Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Can anyone recommend a place to buy gold coins of high quality?

thanks

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Goldmart.

I've used goldmart, provident metals, monarch precious metals, and a few others.

Provident had the best customer service and discreet packaging, goldmart had the most competitive pricing but customer service was non existent and shipping took forever.

I haven't personally used them, but I've heard good things about Texas Precious Metals. www.texmetals.com

The US mint is bringing a new $100 gold coin out. It will be an ounce of 24k. It will retail for a premium above the cost of an ounce of gold, but will have potential collectible value.

The real question is where do you store your physical?...

I would like to think I have thought up some genius places, but I'd have to kill you if I told you.

vexed87 wrote:The real question is where do you store your physical?...

Every time I see this thread I think it says "Burying Physical Gold"

@ducknalddon, @vexed87,
http://www.wikihow.com/Bury-Valuables-to-Keep-Them-Safe,
https://www.scribd.com/document/5269872 ... LVER-COINS

lol..

But really, if you are going to have wealth stored in something as resilient to environmental factors as gold, take advantage! Don't store it in your closet, bury it in your backyard!

Now you've said it, it's not such a great idea, unless you own many acres and can keep the riff raff with metal detectors away

About thirty years ago, I knew someone who had a stash of gold coins in a heavy wooden box. They hid it in an old freezer with a suspicious log chain pad locked around it.

The theif simply slid the log chain off the top. They didn't even pass the chain through the handle!

Long story short, the theif was their neighbors 12 yo boy. His mother walked in on him celebrating with a golden shower. "I'M rich! Found a pirate treasure!"

His mother didn't fall for that and notified the sherrif and my friend got their gold back.

@vexed87, it's so value-dense you should have no issue finding a nice spot to bury $20k at a time with the smallest of digging tools (e.g. knife). Also you seem to overestimate the risk of riff raff with metal detectors? Much more likely to have a burglar bust into your home and find your stash.

I admit it's pretty fun to consider attack vectors though.. I had my van broken into once and happy to report that the burglar only went straight for the quick grabs (glovebox, backpack, messenger bags, suitcase, storage box).

A running gag on Gyroscopic Investing (PP forum) is that everyone who admits to buying physical gold immediately lost it in a tragic boating accident. Let the thieves scour the waterways.

bryan wrote:Also you seem to overestimate the risk of riff raff with metal detectors?

No doubt your government has diligently made a log of your IP addresses, quickly noted your whereabouts ready for the first round of safe keeping... cough... confiscations. Pretty scary too considering 'they' likely have access to your entire search history and therefore have a reasonable idea where you might have your stash.

Best to keep such things to ourselves and never to consult google, or at least to search for as many diversionary tactics as possible. Mine are all buried in my potato patch... or did I have a boating accident, damnit?

...

Some years ago, I was visiting a client's office for some on-site work. The conversation (how do people get anything DONE in the average office?) turned to investments. One of the women who worked there said, "Any time I have extra money, I buy gold coins and bury them in jars in my yard." I was amazed that she would tell this to anyone, let alone casual acquaintances. I said, "You do realize that we all know where you live, right?"

Well it's good to not go around advertising you've got a lot of fungible valuables.

Burying coinage is a tried and true method. If you don't like the idea someone spying on you (or unauthorized excavations or forgetting about it), you can incorporate it into, or hide inside, your home's furniture, appliances, etc. I plan on doing this with silver (silverware, tea kettle, cups, candlesticks, etc). Of course thieves used to go straight for such things, but I have a feeling most people (and thieves) have forgotten this stuff? If you think they are still aware of expensive pieces (not just jewellery), do more hiding by integration than showing off.

Keeping gold on your person usually means jewellery, but you could also resort to some less overt methods like having a secret spot in the soles of your shoes/boots, use gold instead of steel in your steel-toe boots, make buttons/buckles, make some fake keys, make some glasses, cigarette accessory, sew into tongue of your boots, etc.

tangent: i think it would be a pretty funny method of selling your gold/silver for over spot by making it into bean sized pieces and selling them as "digestion safe value stores" or something

It's impractical to store any significant value in silver, the price per ounce is too low.

Between transaction and holding costs, I could never justify physical gold. I've wanted a one ounce coin for at least ten years.

The only argument I've seen in favor of holding physical is collapse of the financial system, but I think you're better off investing in tools, guns, ammo, food, fuel, etc. - if that is a real concern.

If that is the fear, and gold is coveted, I'd suggest cash transactions in amounts below government reporting limts. Again, this raises transaction cost and risk.

re: silver, I just mentioned a few examples though? For a one pound DIY tea kettle you are looking at something like $3 for copper, $275 for silver, or $20k for gold. Any other suggestions for precious metals?

Point taken on transaction costs. It's why I would sort of echo @tyler's advice of splitting your gold (or any precious metal, commodity..) between physical and ETF (or futures ). Maybe a gold buying strategy is to set up a home business "WE BUY GOLD" by appointment only and advertise it on google maps, yelp, etc. Give them under spot but better than the competition? You'd have to deal with attesting to the purity though..

> The only argument I've seen in favor of holding physical is collapse of the financial system, but I think you're better off investing in tools, guns, ammo, food, fuel, etc. - if that is a real concern.

From http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/invest ... msg1289046

bryan wrote:Quite the contrary. In any case of systemic failure (or some migratory fleeing a troubled state) I can think of, gold has proven rather valuable, especially relative to the local stocks, real estate, fiat currency, debts, contracts. Granted, if you are talking about some prepper wet-dream, I would agree that one could have more practical investments like coffee/whiskey/sugar/spices/salt/soap/chickens/eggs/cooking fats/pistol ammo/etc..

> I'd suggest cash transactions in amounts below government reporting limts. Again, this raises transaction cost and risk.

You just mean the risks of having cash on hand versus the risks of it in the banks, brokerages, etc? I'm not sure what you mean by increased transaction costs, though.

Don't forget gold is pretty malleable, it can be hammered into any shape and painted. Let your imagination run wild. Of course, you lose the benefits of easily recognisability of bullion, but if your're really concerned about theft, there's no better alternative than an impenetrable vault or burial.