silenceissilver

Where's Wonger these days?
Silver was going to $4 wasn't it.
We saw Wonger and Agent 007 off - never to return.

The Silver Shorts’ Last Stand?
  January 23, 2021 Ted Butler
Butler Research
I started calculating the financial plight of the 8 big shorts in COMEX gold and silver on a twice-weekly basis around June 2019. That’s when gold moved higher. The big shorts had added quite aggressively to short positions early in the move and when gold rose $100, the big shorts were out $2.2 billion. As gold rose, the big shorts kept getting deeper and deeper into a financial hole. From the end of the third quarter of 2019 when the 8 big shorts were underwater by $2.4 billion, the losses have progressively worsened over the five subsequent quarters to yearend 2020, when the combined loss hit $14 billion.
The drastic turn in the financial fortunes for the 8 big shorts is not the only change that has occurred since the summer of 2019. A development I believe may be just as important, is the change in the composition of the big shorts. The former king of the big shorts since 2008, JPMorgan, broke ranks and completely covered its gold and silver short positions. It has now been 10 months since JPM has held no significant COMEX gold and silver short position. It makes sense for JPMorgan to have eliminated its dominant COMEX short positions, as that allows it to profit on its massive gold and silver physical holdings (25 million ounces in gold and 1 billion ounces in silver), on which it is ahead by $25 billion. But it’s not just the profit motive alone suggesting that JPMorgan may have sworn off its manipulative short selling.
Along with a monetary penalty it received in its recent settlement with the Justice Department and the CFTC, JPMorgan agreed to a deferred criminal prosecution agreement. This would expose the world’s most manipulative bank to untold penalties should it do anything improper for the next few years. The monetary penalty was rinky-dink – the deferred criminal prosecution agreement was as serious as a heart attack. JPMorgan has good reason to stand aside and not add to short positions on future price rallies.
The 8 big shorts have been “lucky” so far, that their predicament isn’t widely recognized. I’m sure that a small number of sophisticated investors are aware of the plight of the 8 big shorts. But the simple truth is that there has been no mention of the concentrated short position in COMEX gold and silver futures by any mainstream media source. Even on the Internet, the concentrated short position is hardly mentioned. There seems to be a growing groundswell of opinion that silver is the cheapest asset around (it is) and I’m even starting to hear some ask why silver is so cheap to begin with? Let me make it easy for you – the only reason silver is so cheap is because of the concentrated short position of the 4 biggest traders, who hold more than 312 million ounces short, as of the latest COT report. When combined with the next 4 largest traders, the concentrated short position grows to nearly 404 million ounces. The connection couldn’t be more direct. Silver is the cheapest because its short position is the largest.
Over the past year and a half, the biggest damage to the 8 big shorts has come from gold, but more recently silver has begun to add to the loss mix. At current prices, silver accounts for as much as $3 billion of their total losses. Every $8 move higher in silver will cause that loss to increase by a further $3 billion. A move to $50 silver, commonly bandied about, would bring the 8 big shorts an additional $10 billion in losses from silver alone. What happens if the 8 big shorts move to cover and buy back their silver short positions in order to avoid catastrophic losses? Any such attempted short covering would cause the most drastic price move in history. This is the explanation for why the big shorts haven’t rushed to cover. I believe they finally grasp the extent of the bind they are in.
The only alternative for the big silver shorts is to try and buy time and postpone the inevitable by arranging sharp selloffs in hopes of buying back as many short positions as possible, something they have not been able to do.  Complicating the plight of the big shorts is that they have buying competition. As more and more investors and financial entities move into silver, their losses mount. If they are overrun and must buy back their shorts at any price, it will be like Tesla shares on steroids. This is the big shorts’ last stand. The only difference between the big silver shorts of today and General Custer of yesteryear, is that historical records suggest Custer didn’t realize he was trapped until the last moment. My guess is that the big silver shorts now know they are doomed and are just delaying the inevitable.

Billy silver have a great explanation above but if I can chime in on some things I found when I started stacking earlier on last year.
I think you need to decide are you a stacker, a collector or both. They are different in my opinion. 
STACKING
Don't buy single coins that have high postage cost as it drives your £ per oz cost real high, I spent +50gbp for two 1 oz silver bars. I got a much better price buying a tube of Britannias. It sure does cost a lot more immediately but long term they ended up cheaper than the first two bars per oz because I could disperse the cost of postage. Try keep your costs as low as you can so if you can, buy as much as you can at once, even if it means waiting a while till you have an extra few quid to buy bigger. 
For collecting buy for fun and what you like! I absolutely love the Queens beast set so am buying the 2oz rounds, they have a high premium but it's for collecting so I'm not trying to keep costs to bottom dollar. 

Hey @HarryK welcome to the community
You can't go wrong with 1oz Britannia's, especially the 2021 which is an absolutely stunning coin.
Everyone will have a different opinion, and the longer you stack the more you will come to realise what works best for yourself according to what you like and have learned along the way. There is no better way to gain knowledge than to do. As a newbie you begin stacking/collecting essentially blind, guided mainly by the youtube videos one watches at first, you will learn by doing. It's like anything else, success and knowledge are guaranteed when you take action.
The best action you have taken so far is to have made your way here to The Silver Forum! 👏
You will find the best deals in the forum Buy & Sell Trade Section and if you have a premium membership you will have access to the best deals available anywhere, you can view the benefits of premium membership here  One of my favourite benefits is seeing premium listings 3 days earlier than non-premium members, this is how you get the cheapest prices! 💰 The best deals are always gone in minutes!
The Britannia 1oz .999 Fine Silver bullion coins 2013-2021 are a solid piece of silver to stack, especially when you are a U.K Citizen. They are highly recognizable, one of the top bullion coins, easy to buy and sell and the 2021 in particular is very secure and beautiful, I will have some listed tomorrow if you are interested! The Britannia has to be the number one coin for British stackers and top 3 for Worldwide. Britannia's for Brits are capital gains tax exempt, which is useful. In my opinion, the best 1oz coin to stack in The U.K. Build a 2021 Britannia foundation upon which you can grow your stack and your setting yourself off to a good start.
The 2oz Greyhound's are a good coin to stack. They are the last in the silver bullion Queen's Beasts series, 2oz is a great weight and size of coin, capital gains tax exempt, desirable to sell in the future for completion of Queen's Beasts series, maybe a good coin you can sit on if bought in volume. One con is that sets will most likely pull you in and you would personally have to backdate the set if you wanted to collect the Queen's Beasts for yourself, which will cost more because of the premium on the older coins in the series, this is a minor and possibly insignificant problem though. The Queen's Beasts series is known well outside of U.K, it's an excellent series, greyhound is the last and is easy to sell now and in the future if you want to liquidate.
The 10oz are probably less liquid but the 10 oz White Lion is part of The Queen's Beasts series so valuable as coins required for a set that others need to complete, the run is not over and you will be able to acquire the later 10oz silver Queen's Beasts without a premium that you would pay further down the line as the set progresses if you chose to collect The Queen's Beasts set in 10oz .999 Silver. 
Silver is silver.
No matter the weight or the design it has an inherent value, whatever silver you purchase you will always be able to sell or stack as a store of wealth, for a Brit, you can't go wrong with the coins you have chosen. Spend some time in the forum, get to know some members, complete a few trades, get a premium membership for the best deals and as you stack your silver, if you need to buy or sell, you will always be guaranteed a trade here no matter what silver you stack.
Best wishes to you and your stack to be!
🙂
 
 

Here is a small mixture of old and newer issues. These are the last copies I would sell, so to speak as a hedge for bad times that hopefully won't come. I love this mix of these beautiful coins. I wish you a pleasant and hopefully healthy weekend,
Greetings from Maxe.  

























 
 

Majority of metal I accumulated last year, 80% of it say
Somewhere in the 300 ozs of Ag and around 9 oz of AU
Gradually adding to it for long, long term savings
 

My U.S. minted gold stack.
Sure do miss the "pre-Covid" prices...

My full and ever growing Mexican stack. I've had to sell a few things latley to make way for some new but it as been more than worth it

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

My very small humble stack just one gold sov lol. Rest all silver.

This thread is the reason I won't touch slabbed coins. Every year the fakes get better and better, and I strongly believe that within 5 years fakes will be indistinguishable from the real thing unless you break open the slab and check the coin.
Just wait until 3D printing gets out of it's infancy and into its element. 

Before started stacking came across lots of YouTube videos of fake Gold. In the end it formed part of my strategy to avoid graded coins or bars in assay wallets. As soon as I receive package regardless if it is from a dealer or private sale I will perform a video recorded unboxing using caliper, scales and neodymium magnet. Any doubt move onto a gravity test. I personally want to be able to hold my coins and test them without any obstacles (assay card / graded holder) getting in the way.
Only buy from reputable dealers/private individuals I was so tempted to buy 1 oz Gold Britannia bar for absolutely ages but in the end because it did not fit my strategy I avoided the purchase.
You only have to search on wish and amount of fake gold bars/nuggets/coins from China is unbelievable. If it was not for all these fakes I truly believe a lot more of the general public would be involved in wealth preservation via holding onto precious metals.
All photos below for fake Gold on wish. If you spot any of these on eBay I avoid like the plague.....

 

 

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).

Today I received a Shilling and  Florin from @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer (great customer service btw)
Unfortunately it's a present, I'd like to keep it myself.

Wait for it......he'll be here any minute!

Buy in a few lots under £750. In most cases that value dealers won’t ask for id. 
or buy from the forum, you may have to give address but your details won’t be saved on a system anywhere.

That is very well put.... although I wonder how many will stick to their lost bullions story under duress, threatened with prison time, etc. Personally I'd rather never find myself in that position, if I can avoid it. Pretty unlikely scenario though, I'll concede + making purchases anonymously does sound rather convoluted, unfortunately.
Anyway, many thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, much appreciated!
 

Many people gift gold and silver to family and friends, and often pay off huge psychologically damaging gambling debts that will trigger their PTSD if discussed.

I was asked for I.d. when I bought my kilo silver bar from a European dealer online a few years ago and they said the order wouldn't go through without it. I said that this is the only thing I'd be ordering from them and they can forget the sale if they want. It went through without any id being handed over. Never used them again but I didn't intend to after that. 

1) No
2) I have bought the pro version because it measures all the way through the coins (small bars), the non pro version only so deep, I can't remember, maybe a quarter mm?
3) It is, however I managed to overlook the attached calibration disc (for the calibration of thickness) for a long time. Sometimes I'm annoyed it does work properly only with one of the two sensors, depending on the size of the coin. Thus, small coins don't always work properly under the bigger sensor but mostly that was due to the fact that I didn't have it calibrated for too long, I guess. Why does this matter? With the pro, there are two sensors at each sensor, one internal one and one above the coin, building a bridge around it, and the space for the smaller sensor is not big enough for capsules or holders.
4) Yes. The smallest coin I have is just over a tenth of an ounce,  a 10 Corona coin, the biggest ones one ounce (gold)/two ounces (silver), both work. The one ounce coins under the bigger sensor, the rest under the smaller one.
5) Yes
6) I only have the Sigma, so I can't compare it from own experience but there is gold analytics. Also see this thread about it:
I'm in the UK too, I had it imported from the US. It was sitting at customs for several weeks, that was quite annoying but it can also go through much quicker. It's a lottery with customs.
There is also a Slovenian site, selling it, too. As far as I know that's it for Europe, unless you buy a used one privately on Ebay or wherever. Personally, I try and avoid second hand electronics.
What else? There is a so-called bridge, a kind af attached very big sensor, for big bars. I don't need it, I have not bought it. Even for my silver, my biggest piece is two ounces, I'm not a PM bar guy.
Would I buy it again? Yes, no question
Why did I buy it in the first place? My very first gold coin was a fake (plated), I found out before I bought the Sigma, but it was a pain in the butt, specific gravity test, no certainty because of a lack of reference at the time, etc. Also I got tired of doing a specific gravity test for every new sovereign or other coin. Plus by now I have acutally once tried a specific gravity test again and it very much seems my cheap scale would need to be recalibrated but as it's cheap, you can't do it properly, just pushing a button on zeroing it doesn't seem to do the job properly.
Upper bar: The outer layer (you only have this one a the non pro version)
Lower bar: Measured all the way through.
Green: No fake
Orange: Questionable (you don't really get this, it's green or red in practice)
Red: Fake
What else: Measuring the dimensions - I have never bothered to do this with the Sigma
 
 

Weird how suspicion is now the default attitude towards someone wanting anonymity - eg. the smaller non-London based dealer I also spoke to this morning, who instantly shut down the conversation, claiming alarm bells were ringing. 
Am wondering if purchasing from abroad solves the problem?

Theoretically, the limit is 5000 Pounds as far as I know but unfortunately, some dealers ask for an ID at any purchase. That's also the case because the limit is not just 5K for one purchase but per year and obviously they could forget you after a few weeks or months, so there is a grey area and they want to cover themselves - also one member here said, they are under pressure from the authorities. Of course it has nothing to to with preventing money laundering (that's done with fake businesses) but with a paranoid state.
I have once bought only 2 Sovereigns at a well known London dealer who wanted to see an ID but also 5 Sovereigns at once and a few more over the same year at an unknown local jeweller. However, his prices were not particularly good.
I think the objection, if you don't have to hide anything, you don't need to worry leaving your ID there is not thought through. I don't do anything abnormal on the toilet too, yet I would not like a record of it stored at a shop or even the government. History - and the present - have shown time and again, you can't trust governments. The reset is coming closer, it's principally unavoidable in a fiat system and the powers that be talk openly about it now (e.g. at the World Economic Forum). Of course many people will lose their savings in this process and the government will grab everything they can. I think a literal gold confiscation is yet unlikely as their are much easier ways to get much bigger amounts, from the people. However, chances are that they will continue to make it more difficult, add more taxes etc, around gold. That is unless their attempts to install socialism backfire, of course.
So, you can only look for more bullion dealers/jewellers till you find one that doesn't require an ID. I have also once bought a Sovereign at a pawn shop, they didn't ask for an ID either, however, their sell (and buy) prices are often (but not always) really bad. But trying them out is most likely a wast of time, chances are really low there. Try small and unknown jewellers and shops that offer antiquities.

Theoretically, the limit is 5000 Pounds as far as I know but unfortunately, some dealers ask for an ID at any purchase. That's also the case because the limit is not just 5K for one purchase but per year and obviously they could forget you after a few weeks or months, so there is a grey area and they want to cover themselves - also one member here said, they are under pressure from the authorities. Of course it has nothing to to with preventing money laundering (that's done with fake businesses) but with a paranoid state.
I have once bought only 2 Sovereigns at a well known London dealer who wanted to see an ID but also 5 Sovereigns at once and a few more over the same year at an unknown local jeweller. However, his prices were not particularly good.
I think the objection, if you don't have to hide anything, you don't need to worry leaving your ID there is not thought through. I don't do anything abnormal on the toilet too, yet I would not like a record of it stored at a shop or even the government. History - and the present - have shown time and again, you can't trust governments. The reset is coming closer, it's principally unavoidable in a fiat system and the powers that be talk openly about it now (e.g. at the World Economic Forum). Of course many people will lose their savings in this process and the government will grab everything they can. I think a literal gold confiscation is yet unlikely as their are much easier ways to get much bigger amounts, from the people. However, chances are that they will continue to make it more difficult, add more taxes etc, around gold. That is unless their attempts to install socialism backfire, of course.
So, you can only look for more bullion dealers/jewellers till you find one that doesn't require an ID. I have also once bought a Sovereign at a pawn shop, they didn't ask for an ID either, however, their sell (and buy) prices are often (but not always) really bad. But trying them out is most likely a wast of time, chances are really low there. Try small and unknown jewellers and shops that offer antiquities.