Hi, ho... SILVER!

[Bobster]

What are the customers going to do once inside the bank???

They are going to bitch at some underling that can't possibly help them?

 

[Racer88]

They are going to bitch at some underling that can't possibly help them?

"Where's my shit?"

"Stolen. Gone. Next question."

 

[One Ping Only]

I’d beg to differ. Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor!

“It’s gonna crash” and be worthless..

Those who have been manipulating silver are quickly losing their grip and ability and while they have some time left foist some more turbulence for a brief time, their dog has had its day. Silver has been what it’s been due to the gross manipulation…and the even more grotesque fraudulent “paper silver” that does not exist and never has…..far worse than the manipulation in the stock market. But they have their hands in there, too. It’s all been manipulated. All of it.

Can you pay with gold or silver? Darn right you can as long as someone accepts it…and that’s coming into vogue internationally….shoot- years ago Rome paid their soldiers in salt, which was considered a financial instrument of sorts at the time. How much more silver?

You can get a 100gram fractionalized bar, and break off 1gm segments. I oz fractionalized rounds that have quarter oz segments. And so forth. Some of our position is in those along with other silver assets. Then there are the coins with their numismatic value on top of their silver value.

You can bet your blessed assurances that once this fraudulent paper silver is vaporized and the market has nothing but real physical silver, there will be a whole lot of scrambling to say the least. Implosion will drive prices through the roof.

Right now the ratio of paper to real silver ounces on the books is at least 100:1 and many are saying it’s greater than 165:1….a huge, huge difference. Criminal.

Sure, markets fluctuate, prices fluctuate, but when the real silver is all that’s left on the books and not paper fraud to artificially shore them up and fake solvency, it will make the gas crisis of the early 70’s look like a small cost of living increase.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Somali Child Care Centers are the Next Big Thing! Invest now... before it's too late.

Metals will not likely ever become worthless. But all commodities are subject to substantial swings. One thing you can take to the bank (pun intended). Metal will never be money again. Those days are ending and they arent coming back. Not even if the SHTF in the worst possible scenario.

In the future, the world will revolve around a system of 'credits'. You earn credits and use them to purchase whatever. Not that it matters today, but in a century or two the concept of money and wealth we hold today will be long forgotten. It's hard to wrap your head around this but there will be people living on the Moon and Mars 200 years from now. And in colossal space stations. The currency and economy of those times will be vastly different from what we know today.

 

[Racer88]

Somali Child Care Centers are the Next Big Thing! Invest now... before it's too late.

Metals will not likely ever become worthless. But all commodities are subject to substantial swings. One thing you can take to the bank (pour intended). Metal will never be money again. Those days are ending and they arent coming back. Not even if the SHTF in the worst possible scenario.

In the future, the world will revolve around a system of 'credits'. You earn credits and use them to purchase whatever. Not that it matters today, but in a century or two the concept of money and wealth we hold today will be long forgotten. It's hard to wrap your head around this but there will be people living on the Moon and Mars 200 years from now. And in colossal space stations. The currency and economy of those times will be vastly different from what we know today.

Sexual favors will always be a currency.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Sexual favors will always be a currency.

Yes. As with todays financial instruments, the size of your bank account matters.

 

[Racer88]

Yes. As with todays financial instruments, the size of your bank account matters.

Oh shit... I'm screwed (but not THAT way)!

 

[One Ping Only]

Another thing coming into vogue- nations/states/businesses accepting precious metals as currency.

There is also a financial mechanism available today called “the sound money wallet”…now you have to have your metals on account deposited with them, but it allows your to buy/sell out of your precious metals account or to convert to currency.

 

[One Ping Only]

Sexual favors will always be a currency.

Have you SEEN Ilhan Omar? Yikes…

 

[One Ping Only]

A women has to use (and can't help) what they are born with but what's inside- the INNER PERSON, seeps out and articulates more of what and who they are in reality...and over time, it's etched deeper and deeper into their visage....even literal physical facial features.

Maxine Waters is prime example. One silver screen fantasy illustration is the Character of Senator Palpatine in Star Wars...who goes evil and it's etched into his face deeply. Though that was make believe, I've seen real-life examples of it. It's so sad.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Another thing coming into vogue- nations/states/businesses accepting precious metals as currency.

BRICS did this to eliminate reliance on the dollar as the defacto global currency. Led by Russia and China. If you take a hard look at China and Russia economies, they are not in the best position right now. Russia's vast mineral resources are the only thing keeping them from collapsing. Especially with the cost of the Ukraine conflict.

There is also a financial mechanism available today called “the sound money wallet”…now you have to have your metals on account deposited with them, but it allows your to buy/sell out of your precious metals account or to convert to currency.

Just a variation of cyber when you think about it. Except it clumsily requires a physical asset. Interesting experiment until the exchange goes belly up or robbed and your metal is gone. I remember my grandfather telling me he went to the bank in 1930 to withdraw his money and they told him it was gone. He could not wrap his head around how his money could disappear.

A gold-based currency, as no modern currency today conforms to, has certain advantages. The government cant cause inflation by simply printing more money that isnt backed by the gold reserves. Ironically, not being able to print money if you dont have the gold is precisely why no country's currency is based on it. Even the Swiss eventually gave up on it.

Silver as a currency? That's the same as having barrels of crude oil in your garage instead of money. It has value in the market, but it is impractical for everyday use. Anything physical like that is going the way of the dodo. In order for its value to be extracted, it has to undergo extensive processing. If the world goes sideways, a lump of silver or a coin is worth nothing to the individual in its raw form. Like a barrel of light sweet crude. The reason coinage was the standard for humans trading goods was there were no banks.

Can one make money buying and selling metals today? Sure. Some people are buying whole barrels of freshly distilled whiskey that need to age for another 10-20 years. Kind of like buying bonds. There's a profit/payout at the end. I know a guy whose two classic 60's era muscle cars appreciated 500% in the past 30 years. Better than his 401k.

We are rapidly evolving into a cashless society. The future is going to be 100% digital. Something like Bitcoin is going to end up being the new way everyday people trade, buy things, etc. This will take a long time because the central banks took 500 years to evolve the system we have. They arent going to let go easily and neither are governments. I have zero confidence that in the mean time breaking off a chunk of your silver kit cat bar or walking around with a purse full of coins and handing it to a merchant in exchange for goods is ever going to return.

Preppers? They will all be dead in a month or two after the SHTF. Pray you are at ground zero and you are dust in one microsecond or the bioweapon lands in your lap.

 

[Racer88]

I have zero confidence that in the mean time breaking off a chunk of your silver kit cat bar or walking around with a purse full of coins and handing it to a merchant in exchange for goods is ever going to return.

Gold is no different.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Gold is no different.

I agree.

If I were going to buy metals as a hedge against inflation or the worry of some kind of economic collapse, I'd stick with gold. Now, it too has been run up and I dont think this is a good time to be buying.

My indicator is when you start seeing an increase of commercials and print ads for gold and silver, you know that it's peaked and the brokers are trying to boost sales by reaching out to the me-too's.

Like the stock market... buy on the rumor and sell on the news. With gold and silver the rumor was two years ago. Gold was at $2000 and silver around $30.

I bought 3 Bitcoin in 2013 for $32 each. Just for yuks and to get a better understanding what seemed to be a Ponzi scheme. I sold them around for $33,000 each in 2021. Pure luck. It's gambling, not investing. I used the money to help pay for the house I built. I thought Bitcoin might go higher (and it did) but there was no way to know if it would. I decided that I didn't care. No regrets. Pigs get slaughtered.

 

[One Ping Only]

Silver as a currency? That's the same as having barrels of crude oil in your garage instead of money.

Not with the sound money wallet it's not. You silver is on deposit to carry the balance on your smart money wallet pp, and you can go commerce just as we do now...using silver, gold, or conventional currency, or converting the PM's to currency. Not like oil barrels in a garage....

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Not with the sound money wallet it's not. You silver is on deposit to carry the balance on your smart money wallet pp, and you can go commerce just as we do now...using silver, gold, or conventional currency, or converting the PM's to currency. Not like oil barrels in a garage....

Interesting. But I dont see how it's that useful since the entire world accepts our fiat money only. So you convert or exchange your metal for currency at the point of sale. Basically like a secured deposit credit card.

A lot of people buy metals in preparation for when the SHTF or some sort of economic calamity where paper money becomes worthless. I'm not one of those but many are. In the case of the sound money wallet, you will not have access to it nor would they be likely to ship you metal to you when civilization as we know it is crumbling.

I'm sure it works fine but I don't see the benefit. Like a bank, you are putting trust in an institution to manage your assets.

In the event of a worldwide disaster like a devastating nuclear or biological war, epidemic, natural disaster like a meteor slamming into the Earth... etc. I lean toward being as isolated as possible, having sufficient food, fuel/energy, and weapons to hold out until things stabilize or return to some semblance of normal. I've devoted a fair amount of thought to what it means to bug-in and also to bug-out if it becomes necessary. Precious metals aren't part of either equation. Anything I can't eat, shoot, or use to power something is not on my short list.

 

[One Ping Only]

Suit yourself. While you have their viewpoint, others have theirs. When metals have been used for eons for payment, it's even coming into play more and more now today. Those that don't see it, IMO don't WANT to see what's going-on. And that's fine to have our own viewpoints. I'm not trying to convince you because you have your mind made up. And I don't care, that's your prerogative. But you can't change my mind, either.

Russia won't sell their oil now to anybody unless they use (the now gold-backed Ruble) to purchase it with. BRICS indeed. And there's a lot more to that, than meets the eye. That we're all about to see.

They aren’t making any more land, OR precious metals. Meanwhile paper is invented- not just stocks, but even fiat currrency, every day....while esp the latter, becomes more worthless.

FIAT is on its way out, and not just domestically. Globally. Just watch and see.

"I'm sure it works fine but I don't see the benefit. Like a bank, you are putting trust in an institution to manage your assets."

On that last comment we see eye to eye. Hence, why our holdings are not beholden in that fashion. Having said that, the reason why I brought it up is because it contradicts your claims that you can't purchase anything with precious metals. And yes you can, and that's just one example I gave above. Look it up for yourself. Times are a changing, BL. Even one various states. Though we can't see it yet at our level, we will.

We've been so duped (BY THE BANKERS- and that's a clue right there there) into thinking precious metals are not for the avg citizen for commerce, nor is asset-backed currency a feasible reality.

Tell me why then JPM, BofA, CIT, etc are not only using silver amongst themselves in their little nefarious banking community, but fraudulently boosting their holdings to do so...it's because THEY want THEMSELVES to have the financial instruments/pM's of REAL VALUE, while they charge Governments exorbitant lease fees to use their increasingly worthless fiat...and us peons.

Reminds me of a Don Henley song lyric "they've grown accustomed to the smell, now people LOVE that shit; we're workin' it"

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I think our fundamental difference here is I don't give a shit what banks, Russia, China, or the man in the moon is doing. Don't care. Nor do I believe anything one person can do as a hedge against war, disease or economic collapse matters. In a broader context, In the never-ending struggle between good and evil, I prefer to recuse myself. Paraphrasing Sun Tzu, you survive every battle you avoid.

I also believe that there is no way to skillfully navigate disaster if you suddenly find yourself in the middle of it. Natural or otherwise. You can only plan or prepare for so many contingencies and hope that whatever happens is what you prepared for. It's a crap shoot. Survival is mostly luck. It is likewise impossible to predict what will have value under those circumstances. Especially if things are such that someone is willing to kill you for a jar of peanut butter.

Famine aside, and having some experience dealing with violent fanatics and self-appointed revolutionaries, I can testify that they don't give a rats ass about money in any form.

In the context of some kind of Armageddon... Once the first shot is fired, trust me the plan and all the preparation goes out the fucking window. Some preppers will be the first to perish at the hands of those who know what they have. Others who kept a low profile will last a bit longer. It's important to note that the possibility of the whole world coming off the tracks is pretty close to zero. Because it doesn't benefit those in power.

Even during the Great Depression, society didnt stop functioning. It's not impossible for markets to crash, banks to fail and have it last for a decade. Or 25% unemployment to occur. Those who suffered the most in 1929-1939 were those who were in debt. I think we can agree it pays to have no debt and some coin when and if something like that happens again. So having some gold, silver, platinum, etc isn't a terrible idea. In moderation. My opinion is there is no guarantee that precious metals will be a viable currency for the average schlub. Or predicting what it will be worth. All securities (stocks) didn't become worthless in 1929. Joe Kennedy made his colossal family fortune investing in stocks that were undervalued after the markets crashed.

What governments and the world's banks do to keep their monopoly on the global economy is a very different thing from how things work at the grass roots level - paying for a bushel of corn or buying a chicken. Depending on the circumstances, food, fuel, medicine, and ammunition can be worth more than their weight in gold.

Hopefully none of us here find out which philosophy is right or wrong.

 

[no4mk1t]

Those who suffered the most in 1929-1939 were those who were in debt. I think we can agree it pays to have no debt and some coin when and if something like that happens again. So having some gold, silver, platinum, etc isn't a terrible idea. In moderation. My opinion is there is no guarantee that precious metals will be a viable currency for the average schlub. Or predicting what it will be worth. All securities (stocks) didn't become worthless in 1929. Joe Kennedy made his colossal family fortune investing in stocks that were undervalued after the markets crashed.

Hopefully none of us here find out which philosophy is right or wrong.

This.

This reminds me of Cooper writing about his young life. His class was given an assignment to describe how the Depression had affected each of their lives. He was the odd man out at school in that his home life was largely unaffected and his family did not suffer. The picture he painted was that while his family was not extravagantly wealthy, they were what would later be described as upper middle class.

They had domestic staff at home. His father worked for a bank as a real estate appraiser. His family vacationed in Europe at the height of the Depression. The bank his father worked for would refuse his request for extended vacation, so he would resign, take his family on vacation, and the bank would re-hire him when he returned. This sounded to me like it was pre-arranged to circumvent bank policy, as it would be considered lunacy to quit a job like that during the Depression. When he was in his late teens, his father took him on a guided hunt into Canada.

This contrasted sharply to the stories I heard growing up.
The plant my grandfather worked at as a printer was founded by a kindly South American immigrant who knew hardship firsthand. Instead of laying off half his workforce when things got tough, he retained them all on a 20 hour per week schedule, so all his employees at least made enough to eat and survive.
No car. Gramps walked to work. Took his lunch with him. He turned his paycheck over to my grandmother and she was the family bean counter. Paid the rent, bought the groceries, and saved what little they could in case it got worse. And it was like this until the Depression ended.

So, the lessons they drilled into me as a child about staying out of debt were based on experience, and while my peers didn't hesitate to finance cars and boats and trucks, I saved and paid cash. Never bought a new car because it would mean financing it and when you see how fast a new car depreciates, you will wonder why anyone is willing to buy new.
When I worked at the car dealership, I saw more than once some young new car buyer that financed the car through FMC or GMAC under one of the "No money down, 90 days until the first payment" schemes designed to lure the unknowing. A few times these people would wreck the car and at first were happy to hear that the car was totaled, being under the impression that the insurance money would be enough to replace the car. Many tears and long faces when the hand of depreciation bitch slapped them when they were told that not only was that not happening, but they still owed money to the bank.

Rant over.

 

[One Ping Only]

Today:

Paper to Silver ratio: 374.34 to 1
Paper to Gold Ratio: 139.19 to 1

I think our fundamental difference here is I don't give a shit what banks, Russia, China, or the man in the moon is doing. Don't care. Nor do I believe anything one person can do as a hedge against war, disease or economic collapse matters. In a broader context, In the never-ending struggle between good and evil, I prefer to recuse myself. Paraphrasing Sun Tzu, you survive every battle you avoid.

One way or another, we will be subject to commerce and how to trade or pay. Been going on since time began. And on your last comment, like it or not, there is a battle we're in ostensibly, at one level or another.

Depending on the circumstances, food, fuel, medicine, and ammunition can be worth more than their weight in gold.

I agree, and time bears this out as well. Anything can be a tradeable or used as a type of financial instrument. Some years ago, I was purchasing ammunition for that very reason...I believe that will be sort of 'financial instrument' or sorts as well as a commodity. It's certainly possible just as well as medicine, food, fuel, etc. That will be defined by the times and the people. But all those things don't diminish the fact that, again precious metals- esp gold & silver have always been valued in this regard.

And once again, not fixating on one facet of investments- even some seemingly inane at the moment, is wise. Without showing our hand, we are quite diversified, gratefully & thankfully so.

BTW- Bof A recently suggested/revealed just this week that silver should be priced at over $300 per oz, and it appears the price suppression has now been lifted.

How many people wish they got into Apple stocks when they were dirt cheap? How many did and then sold at a handsome profit? I think a 40,000ft viewpoint would show that folks holding precious metals can get into the markets (or any other market) for the same reasons, and yes, PM's are quite easy to move/sell when you want to....and our PM investments we never acquired to hold forever....it's simply one of many investments. (edit) and I think that point was missed in the comments against it.
Can you take your stocks and cash them at the bank? Can you buy milk at the store with them, or fuel at the gas pump?

I didn't think so.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Can you take your stocks and cash them at the bank? Can you buy milk at the store with them, or fuel at the gas pump?

Technically Yes. Most brokerages are also banks now. Stocks pay dividends which flow into my account. I have a debit card associated with that account. I can use any ATM in the free world and withdraw the local currency. It’s nice when the valuation of a stock goes up but that only matters if you choose to sell. A big chunk of my portfolio are paying quarterly dividends while I do nothing. I don’t have to buy or sell or convert anything.

When interest rates were higher, I bought treasuries and laddered them. 6 months, one year, two years to maturity. I made 5% on that money for doing nothing. And the risk was close to zero. Unless the United States government and economy utterly collapsed. Not likely.

I like having the option of wiring every penny I have to a foreign bank in the blink of an eye if for some reason that was merited. It’s hard to match the liquidity of securities. And cash of course.

Liquidating small amounts of precious metals isn’t hard. Selling large quantities is more difficult. And there’s risk in transporting it.

If it isn’t obvious, my philosophy is that in a true crisis, money in any form becomes quite worthless. Ever watch that Naked reality show? 30 days in a wilderness or some hostile climate. No tools, no food, no clothes, no clean water. Danger everywhere from exposure, poisonous plants, insects, animals, reptiles, bacteria, etc. Those who studied and practiced basic survival tactics do well. I find those that fail the most interesting. It’s not youth or strength that prevails. It’s experience and will. Also the ability to improvise. When lacking that, they fail.

If my nest egg... savings, bank accounts, investments were suddenly worth zero, I’d still be ok. I’ve considered that possibility. Also that if you are paying attention you can see disaster coming and take certain measures. It took 500 years for today's banking system to become what it is. It's more stable and dependable than many people believe. It is also said the world economy is controlled by a small circle of people. No kidding. What else is new in the past 5000 years? I don't care. I use the system to my best advantage.