Gold, Silver, and Other Precious Metals

Purpose
Document how to invest in precious metals.

What to Purchase
Gold and/or silver. The ratio is up to you.

Purchase gold in the form of coins minted by a government. Do not pay more than say a 10% premium over gold content for numismatic (collectors) or semi-numismatic coins.

'Old' US Gold, 1933, St. Gaudens, Double Eagle

Purchase silver either as 'junk' silver (1964 or earlier US issue dimes, quarters, half-dollars, or silver dollars) or silver coins minted by a government, or silver rounds minted by a private mint. I recommend junk dimes for the precious metals portion of your emergency fund.

'Junk' Silver Quarters and Dimes

How/Where to Purchase

1. Go online to check prices and timing (if desired). Check prices at some of the places listed at  inflation.us/bullion-seller-reviews/. I like Provident Metals for selection and pricing. For market timing, I like the interactive chart at  www.kitco.com/charts.
2. Decide how much of what you want to buy. And how much it will cost (there is no tax).
3. Go to your bank and withdraw the amount of money you will need. If you withdraw more than $10,000 per day you have to fill out government paperwork, so stay under that amount. The reason for cash purchases is to limit paper trails.
4. Check your classifieds for good deals locally. The place to go in UT is www.ksl.com.
5. Go to your local coin shop and buy what you want with cash. At some limit there is government paperwork the coin shop will have to submit, so stay under that limit. The limit is currently greater than $5k. To find a US Mint coin dealer go to www.usmint.gov. Check your yellow pages for other coin shops. In Orem our coin shops (in order of my preference) are:
1. Anderson Stamp and Coin, 214 N University Ave, Provo, UT; 801-375-7645. I like the owner and his prices.
2. Rust Coin & Gift, 1774 N University Parkway #52, Provo, UT (Brigham's Landing on Freedom Blvd.); 801-377-1574. I like the selection.
3. American Coin, 1170 S State, Orem, UT (In back of HUR Jewelers store); 801-235-9090. They seem to be primarily numismatic.

Where/How to Store

Keep a detailed record of what you have purchased. Keep the precious metals in your possession. Hide them in or around your house or some other location you have reasonable long-term control of. For outside storage, find or make a waterproof container and do some midnight gardening. You can have an excuse to go digging such as sprinklers, planting a plant, etc. Do it when others will not notice. Make a map. Hide the map. Make a copy of the map and give it to your most trusted friend. Do not label it with anything to tie it to the property where your treasure is buried.

Richard Maybury has put together some You Tube videos that cover some similar material to this blog. http://www.youtube.com/user/RichardMaybury#p/u/14/K5qrKVASvEw.   Part 4 of Maybury's videos on precious metals covers storage.

Love,
Ben

As always, please comment if you have something to add.
(Updated 1/26/12)