How to Buy Silver - Without Getting Taken

[Arizona Highlander]

Ever thought about buying a bit of silver as a survival barter item? Here's some good advice:

http://news.silverseek.com/GoldIsMoney/1177183323.php

In a nutshell . . .

Don't hesitate to negotiate with your sellers. Use comparison prices from the Internet.

Some of the biggest wholesale silver suppliers (like Johnson Matthey) have had as long as a 6-8 week backlog on silver orders. Demand is outstripping supply.

Johnson Matthey's retail branch (Amark) demands all kinds of documentation to buy from them, including your Social Security number. If you don't want that all recorded, it's best to buy in small quantites from local retail sellers instead.

BUT . . . even the biggest of the "retail" sellers often have very little silver on hand - they order it from their wholesale suppliers when you order from them. Use caution - retail sellers have been known to go bankrupt while holding YOUR money while you're waiting for your silver order to arrive.

Finally (seems like common sense here) NEVER let someone else take posession of YOUR silver. Keep it yourself!

[surge223]

I agree that silver is a great idea for investment. With the spot prices around 13.50 per Troy oz right now, I have been buying.

The majority of my purchases have been from APMEX (American Precious Metals Exchange) but I have bought a few times off of FleaBay.

I buy a variety of silver, but none for collecting purposes. I buy American Eagles, Canadian Maples, Engelhard Prospectors, lots of 10oz bars, a few 1oz Art Bars, etc.

I am mainly in this for a retirement investment and/or SHTF situation.

[funfaler]

Silver is at a premium now, but it will continue to "rise" in price (really the dollar is falling). "Junk Silver" is another option as well. It is regular coins minted pre-1965 (perhaps 1964, do some research), they are 90% silver, and can be had a little cheaper than Silver Eagles, usually.

Not to be over looked as a great "barter" unit, is the 22 LR ammo. It is still much cheaper than gold and silver, yet will hold value and last nearly as well, and in a SHTF situation, maybe a better "barter' unt than either gold or silver.

APEX is a good source for gold and silver.

For a SHTF reason, don't let sellers convice you to buy "investment/collectable" coins to avoid a confiscation. If you are willing to allow anyone (including the government) to steal your gold/silver, you should not bother with it, get another commodity instead. To purchase the "collectable" at the mark up for the security of it HOPEFULLY not being confiscated is not a good use of your cash, IMHO.

[Ocasta]

I like to hold my silver and gold bullion much like my ammo, physically. I buy silver mostly since I can afford larger amounts and I see an increase in its value over all considering the current gold to silver ratio so far off from what it has been historically at a 15 or 16 to 1 ratio, not a 50 to 1. Trading or bartering in silver will be easier than say using a 1 ounce gold bullion Eagle or even a half-ounce Gold Bullion coin for that matter. And using bullion or silver coins will only come after a settling down some what of society after any major crisis thus the need to survive for possibly two or three years until that time, hope fully less. And stay well out of the citys and urban areas.

And as far as ammo as an investment, well lets just say I think its best to have at least several thousand rounds of 147 gr. hard ball 7,62-51 NATO and my stock grows constantly for my FAL DSA StG58, around 600 rounds of Federal 168 BTHP Match in .308.for my Remington Police LTR .308 along with a few hundred heavier 175 gr. loads. And I can hit a dime on your nose at 100 yards prone two out of three times, a quarter two out of three at 175 yards with the 168 gr. It doesn’t take a 2” MOA at 500 yards to take say a deer down; 5” will do the trick on about any thing walking, and I will be long gone by the time any one cares to see were I was, if they can. Then of course a few thousand rounds of 5,56-45 NATO and about 800 rounds of .223 hunting ammo for my Mini-14, which is tougher than any AR-15 I’ve owned although a bit heavier. It has a folding stock, an Amega Ranges Mini Scout Picatinny 7/8ths Weaver scope mount with a good Reflex sight and extra batteries, of course the scope can fail but the mount lets me use iron sights w/o removing the Mini scout, a good thing since it replaces the top gas block, all in stainless and with all the necessary parts that may break or malfunction along with the knowledge to fix any gun I have, manuals for refreshing my memory when I may fog out, and the tools to do it with, even replacing the extractor in my DSA. Although I have an extra drop in Metric bolt and carrier along with a complete re build kit. Throw in a few thousand rounds of .45 ACP for my two Kimber match pistols, one is a Ultra Elite L.E., its little and my final back up, when the recoil springs go in it no sending it back to Kimber since I can’t replace the springs my self but it rates about 1,200 rounds on the dual captured springs, and my Eclipse Pro II has several replacement spring kits and parts and should last out all my ammo, although I doubt that I would if I had to shoot that much. And of course thousands of rounds of 22 LR along with the guns and extra parts to keep them up and shooting a good investment also in ammo since I chose common types for protection and trade. I have ceramic filter water purification filter systems along with crystal Iodine for at least 50,000 gallons of drinking water even though if TSHTF I will be in a mountainous area that has many springs of tested fresh water. Several small caves and areas with stored clothing, coats, socks, blankets, etc mostly surplus military bought from thrift stores over the last ten years or so, along with dried beans, rice, numerous canned goods all packed in air tight plastic buckets hiked in by only three of us who trust each other with our lives, we have to. The others that will go only have a clue as to where we will be going since the locations are on a need to know basis only. And I am listing only a small part of what I have, not what the other Ghost have. Each gives advice to the others as to what we might need. And we will be like Ghost as much as possible since if no one sees us we hope fully will not have to make the decision as to weather or not they ever see any one again. Reality will suck if any thing big goes down. But we plan as if it may, and pray that it won’t. And don’t think that you can’t hide if you know the area and keep constant vigilance, especially since there is no house or road within three miles of were we will be. I will hate the chiggers, ticks, and miss T.V. and especially Extra Aged Gouda Cheese. But my son and the other children will not go hungry, although they may get cold at times even with all we have. And when Summer comes they will wish for the cold, forgetting Winter, hopefully forgetting why we are there. Until then if ‘IT’ does come, H5N1, Crustal Shifting, Total Economic Global Collapse, what ever, we live each day as normal as the last. And think of all the exercise we get and things that we have.

[Ponce]

In 1972 I was working as a security guard at the LA internationa airport and one day I found a chunck of raw silver in this guy baggage, in my lunch break I found him and asked him about it and he told me that in about ten years silver would go to the sky.......I called him "my silver angel".

Two weeks after this I recieved a cash settlement from an accident that I was in and with 3/4 of it I went and bought silver at $2.45 + .50 per oz for a total of $2.95 per oz....... in 1980 I sold it at $43.65 per oz and made a nice profit.

Started to buy silver once again in 1982 till 2002 when I had all that I wanted and my average is of $5.15 per oz.

I always bought directly from a dealer, paid my cash and took my silver home and never paid more than .50 over spot per oz........ remember what I say and is not only for silver......"If You Don't Hold It, You Don't Own It"... Ponce