Is there a case for Constitutional Silver over .999?

[Cosmosaic]

With the stimulus money I want to preserve it rather than contributing to hyperinflation but I am undecided on how to go about it. It seems that Constitutional coins have the benefit of being better for a SHTF scenario, along with just being a preservation of wealth. What’s the main benefit of .999 over “junk” Silver, if any? If Government ever decides to take people’s Metals, isn’t a Silver Eagle official Government property while Constitutional coins are out of circulation (along with Rounds being private), or am I just overthinking all of it?

[RedDragon77]

I'm new so I wouldn't venture an answer, but I also want to know what people think.

I do however severely doubt that a seizure would overlook junk silver, it is still legal tender. I also doubt foreign coins or generic bullion would get a pass, if someone is going to seize precious metals, they are going to seize precious metals.

[Cosmosaic]

Makes sense

[Chicagodogs]

Hello Cosmosaic,

From what I understand in the US. Constitutional and Silver eagles are both legal tender. Capitol gains taxes on legal tender (gold & silver coin) is nothing up to $1,000 face value. 14 dimes ($1.40) = 1 oz.. 1 oz silver eagle equals $1. The better profit would be on the silver eagles IMO.

All rounds and bars are subject to capital gains taxes from 1 oz or more.

[Bimetallic]

Most Americans don't know anything about silver bullion, much less Constitutional silver, so silver in general will have limited use in a SHTF scenario. Especially since the vast majority of people don't have any, it won't be a widespread currency equivalent. People will just use cash – lots of empirical evidence there from various disaster regions.

That said, I think pure, modern bullion will be an easier sell. Constitutional silver looks exactly like regular quarters and dimes. Three problems arise: 1. People will have to get out their reading glasses to see the year. 2. They'll have to believe you that coins of a certain range of years are made of silver. 3. They'll have to believe that your coins are genuine and not counterfeit. After all, anyone can mark a different year on a quarter.

For those and other reasons, I don't think Constitutional silver will ever be widely useful in trade. And with the coins being only worth small amounts compared to full size 1 oz bullion, you'll need a lot of these coins to buy anything major, which makes it a huge hassle for people to squint at each one to see the year, pop on their reading glasses and so forth.

Pure silver bullion of 1 oz or larger size is easier for people to understand, and to feel comfortable with. It's heavy, and they can feel the weight. They can know that it's probably real silver, if they have any experience at all with silver objects like sterling silver housewares or jewelry. It doesn't look exactly like regular quarters and dimes – it's much more substantial, and probably looks nicer.

As for the government seizing people's metals, that's never going to happen in the US. It's wildly unrealistic. Nobody in government cares about your metals, and metals are not the measure of wealth in this world. They wouldn't need anyone's metals, and no realistic amount of seized metals would make a significant difference in the US government's financial posture. If they ever tried to steal people's metals, it would just spark a war, and realistically a government so deranged that it thought stealing people's goods from their homes would be a fine idea would've already done things to spark a war anyway.

[Bxlsteve]

I agree with you @Bimetallic  

the o my thing I am not shure of is gouvernement could seize your metals. (Highly improbable, but they could) 

of it happened before, there is no reason it could not happened again. 
 

people do strange things in strange times. 

[Cosmosaic]

Thanks for the responses. @Bimetallic do you not foresee a potential return to a Gold Standard if indeed the US Dollar were to go into Hyperinflation? If the World Reserve Currency becomes worthless, and JP Morgan And Russia and China are already stocked on Precious Metals, maybe it could happen?

[Bimetallic]

13 hours ago, Cosmosaic said:

Thanks for the responses. @Bimetallic do you not foresee a potential return to a Gold Standard if indeed the US Dollar were to go into Hyperinflation? If the World Reserve Currency becomes worthless, and JP Morgan And Russia and China are already stocked on Precious Metals, maybe it could happen?

There won't be a gold standard that requires tons of physical gold sitting somewhere. That's inefficient, there isn't enough gold, and most gold is mined outside the US. Some future version of the US might have a gold price standard, which makes a lot more sense. In that arrangement, the dollar would be defined in terms of gold, and it would be the Fed's job to maintain that peg. (I think this is the version of the gold standard that Steve Forbes has advocated.)

So for example the dollar could be defined as $1,500 to one troy ounce. The Fed would engage in its usual open market operations to keep it close to that number. (It would be smart to make it a 1 year moving average peg instead of the daily gold price.)

I don't think the US is going to last much longer in its current form. It's too divided. I think there will be a breakup by 2045 or so. California will leave. Texas will leave and ten other states will join her. Money is probably due for some innovation around the same time frame. Electronic is obviously the future, and ironically it could end up being "backed" by a gold price standard similar to what I outlined.

Hyperinflation is unlikely outside of half-assed developing countries. I think the worst we might see is stagflation.