Topic: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

I want to buy "shares" of gold and silver (not coins off of eBay). Which website do I use? Can I pay for gold and silver with a credit card?

No need for any complicated economic breakdowns. Please just tell me how to buy gold and silver on the internet. Thanks.

2 (edited by Barefoot Doc 2006-05-14 04:20:39)

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

Personally i would not touch them as i believe its far more safe and independent to have real gold and silver in my posession. What would happen if there was an economic or banking collapse, could you get hold of your gold assets? 
You may find this interesting with some good tips http://www.ih2000.net/chembio/Gold.htm

Gold shares can be bought here.
http://streettracksgoldshares.com/index.php?noMsg=true

Its not like we are fractions of the whole but rather versions of the whole.

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

I wouldn't bother with gold "shares".  But if you don't want to take delivery of physical gold there is a third option.

Take a look at www.goldmoney.com you can buy physical gold or silver from them, and they will store it for you in their secure site.  It can be brought online, and you can sell any gold and silver you buy straight back to them whenever you choose.  It is basically like a "bank account" except for gold and silver instead of  £ or $.  You can even make payments from your gold and silver account.

However just as Barefoot Doc says, if there is ever an ecconomic crash you will in all probability be looked out from access to your gold and silver.  Not to scare monger, but a recession, or crash is starting to look increasingly likely.  The dollar slipped down on Friday to a massive low...and it is likey it will keep going lower.

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

Call the bank, make an appointment and get physical gold and silver, sock it away under the matress and watch it grow!

Stay away from shares. They are completly meaningless. Its just paper, just like money. Get the real stuff, period.

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

So, all those people in the Buy Silver thread physically own their gold and silver? I though they meant they had online accounts or something. If I buy physical gold and silver from eBay, how can I assure that it is real and pure?

And, how can gold be worth $715/ounce??? That means if you had one of those 10 lb. gold bars, it would be worth $114,400!!!??? People have heavy gold chains that may not be 10 lbs., but they are at least like 1 pound. So, are those chains really worth $11,440?

Can I invest in gold by buying lots of gold chains? That would seem pretty silly.

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

Unless you're always losing stuff or getting robbed, having the real material on hand is safer than having it secured elsewhere, even a safe deposit box at the bank.  Back in 98 I bought six gold eagles and a hundred silver eagles at spot prices. Sold them later, but for five years I had these in my physical possession without incident, and this through traveling and moving between different states. Most coin dealerships in town will pay cash for gold bullion, ingots, or bars at no less than spot price. It's easier to sell those than gold jewelry, since they are more official and standardized.

The goal would be to find a well known coin/bullion/ingot/bar with the minimum premium, meaning closest to spot prices. Up to 20 bucks above spot for a 1 ounce 99.99% gold piece would be a good deal. In an economic emergency, gold will be worth its minimum, and you may not get back the extra you paid for it being rare or un-circulated.

Here are some common forms that are easy to sell:

Coins
American Eagle
Canadian Maple Leaf
South Africa Krugerrand
Australian Kangaroo
Austrian Philharmonic
China Panda

Bars
Credit Suisse
Swiss Pamp

As for how much gold vs silver to buy, [1/4 silver |v$| 3/4 gold]  or  [1/3 silver |v$| 2/3 gold] is a good compromise between resale flexibility and portability. Too much silver gets difficult to move around because it's heavy, taking 30-40 times more ounces than gold for the same value. But it's smaller value per coin makes it more useful to buy smaller things with. This, aside from how prospective the increase of gold vs silver is in the future.

Yes, you can buy gold and silver from the internet. I have seen some dealers not take credit cards, but basically you call them to lock in the price you are buying at, then send them a check for that amount. After it's all confirmed they send it certified/registered mail.

Acquiring fringe knowledge is like digging for diamonds in a mine field.

7 (edited by Marcus 2006-05-14 11:35:32)

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

It depends on the purity of the gold / silver.  The gold and silver coins mentioned in that thread are bullion which means they have a high content of gold.  For example a 1 ounce gold coin would be 99.99% pure gold, and maybe 0.01% other metals.

As opposed to the metal chains which would no doubt be far less pure and have a higher percentage of other metals mixed in.

Some people buy gold and silver from ebay...but there are other ways.  It would depend on where you live, but you may have a local coin supplier, or else you will probably be able to find a quality supplier online.  If you buy from ebay - unless you know what you are looking for - you could be taking a risk as to whether the coins were legit.  For example, many of the Chinese Panda coins are fakes.

However if you stick to the recognized coins; American (Eagle’s), British (Britannia’s), Canadian (Maple’s) and buy from a reputable ebayer or supplier you will almost always get a quality item.  Also always avoid buy from China, Hong Kong and other eastern countries, they will 90% of the time be selling fakes.

You ask how can gold be worth $715/ounce.  But what is the value of a $?  Last year I could buy $1.60 for  £1...todays I could buy nearly $2 for  £1.  Value of currency is relative - it is also only as valuable as people think it is.  Basically a dollar is only valuable to an American, or to someone who can trade it.  A lot of countries are dumping the dollar...so it has less worth, because people no longer believe the dollar to be valuable.  On the other hand, every country in the world believes gold is valuable.  So therefore it is valuable.  And gold will increase in value way beyond $1000 per ounce.

About buying precious metals...there are a number of ways you can do this.  As you noticed most people in the "Buy Silver" thread physically own their metal.  Owning shares isn't really worth it, because they only have value based on the stock market - which can instantly vanish overnight.  Physical metal is a different matter as it retains its value independent of the stock market.

So - what to buy?  You can buy what is called "junk" silver.  These are older coins, that contain 50% to 75% pure silver per ounce.  This is a relatively cheap method of buying silver.  The important thing to bear in mind would be to buy coins that are recognizable within your own country (otherwise you may have trouble selling them later on).  eBay is perhaps one of the best places to buy this form of metal.  You should be able to buy these at roughly the current price of silver

Another form of coin to buy is modern Silver or Gold Bullion.  These generally range from 95% to 99.99% purity in silver / gold per ounce.  Most of the modern coins clearly have their weight and purity marked on them.  Canadian Maples are sometimes considered as perhaps one of the most pure of the bullion coins, though they are also more expensive.  Buying these from a reputable dealer is probably your best bet.  You could buy individual coins, or bulk buy. Some dealers sell discount packs of 10 or 20 coins.  Bullion coins cost just above to going rate of silver / gold.  Generally $1 or $2 over the spot price for silver, and around $10 to $30 over the spot price for gold - dependant on dealer.  However you would also be able to charge this same premium if and when you sell the coins on.

People also buy ingots or bars of gold and silver.  These are usually 99.99% pure so are quite liked for investment potential.  Though they are not really as collectable as coins.  You can buy these from eBay and from dealers.  However they are becoming increasingly harder to get hold of.

The bullion form of silver and gold comes in various sizes.  You can get 1/20 ounce of gold, or 1kg bars etc.  All is good.  Keeping the metals in your possesion is also a very good idea...as it will always be on hand.  Of course if you are after buying a tonne of the stuff it is a different story.

8 (edited by troydungeon 2006-05-14 12:35:01)

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

Thank you for the responses.

Are there any legal restrictions for buying gold and silver? Someone on GLP said that you have to spend a minimum of $1,000 when buying gold coins, or else you will have to pay taxes on it. Is this true?

And, shouldn't eBay be obsolete for buying bullion??? Can't you just go to the bank and exchange cash for bullion, or is there a catch?

9 (edited by Marcus 2006-05-14 12:48:51)

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

Most banks don't hold gold.  Also there are no currencies in the world that are backed by gold any more.  All currency money is paper which is backed by more paper.  So you maybe able to buy some gold from a bank, but I am not sure how that would work.

Also there are no minimums as to the amount of gold you can buy.  You can buy as little as 1/25 of an ounce for about  £23 / $45.  Gold is Tax free - at least this is true in the UK.

Further, any legal restrictions would depend upon which country you live in.  Where do you live?  Maybe someone could give you information on such laws if there are any.  (Though at the moment most places are pretty free about ownership of gold as far as I am aware).

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

I live in the U.S.

I figured that there was an exchange rate on gold (its current "per an ounce" stock market price).  Because, if you can go to the bank and exchange U.S. dollars for British pounds, then couldn't you exchange U.S. dollars for gold?

Re: Please teach me how to buy gold and silver.

I think gold is brought and sold rather than exhanged.  It's not a "currency" in the same way the dollar and the pound is.  Also when I mentioned above that most banks don't carry gold, I meant that the average high-street bank is unlikey to have gold stored in their vaults.  I don't think you can walk in a bank with $xx and walk out with xx ounces of Gold.  But then I have never tried...