Do You Own Gold Or Silver?

Discussion in 'Money & Finances' started by Ken Anderson, May 13, 2021.

?

Excluding rings and jewelry, do you own gold or silver?

  1. I own gold and I keep it at home.

    1 vote(s)
    9.1%
  2. I own silver and I keep it at home.

    2 vote(s)
    18.2%
  3. I own both gold and silver and I keep it at home.

    1 vote(s)
    9.1%
  4. I own gold and I keep it in a safe-deposit box.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  5. I own silver and I keep it in a safe-deposit box.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  6. I own both gold and silver and I keep it in a safe-deposit box.

    1 vote(s)
    9.1%
  7. I own an interest in gold, but it's on paper only. I do not have physical gold.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. I own copper bullion.

    3 vote(s)
    27.3%
  9. I do not own either silver or gold.

    5 vote(s)
    45.5%
  10. I prefer not to answer.

    1 vote(s)
    9.1%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I am asking this in a poll because it is not safe to discuss the presence of valuables in your home, or elsewhere. In a poll, your response is not connected to your member name. In other words, no one, myself included, will know how you answered.

    If you have valuables in your home, or elsewhere, I strongly suggest not discussing this in an open forum, but no one will know which choices you made in a poll.
     
    #1
  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Without commenting on my personal situation, if you are going to own gold or silver, there are advantages and disadvantages to keeping it in your home or keeping it in a safe deposit box.
     
    #2
  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Without getting into my own situation, if you are going to own gold or silver, there are advantages and disadvantages to keeping it at home or in a safe deposit box. Obviously, there is the danger of theft if you opt to keep it at home. While most of us could probably hide a cache well enough in our home so that a thief is unlikely to find it, it's best not to let anyone know you have it at all because you could be killed while they are looking.

    If hours upon hours of watching crime stories on television counts, then the greatest danger of theft under such situations comes about when someone shows off their cache to a trusted friend or relative, who may not steal it themselves, but might mention it to someone else who will.

    Another danger that may or may not matter to you is that if you opt to hide it well in your home, there is a very good chance that it is not going to be passed down to any loved ones that you might leave behind after your death. Typically, relatives who don't live near you will hire an estate auctioneer who will go through the house assembling everything that they know to be of value. They may or may not find your cache, particularly if you hide it beneath a floor or in a wall. If they find it, they may or may not divulge it. If you hide it in a piece of furniture, it could end up in a second-hand store or even a trash dump.

    Of course, if you hide it outside of your home, like burying it in a yard, someone might dig it up a couple of hundred years after you die.

    On the other hand, if you keep it in a safe deposit box, some of the situations in which having gold or silver might be important might be those in which the banks are closed, and you no longer have access to your safe deposit box. However, whoever inherits your stuff may well come across the safe deposit key, or you may make it known in your will that you have a safe deposit box.

    There are others as well, but these are the ones that come to mind.
     
    #3
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  4. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    This ten dollar 1880 Gold Coin is my only gold and I wear it.

    GOLD COIN.jpg
     
    #4
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  5. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Some feel that physical possession holds the secondary benefit of having something to barter with should the economy collapse. I don't know that I agree. Sure, gold has always been recognized as having value but if someone is at the point of survival, they don't give a damn about your shiny metal. The same holds for possessing silver coins, but to a lesser degree. At least silver coins are in denominations that might make sense for the transaction at hand. I guess it all depends on a person's confidence that we'll return to a world where such things have a monetary value again. And in a "Mad Max" world, if you start transacting with strangers in precious metals (or in anything they might want), you'd better be able to defend your stash.

    As you said, most people are better off keeping their money in the bank or in mutual funds or in gold certificates where the metal is held by someone else, not around the house.
     
    #5
  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    True, but that would depend on the situation. During most collapses, some people prosper, and they may be the ones gathering the gold. Agreed though, that gold tends to be overkill when it comes to bartering for most basic needs unless one is bartering for a large volume of something.
     
    #6
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  7. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    People don't have to care about shiny metal. They can barter it for other stuff. It just represents whatever value it has as a transportable asset.
     
    #7
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  8. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
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    I bought pure silver wire to make medicine Colloidal silver and we have a few silver coins but never have enough free money to buy cold or silver to put away. If I had I probably would have bought some to put away
     
    #8
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  9. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    The only gold and silver I own are in the form of a few pieces of jewelry. We have never invested in gold or silver. My husband has a coin collection that is probably worth the face value of the coins. :D
     
    #9
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  10. Hugh Manely

    Hugh Manely Very Well-Known Member
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