Silver Investing - Storing Your Silver and Gold

If you have physical silver and/or gold in your possession and are storing it at home, there is a well written article that you should definitely read. In the article, the author talks about a friend of his that was robbed of some of his gold coins and is very upset about it. Especially since: 1) he suspects it was an "inside job"; and 2) there isn't a thing he can do about it because he can't prove a thing.

The author provides details on the three most common places to store gold along with some considerations for each. The article is titled "Robbed", the author is Jeff Clark and you can read the article at Safely Storing Your Gold. Scroll down a bit as the article isn't right at the top.

In a related article by the same author, readers of the "Robbed" article provide input and suggestions on storing gold and silver on which the author provides useful comments. This is good information and might save you a heartbreaking loss down the road. The article is titled "Think Like a Thief" and you will find it here. Again, scroll down to find the article.

At the time of this post (Monday evening) spot silver is up over $36 again at $36.26. Spot gold is up a couple of bucks at $1429.20. With all of the turmoil in the world (with no sign of a slow down) it should be an interesting week.

Thanks for reading.

Silver Investing - Silver Nickels

In the fall of 2008, less than 30 months ago, the price of silver was $8.79 an ounce. Yesterday the spot price was over $36.50 at one time but today dropped back and now sits at $35.12. How many other investments can brag about those types of gains? If you invest in silver, you have to understand that silver is very volatile and these ups and downs are to be expected - especially with the world events now going on. Some very knowledgeable people are saying $50 silver is yet ahead so keep the faith.

The U.S Mint is taking quite a breather on the metals this month. So far in March only 717,000 Silver Eagles have been produced. This is after February's total of 3,240,000 and January's whopping 6,422,000 reported Silver Eagle production. I don't think this an indication that demand is slowing down because from everything I hear, demand is still sky high.

One of the things that caught my eye while visiting a coin shop in Laughlin was this Buffalo Nickel Set. The Buffalo Nickel was produced from 1913-1938 by the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco Mints (in 1938, the Jefferson Nickel took its place). If the design looks familiar, it should. The design was "borrowed" to produce the pure gold (24k) American Buffalo.

As you may be aware, there is no silver in the U.S. Nickel. The composition is 75% copper and 25% nickel. The only exception was during WWII when nickel was deemed a critical war material. So from 1942-1945, the nickel was composed of 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese. After the war, the nickel returned to its original composition. Even though the nickel contains no silver, because of the metals it does contain the value is approximately .068 cents (not its .05 cent face value).

I have listed many of the common U.S. silver coins' compositions on my silver investing site. If interested, you can read it at Silver Bullion Coins. Thanks for reading.

Silver Investing - February 2011 Totals For Silver Eagles

After a record setting total of 6,422,000 Silver American Eagles minted last month, the February 2011 total comes in at a weeny 3,240,000 bullion coins. What's up with that? Could physical silver be so tight (as the many rumors state) so that even the U. S. Mint is having trouble getting their hands on this valuable commodity? We'll wait and see what a full month of 31 days brings.

As of this post, spot silver stands at $34.48 - a 31 year high. That amounts to a gain of $6.49 in the last 30 days and a one-year change of $18.04 (+109.6%). When it comes to the rise in and potential of silver (and gold), Sonny and Cher said it well in The Beat Goes On

Are you having trouble getting your hands on desireable physical silver pieces at a decent price (or any price)? If you answered YES, well don't feel like the Lone Stranger. At the recent coin dealers show I attended in Laughlin a few weeks ago I tried to get my hands on a Silver Philharmonic for an article on my Silver Investing web site. There were none to be found - even with the large and varied silver inventories some of the dealers had. I will keep trying even though patience isn't one of my strengths. I hope you are finding yours.

Thanks for reading.