Junk Silver

[Kee]

I purchased some junk silver about 18 months ago when silver was going for 15 to 17 dollars per ounce. I never intended to use it as an investment to make money, more just as a SHTF hedge fund. The prices have doubled since then, should I be looking at selling it or keep holding on just in case?

 

[thatwhichisnt]

Hold. I wouldnt sell silver right now, especially since you didnt buy it as an investment.

 

[bravo3]

hold.

 

[Nomad.2nd]

What would you spend the FRN's on?

 

[dwhess504]

Go Trade the Junk Silver in at a coin shop and get real inget bars or 1 oz coins. much better and cooler than just random junk silver. imo

 

[03protege]

Sell and buy ammo

 

[bayouben]

I'd hang on to it. Never know when you might need it.

 

[Cleburne]

I'm no economist but hear and read of the dollar's immenient collapse. If that happens, paper fiat money could or would become virtually worthless. Best to have real money in my unlearned opinion.

 

[sarky]

First, keep the junk silver as is, if you trade it for ingots, how are you going to trade/buy someting with an ingot? How do you get change back? If paper money turns into toilet paper, gold and silver are not going to be worth much..... food, ammo and gas will be the currency of the realm.

 

[geauxbubba]

How do you get change from an ingot? You use a hacksaw!

 

[Kee]

Thanks for the replies. It might be easier in the beginning to trade ammo, gas and food for the other things you need, but, in that situation I do not want to get rid of ANY food, gas or ammo. The junk silver was basically my idea of what some might see as value and could trade it for other goods I need.

 

[Nomad.2nd]

Thanks for the replies. It might be easier in the beginning to trade ammo, gas and food for the other things you need, but, in that situation I do not want to get rid of ANY food, gas or ammo. The junk silver was basically my idea of what some might see as value and could trade it for other goods I need.

I've an oz of silver and an oz of gold in my pocket at the moment.

Hard to do that with $1,300+ worth of ammo... and it's the most compact of the 3 you mention!

 

[Traz]

I would hold. Given the history of the ratio of gold to silver, it is usually about 16:1. At this time, it is about 64:1. To look at it another way, today silver closed at 36.40, multiply that times 4 and that would be about maximum value that one could obtain ~$144.00/oz. Not freaking bad! I have been getting a little at a time from goldeneaglecoin.com since end of 2009 to hedge against the dollar. Gold is just way too expensive, silver has more upside and is more afffordable.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jed]

First, keep the junk silver as is, if you trade it for ingots, how are you going to trade/buy someting with an ingot? How do you get change back? If paper money turns into toilet paper, gold and silver are not going to be worth much..... food, ammo and gas will be the currency of the realm.

This.
It beats me why anyone would think that any kind of currency or precious metal or gems would be worth a ****.

 

[Nomad.2nd]

This.
It beats me why anyone would think that any kind of currency or precious metal or gems would be worth a ****.

Then you should trade them all to me at VERY cheap prices, and ignore the last ten thousand + years of history...

 

[Jed]

Then you should trade them all to me at VERY cheap prices, and ignore the last ten thousand + years of history...

If I had any I would.
But then if I had any, I wouldn't have wrote what I writ.

 

[swagge1]

Check out the bullion forum of www.cointalk.com. There is a wealth of information there on the topic. If you want to get rid of your junk silver I'd suggest exchanging it to 1 oz. American Silver Eagles, ASE's for short. ASE's are $1 face value coins made by the US mint from US mined silver. They are not often counterfeitted, easily recognizable, and most buyers pay at least $1.00 OVER spot when you sell them. The reason gold and silver are valueable is because they are a known medium of exchange. I often hear people talk about the "food, guns, medicine, ammo, etc will be the medium of exchange" I guess maybe there will be small amounts of this type of trade going on, but most trade will be made with some exhange medium. Think about it this way... how many of us have CASES of ammo. Many of us do. Do you think that 20, 40, or 60 rounds of ammo will get you what you need? If I want to trade bread for ammo how many pounds of ammo will I need? How will you store all of your currency (bullets, guns, etc.) Will you have to transport a wagon load of ammo to the "market" to trade for goods? How easy of a traget will you be bringing all of this ammo to market? A pocketful of silver and/or gold coins is much eaiser to hide, transport, and trade with. The reason gold and silver have always been and will probably continue to be a medium of exchange is because it is dense, relitively rare, has many uses, and is relitively easy to prove authenticity.

 

[Jed]

Check out the bullion forum of www.cointalk.com. There is a wealth of information there on the topic. If you want to get rid of your junk silver I'd suggest exchanging it to 1 oz. American Silver Eagles, ASE's for short. ASE's are $1 face value coins made by the US mint from US mined silver. They are not often counterfeitted, easily recognizable, and most buyers pay at least $1.00 OVER spot when you sell them. The reason gold and silver are valueable is because they are a known medium of exchange. I often hear people talk about the "food, guns, medicine, ammo, etc will be the medium of exchange" I guess maybe there will be small amounts of this type of trade going on, but most trade will be made with some exhange medium. Think about it this way... how many of us have CASES of ammo. Many of us do. Do you think that 20, 40, or 60 rounds of ammo will get you what you need? If I want to trade bread for ammo how many pounds of ammo will I need? How will you store all of your currency (bullets, guns, etc.) Will you have to transport a wagon load of ammo to the "market" to trade for goods? How easy of a traget will you be bringing all of this ammo to market? A pocketful of silver and/or gold coins is much eaiser to hide, transport, and trade with. The reason gold and silver have always been and will probably continue to be a medium of exchange is because it is dense, relitively rare, has many uses, and is relitively easy to prove authenticity.

I fail to see what the density of the metal has to do with anything, or where rareity comes into the equation.
Where I live camel **** is "rare", but that doesn't mean I want some, and exactly how many uses does a piece of precious metal have?
You can't eat it or drive it, use it to bathe in or build a new shelter.
You could use it to beat your enemy to death if it were big enough, but that would not be the prefered method, or you could use it to impress the lil woman but if she is cold and hungry and cranky as hell (which she prolly will be as we are talking about a WTSHTF scenario here) then she will most likely shut you off for a month for being a f/kin idiot.
The whole point of trade at this point will be "you have something I want/need, and vice versa".....so yeah, I got plenty of ammo and you don't, but you just ripped off the local breadmaker and I'm starvin- so i'll give you 20 rnds of .223 for a loaf of bread.
The "exchange medium" as you put it will come into play when the dust settles so to speak and sunlight once again filters through, as the thermonuclear winter begins to ebb, likely many decades after the catalyst that caused the situation has been forgotten.
By then the herd will have been thinned, life giving neccesseties wil have become a little more available and commerce may ensue as the lucky capitalist desires none of your other "possessions"
Until that point, you can put your shiny piece of metal where the sun don't shine, and don't dare come asking for my twinkies or beer.

 

[lsu fan]

Invest in equipment to make bullets. You'll need the silver when the werewolves come.

 

[swagge1]

Density has a great deal to do with it. Simply put dense materials have a higher mass/volume ratio than others by definition. Would you rather carry around a couple bushels of wheat or a few silver coins for trade? If you dont know what other important roles precious metals play in our daily lives then I wont waste my time telling you.

You contradicted your own point on rarity. If everyone has cases of ammo why would the breadmaker sell you a loaf for only 20 rounds? Do you think that capitalism will somehow go away in your post apocaliptic world?

I would suggest doing some reading on precious metals investment before you perpetuate your ignorance on the subject.