How to Save/Invest in Gold and Silver

The Dollar and other fiat currencies are coming to an end in a few years (2013-2014 possibly). Gold and silver will be the only real mediums of exchange (money). For thousands of years in human history, gold and silver are natural commodity money. The only reason why it hasn’t been money for the last 4 decades is because the government hoarded all the gold/silver and forced its citizens to accept the fiat currency (the Dollar) as legal tender for all debts. However, through decades of abusing the power to create money, hyperinflation is a definite result.

Below are a few ways you can buy gold and silver:

Buy at Local jewelry & coin shops:

If you want to hold gold and silver bars or coins physically, then I recommend you go to your local jewelry & coin shops to acquire some. This way you have it in your hands and no one can take it away unless they know where you store it. I recommend you hold mostly silver physically and only a few gold because when there’s hyperinflation people won’t want fiat currencies as payments. I mean who would want money if it’s losing value the next day? The reason you want more silver it’s more suitable for smaller transactions since silver is currently 1/50 the price of gold, but I predict that silver will be 1/15 the price of gold in 2015. The cons to this method is that you pay a higher premium to buy it than if you buy it online and you’d have to sell it at a discount when you sell it back to the dealer. That’s why this method is only for buying and paying for goods and services in gold/silver when the merchants don’t want the fiat currencies. Here are two places you can buy it at if you live in Seattle, WA: Northgate Coin Shop, Sound Gold Buyers, and Seattle Coin Shop

Buy at GoldMoney.com

This is a website goldmoney.com where you buy gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from the company which is located in The British Channel Islands in the UK. However, you can store your precious metals in London, Zurich, or Hong Kong. Their rate for buying is around 2% and no fee to sell it back to the company. Storage cost is 0.15% annually. When you own precious metals at GoldMoney you can make online payments to other people who will accept the commodity money electronically with a small transaction fee. You can convert your commodity money to different currencies as well at 0.49% fee. You can also have them deliver the gold/silver/platinum/palladium to your house but you’d have to pay for shipping cost. I would not recommend having it shipped to you unless you’re going to ship a lot to you at once. Shipping cost is no joke and will diminish your returns. This is recommended by Peter Schiff in his book Crash Proof and by Ron Paul as well. I recommend this option for mid-term saving (1-5 years).

Buy at BullionVault.com

This is another website similar to GoldMoney, except you can only buy gold and silver. The fees are lower. Buying and selling is 0.8% each and storage cost is 0.12% annually. You buy and sell to other people in the market instead of to and from the company like GoldMoney. This website is open 24/7. The company is located in the UK as well and you can store your gold/silver in New York, London, or Zurich vault. I recommend this option for mid-term saving (1+ years). You can have it shipped to you too like GoldMoney but shipping cost will kill your returns.

Join the PerthMint Certificate Program (PMCP)

The PMCP is guaranteed by the Western Australian government. There’s no history of the government ever seizing gold/silver from their citizens and their economy is dependent on mining precious metals, so I doubt they’ll ever confiscate your gold/silver. This is the safest holding place for your gold. To buy you’d have to find an approved dealer. Here’s the link to it: http://www.perthmint.com.au/investment_certificate_approved_dealers.aspx

It costs 2.25% commission to buy and $50 per certificate. There’s no storage cost ever unless you want your gold to be stored separately from everyone. It’s easy to sell and it costs 1.25% commission. This option is once again recommended by Peter Schiff and Ron Paul. I recommend you hold a nice chunk of savings using this option and for the long-term (6+ years)

Own Mining Stocks

Once the Dollar collapses, most companies which hold dollars to do their business will lose real value even if they retain their nominal value. However, mining stocks which have proven mine reserves will shoot through the roof. I highly recommend you own a few mining stocks, but don’t buy the ones with unproven reserves. A few good ones (tickers) include: ABX, GG, AUY, SWL, PAAS, SVM, NEM, AEM, AU, IAG, etc. This option is also recommended by Peter Schiff and I recommend holding it for 6+ years. This is a very good investment for many years to come.