Hi Oh Silver Away! - Should You Buy Some?

The legendary Lone Ranger could always depend on his sturdy horse Silver to see him through countless battles with the guys in the black hats. Silver was always a trusted friend, companion and insurance against any disaster. Each time the dollar is threatened as it most surely is as this is written in December of 2009, many people who are normally not investors in stocks or other commodities tend to consider the wisdom of investing in precious metals. Gold at the present would most surely be disregarded as it is not only too expensive, nearly 1200.00 dollars an ounce at this writing.

This puts it out of the budget of most would be investors but also carries an enormous risk at these prices. If it should decline by half it’s value it would wipe out any hope of being the insurance as hoped. Gold coins could provide useful buying currency if the paper dollar became useless. Gold coins are also a highly prised collectible and will most probably always retain value over and above the gold content. Other precious metals such as platinum at 1473.00 dollars and palladium at 379.00 dollars an ounce are as gold too expensive for the new investor. In addition should a complete disaster cause paper money to become useless it may not be convenient to carry an ounce of one of those metals down to any store which still had food available and manage a trade. Gold coins on the other hand should serve very well in a situation such as this however unlikely this disaster should occur. Silver however at today’s spot price of just $18.80 an ounce probably deserves some serious consideration. Available in many forms, pure silver can be had in ingots of many sizes, bars, coins and in some cases even jewelry. As with other precious metals if purchased in ingot or bar form this metal might prove impractical as a currency for trading for such products as food, water of gasoline.

One can imagine the difficulty of attempting to break off a small piece from a bar to trade for a bag of groceries. Silver has also had a record of wild fluctuations in it’s value. So large reserves of silver could suddenly depreciate if the market made a huge move. Silver coins on the other hand just as gold coins are a very good currency to use in trade. It is hard to imagine anyone who had commodities such as groceries for sale refusing to accept silver coins in trade. Silver coins can retain a higher value because of their desire as collectibles. Many coins minted prior to 1964 also contain more silver content than the face value of the coins. Any investment decision should be considered seriously especially in times of recession and doubt about the future such as we face today. Consider your budget and future needs in difficult times carefully before making any investment. Be on guard for sales pitches from those that would profit from the fear of others. It may be just possible that just as the Lone Ranger, you may decide to acquire a trusty friend named silver.

Source by Chet Hastings

Hi Oh Silver Away! - Should You Buy Some?