premiums for bars rather than coins. The biggest “small” gold bar is one kilo, and should usually be the cheapest bar to buy (in percentage premium terms), however the differential is quite small, and for most investors, smaller sizes such as one ounce, as a better long-term buy. They are more liquid, as more people can afford them, easier to post (and insure), an important consideration when you want to sell.
 
Premiums
Whenever I talk about premiums, unless otherwise stated, I mean percentage premiums. This is the simplest way to compare value. If you don’t understand percentages or simple maths, then I recommend getting a few quick lessons, and a little effort. Education is always a good investment.
 
My general advice:
Buy at the lowest premium within reason. If you have read most of the above, you will understand what I mean, and why.
Changes
Most of the advice I give is generalised. There is a good reason for this. Things change. When I wrote this paragraph heading, I started singing the David Bowie song. Markets are constantly in a state of flux. For this reason, what is good specific advice on Monday morning might not be the same by Friday night. Changes occur over long timeframes of centuries and decades but also happen on shorter timescales of years, months, weeks, days, hours, and even minutes. Gold went up about $10 in a few seconds after the first plane hit on 9/11.
These changes include political, financial, fiscal, personal, local, international.
 
News and Hype
I spend a lot of time reading news. I call it working. In recent years, I have become more aware that most of what I read is written by vested interests, lobby groups, “influencers”, and the like. It is not easy, but try to discern whether facts are accurate, and to work out whether the “news” is coming from an “interested party”. It is often easy to detect hype and bullshit. Be aware that we are all prone to believe what we want to hear rather than what we do not want to hear.
 
Big Spenders and Small Savers
If you have big money to invest, you should have more choice of “best buy” deals.
If you are a small saver, it will be harder for you to get the “sweet spot” for value, so you might have to work a little harder.
 
Big Dealers or Peer-to-Peer
If you want to buy 100 ounces of gold, then almost everyone would agree go to a big, reputable dealer. Chard in Blackpool, England are not the biggest, but are one of the best (I am biased). You can have confidence that what you are buying is genuine.
If you only have a few hundred dollars (more or less) to invest, then you might actually get the best deals shopping around, perhaps on a well-known forum. It is not quite as easy to be certain that what you buy is genuine, but as I said, you may need to work a little harder.
You may be able to find a dealer or scheme which will let you buy small amounts of gold, silver etc., regularly, then switch it into physical when you have enough metal in your account.
 
Who, What, and Where to Avoid
Although it is possible to buy on ebay, it is fraught with danger, riddled with fraudsters, ripe with hype, and probably better avoided, unless you like a gamble. Similar with other auction sites, and private advertisers.
Local auctions can work, and are probably better than ebay, after all it wouldn’t be difficult.
Local coins dealers might work out for you. Jewellers, pawnbrokers and scrap dealers are probably better avoided. Often they don’t know and don’t care if coins are genuine, and many of their coins are sourced from scrap jewellery, and are sub-standard.
Coin Marketing Companies (CMCs)
You will see national newspaper and television adverts for these. Most of them market brand new coin issues at (high) premium prices. Many of these are very gimmicky, the world’s first, biggest, smallest, weirdest, latest, rarest. If you want to buy this stuff, then reading what I say will probably not stop you, but make sure you really want to buy it, and don’t be surprised if nobody is interested when you come to sell, even at half your cost price or less. Most of the CMC’s do not make a market, and will not buy (or buy back) coins, possibly because they don’t want you to realise they have ripped you off.
Some CMCs offer introductory deals (only $49.99 for the next 30 days, $99.99 “normal” price), others do loss leaders, usually restricted to 1 coin per household. This is to get your name on their “suckers” mailing list. They may also try the highly unethical, sometimes illegal, “bait and switch”, in which your personal account manager will try to convince you to buy pre-1933 gold coins telling you they are non-confiscatable. Ask yourself has he really got your best interests at heart, or is he trying to boost his commission, or keep his job?
The guy at the local pub. Also best avoided.
 
 
Links and Resources:
Gold price https://www.chards.co.uk/gold-price/gold-price-per-ounce
Gold:Silver ratio https://www.chards.co.uk/gold-silver-ratio
Other prices and ratios are linked from the above.
You can select different currencies, units of weight, and timescales.
We also have hundreds of other advice pages on our site, as well as on our older “heritage” sites.
 
Errors and Omissions
If there is anything I have missed out, please let me know.
If there are any other questions you would like answering, please submit them on the back of a £50 note, $100 bill, €500 banknote or similar.
 
 
 

Here’s my tiny stack so far. All paid for with my profits from crypto. Only one is a purchase from this site but I’m hoping to change that soon. 12.215 Troy oz of silver total. 

Just recieved my first sovereigns this morning just got a couple of quarters. Gonna aim to buy a full sovereign every month for the foreseeable.

I definitely feel it's the inflation fear and for me that has certainly been the driving force over my accumulation of gold
😉

Managed to get everything in one place briefly last week. On the way back to the vaults though I nipped out on the boat and you'll never guess what happened. 

Massive premium on these. Do people realise Its not really Beskar but silver.
 If anyone is interested I'm going to cast some unobtainium bars out of some old beer cans next weekend.🤣🍻
 That said, I wont pretend I dont want some 👍

5 lei 1881 90 % silver https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5742.html


1 leu 1885 83 % silver https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces18311.html


A bit of Romanian history
The coins (and other) laid bury in clay pot for more than 50 years during the communist era.
If you get caught with this in that era you were doing  "hard time"

I am back from the pub where a wise man said "do you want another one". I obliged and was enlightened. 
 The squeeze is a win win situation for most stackers. If spot goes to the moon then so do our stacks. If nothing really changes we can carry on stacking while the price is relatively favourable and new stackers have a chance to jump on board aswell and at worst enjoy inflation proof savings but with the potential to make a great profit over the longterm .
 It was then the universe was going to reveal to me the meaning of life but my wife phoned and I had to go home.

Well I cant compete with the stack above but 14 months in I'm doing ok 
Full stack with some pictured highlights 
$20 dollar st gaudens liberty
$10 dollar st gaudens indian 
$10 and  $5 dollar liberty coronet head 
First World War set of sovs 
Young head shield back 
Viente pesos 
Francs cerese 
Peru soles set 
Peru soles and silver una sol 
Chile pesos set 
Indian head set 
Peru una libra set 
Libertad set 
Standing liberty centennial gold (2016) and silver (1916)
1/4 AGE 
Slowly but surely I'm getting there enjoying it though and meeting everyone here 
 

I would like to show off all my massive stack of Bitcoin

Second and last part of the 1967 collection: the slabs!
 

As last year, I am posting my full 1967 collection as it was in the end of 2020. First part has anything except the slabs. These will follow in the next couple of days, as I don't have everything in one place. So here we have coin and medal sets, large medals, coin envelopes and all the bits and pieces.

Started stacking this year in April and now that I passed the 1oz Gold threshold, I figured it's a good time to document what I managed to accumulate so far. I also wanted to get to 100oz Silver but I'm a bit short of it for the moment (88oz so far).

well as we close to the end of 2020 this is my haul for the year not sure what next year will bring but have a good one merry Christmas and a happy new year 

End of the year so some time to take a photo of my personal stack. Been a great year for stacking and had the opportunity to get some truly awsome pieces. 
HAPPY XMAS GUYS AND GALS 

My tiny collection
 

Started stacking this year in April and now that I passed the 1oz Gold threshold, I figured it's a good time to document what I managed to accumulate so far. I also wanted to get to 100oz Silver but I'm a bit short of it for the moment (88oz so far).