If there’s one asset that’s heated up over the last several months amid tensions in the middle east and a second round of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing, it’s silver. The price has risen so dramatically, some 20% since January 1, 2011 through today, that investors may be wondering what actions they should take. For those who have not acquired the precious metal, the obvious question is, should I buy now or is silver in bubble territory? Those fortunate enough to have seen the crisis writing on the wall in 2008 and before, and have seen a 200% or more increase in the value on their holdings to date, may be considering selling and locking in profits.
No one can predict what happens next. The fact that silver has “gone to the moon” as metals bugs like to say, should raise awareness and caution in any diligent investor. After all, the last time we saw such meteoric price rises in the summer of 2008, when stocks, commodities and home prices were reaching all-time highs, and precious metals were pushing higher than they had in twenty years, it ended very badly for anyone invested in just about any asset other than the US dollar.
Is there cause for alarm today? Are silver and gold, along with equities and commodities, destined to see yet another massive correction or collapse, as they did when the markets bottomed out in late 2008 and early 2009? The trigger for the last asset crash was blamed, in part, on rising oil prices and food costs, and we are very clearly approaching similar territory today. If gas prices reach that $4.50 mark like they did before many experts, both mainstream and contrarian, have voiced their opinions that the economy will revert back to no-growth or negative growth, completely disintegrating any semblance of recovery that has been perpetrated on the American people and global populace.
The end result, as in 2008, will likely be a collapse in asset prices.
But will precious metals once again collapse along with equities and commodities, or have we reached the long awaited ‘decoupling’ phase, where tangible assets and historical monetary instruments diverge from traditional paper investments like stocks, or debt based assets like real estate? A similar decoupling occurred in the 1930’s, when the Dow Jones and gold assets went their own way:
According to the chart below, silver versus the Dow Jones has outperformed significantly, with the Dow experiencing a collapse versus silver of 86% over the last ten years:
The above chart indicates that we are already seeing a decoupling in terms of value.
Whether you are a new investor deciding whether or not you are going to buy silver at today’s prices, or are currently holding silver related assets and considering whether or not to sell or buy more, we suggest watching the following interview with trusted analyst and financial manager Eric Sprott, whose Sprott Physical Silver Trust is one of the very few “paper” investments that is physically backed with vault-stored (never to be leased) precious metals.
In his latest interview with Canada’s Business News Network, Sprott provides some key reasons for why silver, although priced much higher today than ten years ago, will continue to rise and likely become one of the top performing investments of this decade. According to Sprott, there are various data points that “scream at you that the price of silver has to go higher.”
Before you sell, consider the following reasons for why silver may be the best investment of the decade:
1. Demand is not only up, but still rising. The US Mint in the months of January and February sold as many dollars of silver as they sold dollars of gold. The Chinese used to export 100 million ounces of silver – they now import 112 million ounces – and that’s in a market that’s a total of 800 million ounces, or a 20% shift in just Chinese demand.
2. Supply and Delivery Challenges for Physical Bullion. In a market that trades roughly 400 million (paper) ounces a day, when Sprott Asset Management was preparing to open their physical silver trust they had difficulty acquiring just 15 million ounces. Other evidence direct from the US Mint further solidifies this point. The Mint recently advised potential investors that it can longer coin the popular Silver American Eagle saying, “The United States Mint will resume production of American Eagle Silver Uncirculated Coins once sufficient inventories of silver bullion blanks can be acquired to meet market demand for all three American Eagle Silver Coin products.”
3. Technological demand for silver is increasing. In 2010 industrial production of silver was up 18% due to rising demand from the technology sector. Among other things, silver is increasingly being used in computers, cell phones, and solar panels. Health care, alternative and traditional, is another market segment that will see silver demand increase because of silver’s antibiotic properties. It’s already being used in bandages, clothing, and medical devices.
4. Silver is closing the margin on the gold-to-silver ratio. Historically, though not in recent decades, silver has traded at an average ratio of about 16-to-1. It is currently trading at about 40-to-1, and just recently was trading at nearly 70-to-1. If the historical ratio of gold to silver holds up, then if gold is priced at $1600 an ounce, silver would need to be trading at about $100. If gold were to trade at $3000 an ounce, a prediction made by several contrarian precious metals analysts, silver would trade at $300 if the gold-to-silver ratio returned to historical norms.
5. There is a silver shortage. We’ve already discussed the supply issues that many investors taking large deliveries may be experiencing. But, there is also a pricing disconnect occurring, that indicates supply problems, at least in the short-term, are prevalent. According to Sprott and other analysts, forward looking silver prices indicate that a silver shortage exists. The phenomenon of price “backwardation” is one way of being able to identify this. Though there are millions of ounces in the ground, backwardation can mean there is simply not enough of an asset available right now. Sprott, for example, says that when they purchased the aforementioned 15 million ounces of silver, some of it wasn’t even minted until two weeks after they made the purchase, suggesting that existing inventory is simply not available.
6. More (Paper) Money. As the US Federal Reserve and central banks around the world continue to deal with fiscal issues through monetary means, more and more paper currency hits the global marketplace. As a result, more money is chasing fewer goods, with silver being one of those goods. For the reasons above, as well as the fact that there is more money available, the price of silver will continue to “inflate,” just like other hard assets. Over the last 100 years, since the Federal Reserve was established, the US dollar has lose some 95% of its value. This is a long-term 100 year trend, and given the current policies of the Fed, which are no different than the policies of the last century, the US dollar will continue to depreciate.
7. Gold for Main Street. While an ounce of gold may cost $1500, silver is significantly cheaper, giving working individuals and families the ability to invest without having to spend this month’s mortgage on a coin. Silver is available in various weights and mintages, from one ounce government issue coins like silver eagles to one-hundred ounce poured bars from Johnson Matthey. In addition, for newer investors, though fake silver exists, the risk to the investor is much lower because of the price, and investors can choose US “junk silver” coins like pre-1965 half dollars, quarters and dimes for easily identifiable and tradeable instruments. With silver, anyone who has a desire to do so can become their own central bank.
8. Crisis. Inflation is often identified as the single biggest reason for why precious metals like gold and silver rise. However, this is not always the case. During the 1990’s, a period where inflation was anywhere from 1% to 6% annually, the price of gold and silver barely moved. There was simply no investor demand. One of the reasons for this may have been because during the 90’s, the US was experiencing a period of boom. It was the advent of the internet and the general mood was positive. Stocks were rising and were the primary investment vehicle of choice during the technology boom. Gold and silver took a back seat. After the technology crash and September 11th, however, sentiment changed. As boom times gave way to recession, precious metals rose. They continued to rise as governments, namely in the US, passed more restrictive laws on everything from personal liberty to capital investment. When countries start restricting freedoms, people tend to shift capital. Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, this may have been the primary reason for gold and silver’s powerful rise. After the collapse of 2008, more and more investors began to realize that crisis is upon us. The government, failing to mitigate the problem, and likely making it even worse, forced those in traditional investments into the safe haven historical assets of choice – gold and silver. Thus, while inflation may play a part in the rise of precious metals, it is the perception that government is unable to deal with crisis that has been the real driving force. As the economic crisis continues to deepen, civil unrest breaks out around the world, and citizens lose faith in their government’s ability to manage crisis, the prices of precious metals, the last vestige of monetary security, will continue to rise.
The biggest problem with silver is there is no longer enough of it to serve the monetary needs of the people AND use industrially. The problem with gold is that the banksters have already stolen the vast majority of it.
The price manipulators can no longer accomplish a long term drop in prices. I am sure it has been tried to the best of their ability.
The bankers are just waiting to get the people to sell as much of their gold as they can force them to do before going on a gold standard. Of course, they will never give you any gold. Only paper supposedly backed by theirs.
No doubt about it, but…
As in the credo of the real estate industry, ‘The three most important things are location, location and location.’, the three most important things in investing is timing, timing and timing. A 20%(+,-) retraction in silver is not uncommon.
—
Silver Shocker
By: Theodore Butler
The big surprise was in the silver COT, where the big 4 increased their net short position by 3000 contracts on the previously mentioned reduction of 1300 contracts in the total commercial net short position. This increase in the big four’s short position broke the pattern of a reduction in the concentrated short silver position that had been in force for months. The increase in the concentrated short silver position was so unexpected by me that I thought, at first, it must have been a mistake.
http://news.silverseek.com/SilverSeek/1299509764.php
—
The credo of the real estate industry, ‘The three most important things are location, location and location.’ is a false one, imho (a position well supported throughout thehousingbubbleblog.com) the three most important things are income to price ratio and other debt levels. I think those would be the three most important things in investing too. Not to say timing is unimportant, however; see the final link below.
Some interesting bits:
“…BULLION Silver Eagles have NEVER been available to the public from the Mint directly. They are ALWAYS sold through primary dealers.
The Mint has only suspended sales of certain special Silver Eagles sold directly to the public – the ‘Uncirculated’ ones were not available in 2010 (as explained on the web site) and are listed as ‘TBD’ for 2011.
http://mintnewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/legislation-would-allow-proof-silver.html [Cosponsors (None) stuck in committee]
Proof Silver Eagles ARE listed on the Mint schedule for June 2011 and were available in 2010 after being suspended ONLY in 2009.” – Anonymous.
“Silver was confiscated. Refer to Franklin Roosevelt’s August 9, 1934 Executive Order 6814:
…
SECTION 4. Amount returnable for silver..–The silver herein required to be delivered shall be coined into standard silver dollars, or otherwise added to the monetary stocks of the United States in accordance with the proclamation, bearing the same date as this order, relating to the coinage of silver, and there shall be returned therefor in standard silver dollars, silver certificates, or any other coin or currency of the United States, the monetary value of the silver so delivered (that is, $1.2929+ a fine troy ounce), less a deduction of 61 8/25 percent thereof for seigniorage, brassage, coinage, and other mint charges, as provided in such proclamation; that is, the amount returnable for the silver delivered in accordance herewith shall be an amount equal to 50+ .– a fine troy ounce, which amount is not less than the fair value, at the time of this order, of the silver required to be delivered hereunder as determined by the market price over a reasonable period terminating at the time of this order.” – Matt
Also, beware of The Forfeiture Racket, you don’t have to be doing anything wrong to become a victim: http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/26/the-forfeiture-racket/4
And, in support of #8.Crisis, like silver, Gold: A Valuable Thing to Store:
“Gold is a valuable thing to store. However, it is not a store of value.
Gold has intrinsic properties that make it valuable. However, it does not have intrinsic value…”
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north952.html
If you do not hold physical gold/silver in your possession…. you are endangering yourself and family.  Those FRNs are going back to what  little slips of paper are really worth.  Those digital numbers on your bank account,  are going to represent what those FRNs become.  Everyone will be “trillionaires”  (think Zimbabwe)  Starving trillionaires.
A new world is starting to take shape, and that new world will have to include a “money” that can not be printed into oblivion. Â Â That is Gold/Silver. Â (6000 year history)
Gods Creation, that is a misconception perpetrated and spread by the lame stream media, that there is not enough silver (or gold) to serve the needs of the economy.
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When one considers that, if we returned to a silver/gold standard monetary system, prices would in turn revert to their old historic norms. For instance, that 5 cent cigar really would be 5 cents again. A Hamburger and fries would be 10 to 15 cents. Add a shake for 5 additional cents.
Â
The beauty is, and the point, we could define whatever we wanted a silver dollar to equal in terms of goods/services. By using pre-1965 silver coinage, we are using a system that worked for several decades, a system that had its roots way back in colonial America where one dollar was defined as 371.25 grains of silver.
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In today’s terms, we would need something equivalent to $1,500/oz. silver (that’s to replace all M1 money in circulation and savings accounts AND pay off all outstanding FRN-denominated debt – the national debt). But that’s only initially. After all that’s done, we could revalue silver to whatever we wanted per oz. It is certainly possible (almost politically impossible however but that’s another subject).
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In addition, if there was some kind of a shortage of silver in the beginning after the reset, some form of deflation would reign for a while (hopefully mild – but not leading to any bank runs since people know their money is 100% backed by silver), which would spur silver miners to go out and mine more silver. The extra silver mined and added to the money supply would result in inflation and after a while the amount of silver would achieve equilibrium with the size of the economy, assuming we really had a free economy (BIG assumption).
HERE’S THE DEAL ON SHORTAGES FOLKS.
There are many in the mining and geology fields that see silver vanishing from the planet within 30 years, primarily due to increasing industrial needs, totally irrespective of investment demand.
Your best bet, if armageddon to the nth does not occur, is to hand your PM stash down to your kids or grandkids. When the shortages become widely known, the GSR will move to parity and then be totally reversed within a few years thereafter. So silver at least at $1500/oz sometime in the not too distant future.
I think silver still has a long run to make when compared to housing, the dow, and even gold.
Here is a link to some charts that will put the price of silver into historical context:
http://goldsilverrealestate.com/?page_id=36
Buy Silver ! lots and lots of .9999 shinny silver ! Help crash JPMorgan and protect your purchasing power.
Win Win !
Nice score for me at the flea market yesterday, a 1939 CDN silver dollar for $20. (80% silver) That was a dealer too, he forgot to mark it up, others were at least $30. Keep your eyes open!
Comments…..
  If silver is to be that valuable, then there should be none here who would refuse to trade me a PTR-91, AR-10, FAL .308, or M1A1 for 5 Canadian Silver Maple Leafs.
  Any takers?
  No?
  Then that signifies to me that you are espousing hopes rather than reasoned convictions on the future value of silver.
  PS: I am a silver investor, but if it ever hits $100/oz, I will sell everything I have and look for the next undervalued opportunity.
Just a headsup folks…some silver is still in circulation….just got 3 roos dimes in change from lunch at Wendy’s today…watch your pocket change!
Comments…..
GC, you are correct all the way. JWJr, u2, but freedom trumps all, then education. Clark, you are correct and it’s not starboard for the mint to do that. LiM, you are wise beyond. AB, my proof AGE’s & UHR’s will be passed down or sold last for a prem. You have a clear crystal ball & it might be priced in Amero’s! Mac, I’ve seen a 1000 oz silver bar. Now that is a door stop! Ruff, ruff, but pretty….
Depends on what inflation is doing & the debts SSPXER.
If the strategic oil reserves are going to be opened up. Who paid for the oil to be drilled the first time then dumped it back in a hole to be pumped out again to be sold on the market to be refined and sent back to us just before Saudi Arabia riots this Friday that will cause oil to go over $200-500 for a barrel of oil next week.  Anybody want to guess the price of silver next week? Gold might be more interesting in ratio. Smooth this #1. Follow the money. It won’t work this time, it will just make us weaker.
Â
Speculate with silver folks. Right now and for maybe the next three years silver will run higher, even with a retracement in between; but in the longer run, silver will decline as:
1. Supplies increase due to additional copper mining.
2. Massive silver deposits in the Sierra Madre are developed.
3. New technologies reduce the demand for silver in industrial processes.
As the ratio between gold and silver narrows, consider moving silver assets to gold. Gold is the money of the Central Banksters of the NWO. Make it your money if you can.
Comments….. The question that no one as asked about the silver used in technology industry is what has it replaced? Was it lead solderings? Well when the silver runs out some other metal will by necesity replace it so in other words nothing is irreplaceble. Silver will lose its value when another metal takes it place. Does quantum computing require silver??
SSPXER,
Are you the mentally challenged half-brother of Mushroom?
Durango, pm’s are a great investment on anyside. The upside potential for
silver is MUCH greater than gold. Sorry, I think you need to do a little more
research into this subject.
Dan
Can’t change the mother nature principles of Ag DK.
SSPXER,
I would agree that guns, ammo, food, water filtering & storage equipment, along with other essential prep items, should be acquired prior to investing in precious metals. The Walmart in my area is selling seed packets at 20 cents a piece. My $ 90 investment in corn, beans, cabbage, carrots, peppers, basil, cucumbers, watermelons, cantelopes, cauliflower, broccoli, squash, peas, tomatoes, beets, and radishes may provide a much more tangible return. I’m determined to grow & can food from my own garden this year.
I would be more than willing to exchange what I don’t consume for silver at some point down the road. But focusing on growing food seems to be a more urgent task. Who knows,,,fresh vegetables might be worth their weight in silver one day. 🙂
Good Luck To AllÂ
Comments…..
@Dredger Dan-
  Leaving aside your total lack of argumentation: Care to put your money where your mouth is?
  I’ll give you 5 oz of silver (Value = $180), and you give me something worth $500.
  According to you, this should be a sucker bet in your favor.
  But you won’t do it, because in your heart of hearts, you know all this blather is just wild hope on your part. So you yap as though you firmly held the conviction, but at base you doubt yourself, and that holds you in check.
  Which implies (in spite of yourself) that you are probably smarter than you sound.
Great article but if you haven’t prepped yet, it might be too late. Have you seen the drudge report headlines tonight?
Federal deficit for February is $223 billion. That is more than the entire deficit for 2007!!
The U.S. Treasury drew down its cash balance by $81.6 Billion in Just First 4 Days of March. The U.S. Treasury is depleting its cash at an accelerating pace, drawing down its cash balance by $81.6 billion in the just the first four days of March, leaving the federal government with only $108.9 billion on hand,
Soon my friends. Soon.
SSPXER, the “deal” you’re offering is a “sucker bet” only from your perspective. Â First off, it’s a trade for two things that most everyone here regards as being equally important in their overall prep plan. Â Just because silver has value or is going up, doesn’t mean that firearms somehow have less value.
#2, You’re not offering to pay fair market price. Â You feel that since silver is going up, I should make a trade with you whereby you immediately get the full $500 value, yet I would have to wait for some period of time to realize my $500 value. Â Business doesn’t work that way.
#3, since you obviously don’t think silver is going to go all that high, you should have no problem trading 14 1 ounce silver rounds, Maple Leafs, Silver Eagles, what ever, and then I could provide you a weapon. Â One thing though, several of the weapons you listed have price tags a ‘little over’ $500, and this may require you to pony up additional silver.
Have a nice day! Â 🙂
Johnny V…..you got that right. I am not the smartest guy here and even a new student to all this….but my street and lifes experiences tell me that…not only a sucker bet but kind of an ass to boot.
Excellent article Mac! A silver source many don’t know about are the half-dollars from 1965-70. These are 40% silver and not as popular as the 90% coins that preceeded them, but well worth watching for.
Coinflation lists them today at a scrap silver value of $5.31 each.
http://www.coinflation.com/Â
Dredger Dan: I hear what you are saying and concurr …. for the mid term. But eventually silver’s value against gold has limitations and I mentioned them in my post.
Industrial demand for silver will peak in a couple of years when alternative technologies will start to kill the industrial demand for silver at the same time that increased supplies are coming from copper mines. After that MASSIVE new silver deposits in Mexico will come to market. I have a silver mine. I know what I am talking about. But hey, I’ll sell you my silver production for $1,000 an oz if you want it, just keep buying!
Most of the folks here will hold whatever they buy forever. And if they only have say, $2,000 for metals after their preps I would recommend an oz of gold and the rest in silver. After the next MidEast War, sell half of your gold and pay off your house when the BIG guys run for security.
If you are trading there will be an opportunity down the road to convert silver to gold as the ratio narrows.
Most important of all is the fact that the Central Banksters are buying gold by the hundreds of tons. Why? You think they intend to just look at it? Are they buying silver? No? Why not, Dreger Dan?
Speculate in silver folks. Own gold.
Anyone know of any strong undervalued silver mining companies? I know most of them have had a huge run-up but I thought there’d be a good “find” out there. (Thinking of purchasing some SVM even though it’s near an all-time high.) And let me save some time for those of you who say “take possession!” Yeah, I know that already and I have some. I just want a mining equity play.
Not sure you’re “into” Penny plays, but I’ve got a couple 100 thousand shares of Medinah Minerals and their sister company Cerro Dorado. Â MDMN & CDCH.
Friend touted me onto MDMN mid-last year (around $.02/share), in December, they signed a JV with a Major, but there has been a delay in the funds transfer. Stock “ran” up to $.20, and while waiting for the funding to work itself out, has settled in a range of $.10-$14 for past 6 weeks. (Not many penny stocks…if ANY, could hold any sp with a toxic event like that).
Chilean Mountain has the goods…Just need the JV to come through, and the metals value alone makes this a multi-billion market cap company. Â (Silver, Gold, Copper, Moly)
If you’ve got some loose change laying around, this might be a penny play that could/should be a 20 bagger from here before the drill results even come back. Â Caveat Empteor.
Plenty of Due Diligence available at http://www.theminingplay.com
Here’s to hoping. Â FWIW….About $.02 Â 🙂
-Dad
Â
At what ratio would you start converting silver to gold DK with Al Gores future temperature forecast? I feel that there are many other affecting variables such as price of oil/food, GDP, inflation before mass rioting and shut down of the net.
why would anyone in their right mind who bought silver for face value or even up to 18 dollars an ounce sell it for worthless paper. Save it till the SHsTF and live comfortably for yrs. I knew people who lived in Germany during the WW1 and thru the 20s and they all said you couldn’t buy a loaf of bread with a wheel barrow full of Marks but you could eat for a week buy trading a silver ring.
I hold silver for one reason, insurance. I do not hold it as an investment. If it goes up, great. If it goes down, no big deal. My silver coins will be my bartering tool as well as my food supplies and other items. Buy silver to store your wealth, not as an inverstment.
if you think silver is appreciationg now - wiat until the fear of HYPERinflation hits the general population. unlike gold and platinum silver will appreciate more than the inflationary base as the silver/gold ratio decreases as it does in inflationary times.  $100/tr oz is not unrealistic.
google market genius “max keiser”.
Chris C…I’ve never heard the lame stream media say any such thing (probably because I never watch it), it would not matter if they did.
You say we need $1,500 an ounce silver to cover all of the M1 money, savings, AND national debt.
At that $1,500 price it would take 9.333 billion ounces to retire the National debt at 14 TRILLION, if we did not use it for money. The best estimate I have been able to find is that there are about 300 million ounces of silver in the world and less is produced than is needed for industrial use every year. That would put the required price at $46,666 per oz if we priced all the silver in the world in FRNs and dedicated it to paying the debt.
That would make your silver dimes worth $3375. That’s $168,750 per roll. Damn I’m rich.
M2 money supply, which includes cash in circulation and savings deposits as you referenced above is 8.84 TRILLION dollars. To cover the current money supply AND retire the debt would require a price of $76,666 in FRNs. That dime is now worth $5,546.
Your numbers don’t reflect the reality. Mine are taking all of the known supplies of silver and applying them to “pay off” the Federal Reserve Ponzi scheme, with none left over for industrial uses.
In the end, nothing will get any better until we ALL quit pricing silver and gold in FRNs.
Â
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Thanks “your daddy”!!!
I was looking int Great Panther and a few minor players but I don’t think my brokerage won’t allow OTC or Pinksheet picks. darn!
Gods Creation,
Â
Forgive me but I didn’t include the supply of gold in addition to the silver. If you factor all that in and pay off the national debt and notes in circulation you get roughly $1,500 oz. silver and something like $60,000/oz. gold. So I think that’s the source of the discrepancy you are seeing in your analysis.
Â
When I calculated the above I found data pointing to 30 million ounces of silver and 260 million ounces of gold. Keep in mind these numbers were from 1993, so they could be off quite a bit from more recent numbers. It’s important to note however the 30 million ounces of silver represented the amount the government supposedly had in its possession that year, not the total market supply since a lot of it is used for industrial use.
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The point of the exercise was that if there existed the political will to get back to a gold/silver monetary system, then this is the new price silver would have to be in order to repudiate all the outstanding debt – that’s all (all the while moving over all existing loans/savings/investments to the newer money system in the smoothest way possible). After that transition, it would be as you say – we would quit pricing anything in FRNs, only in terms of the new silver/gold backed dollar.
I see what your saying. The only problem is that the vast majority of the gold is privately held by the central banksters. The US Gove corp has no gold. The people have very little.
Â
Like I said, the problem with silver is that there is just not enough to use as coinage.
Â
If you are referring to a gold and silver backed currency, the only ones who will be able to back it are the same criminals robbing us now. But they will only do so on their terms, which are they get to give you paper instead of gold. And for all we would ever know it was backed by tungsten bars.
Â
The sad reality is that it is no longer possible to have honest money in the USA. The mint can’t even get the silver for Eagles. And honest money will never be considered because along with it comes property rights and freedom.
Â
Paper currencies claiming to be backed by gold, when the backing is being given by known criminals with a habit of playing the same three card monty game with the same band of suckers, will never work in the long term. The best possible result for the people in that case would be the beginning of a whole new Ponzi scheme based on the exact same fraud on a larger scale.
Â
It depends on what the people want to use. If they continue to use paper regardless of who issues it, they will continue to be defrauded. Since most people have no idea what real money is, I expect they will continue to get fleeced by the corporation.
Â
There is nothing I can do about that other than staying away from the shears, (the corporation)
@ kingkang:Â
Thanks “your daddyâ€!!!
I was looking int Great Panther and a few minor players but I don’t think my brokerage won’t allow OTC or Pinksheet picks. darn!
I was in that position once. Changed brokers quickly and have done very well since. They don’t want you buying anything they don’t make their cut on. Anyway, I’ve got GPL (Great Panther) and have made 1400% in the last two years, simply holding and adding. It’s now on the American exchange and when it hits $5, then your broker will let you play.Â
Learned of Great Panther by reading 321Gold (Bob Moriarty).Â
Suggestion: Take some of your funds that are held essentially captive by your broker and get an on-line account where you can control your own future without anyone’s permission.
Casey Research is another source of small explorers, etc. although remember…maybe one out of 100 will turn into gold (I mean Silver).
The US Govt has almost nine thousand tons of gold. Which is why China wants ten thousand tons and buys all of its own production, and it is the no 1 producer in the world.
ANON: I wouldn’t transfer silver at any particular, set ratio to gold. I would buy some if I didn’t have any, hold it and evaluate the market 3 to five years down the road and transfer to gold when I thought it was peaking. I meant to type $100 an oz in the other post.
To those that question whether silver can be phased out of industrial processes, consider that it wasn’t too many years ago when all the pictures in the world were taken with FILM that used silver. What ratio of digital to film do you think reflects the number of photos taken in the world today? And tomorrow?
Anyone want to invest in a startup that makes film for cameras? Didn’t think so. Electronics will be changing in a similar way. Many of those who are pushing YOU silver want you to push the price up for them.
Speculate with silver, own gold, the money of the NWO.
AZReady has the right idea. But own some gold.
@ CDW
I double-checked, I can trade pink sheets and OTC just no securities with 4 letter initials ending with the letter “F” That means it’s a foreign security. (i.e. GGCRF, CYLPF, SLVXF)
Gonna need another brokerage outside of Zecco!
Comments…..
@Johny V:
  I disagree: If I was SURE something I wanted to own was going to appreciate 10X in the future, I would have no qualms surrendering $500 today (despite a current market value of $180), KNOWING I was going to profit $1000 in the near future.
  Analogy: If I knew your $1 stock was going to be worth $10/share soon, I would gladly pay you $5/share today, pocketing the remainder as profit.
  Everyone would agree.
  That you won’t belies your lack of faith, deep doen under, in what you are preaching.
  Business is business.
PM’s are only important if you already have your basic preps well stocked. Not saying they aren’t important, but focus on food first.
Check out the news on food shortages and price increases. Now there’s some trending…
Global Food Crisis News Roundup – 03/08/2011
http://skepticalsurvivalist.tumblr.com/post/3735843177/foodcrisisreport2
SSPXER: if you knew Jonny V’s one dollar stock was going to be worth $10 soon, you could probably be arrested for insider trading ….. 🙂
Just saying.
Besides, Jonny V has a gun for every personality and we are still counting the guns, and he keeps buying guns ……..
SSPXER, I do business the same way everyone else does. Â If I hand you an M1A1 (with a sticker of say, $850), I want $850 in return for it. Â Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be happy taking $850 worth of silver for it, but you need to pay the fair market price at the time of purchase.
Many of these weapons might shoot up in price, especially as the stockpiles run out. Â What if we put the shoe on the other foot and I’ll charge you $2500 for the same rifle because I know that once they let go of the stockpile in Korea (or where ever it is), the big stocks are pretty much used up, guaranteeing a bull market for M1’s, M1A1’s, M14’s, and the like? Â You should be happy to pay the $2500 because the rifle will easily be worth that in a year or two.
@DK, haha! Â I’m developing a real thing for the 44 mag these days. Â Always had a few around, but I’m starting to think that it’s one of the truly underrated SHTF guns. Â I think if a guy had a service rifle or two, a couple 22’s, a 44 (rifle and pistol), a high power rifle (I like the 270 here), a 12 gauge, a few lever actions (357, 44, and 45/70), some auto pistols in various calibers (9mm and 45 mostly), three or four revolvers (357 and 44 mostly), and a couple/three of them Mosin-Nagants, he’d be pretty well set. Â I mean, you’d still have shortages in a few areas, but what the hell, nobody’s perfect.
PS, check out the targets from zombieammo.com!
#5. There is a silver shortage… supply problems, at least in the short-term, are prevalent.
A contrary observation:
Physical Silver Shortage – Really?
North American Viewpoint is Limited:
“…Can you find a single analyst from Europe saying there is no physical Silver available? Do you see Chinese investors complaining that they can’t get any Silver?…
COMEX settlements in physical Silver are a small fraction of the total global trade in physical Silver. Therefore, it’s not a good indicator of global availability of physical Silver,…
One thing that has always caught my attention is that I have yet to see a single firm that goes directly to the largest refineries in the world complaining about ability to access physical Silver. Yes, the bullion banks go directly to the refineries, but is it possible they stand to gain on the market activity associated with possible delays and claims that they can’t get metal?”
http://financialsense.com/contributors/alex-stanczyk
Too many Short-Term Thinkers in here…who cares if silver goes to $18 or $83 dollars, this year or next….when in 25 years silver will be ratio-ed to well under 10 to gold, that’s where the fortunes are made.
Who care about a thousand days….look towards 8,000. days when buying silver.
Anyone touting that silver can be replaced or substituted with another metal in industry….is WRONG! Go do your research again.
HMMMM LET’S SEE….
3 MONTH SUPPLY OF FOOD – CHECK!
3 MONTH OF POTABLE WATER – CHECK!
YEAR SUPPLY OF VITAMINS – CHECK!
BIG ASS BAG OF WEED – CHECK! ;0)
BULLET PROOF VEST – CHECK!
BEAR MACE – CHECK!
BIG ASS MOTHER LOVIN’ KICKASS GUN .308 RIFLE W/ SCOPE – DOUBLE CHECK!
1000 ROUNDS .308 – DOUBLE CHECK!
GILLI SUIT – CAMO NET – CHECK!
AND ALL THE SILVER I CAN STUFF IN MY SEPTIC TANK…. LET THE GAMES BEGIN BITCHES!!!
LAST BOY SCOUT IS PREPARED AND HUMMIM’ YANKEE DODDLE DANDY!
Silver is so damn expensive though….i can  easily smuggle 20,000 worth of Gold bullion coins out of the US, but can’t say that about Silver.  The dogs will sniff it out!
In hard times the only metal I would barter any of my food for would be lead. Gold or silver might be pretty, but useless as tits on a bull if my kids are starving.
Everyone talks about TSHTF, and how to survive the catastrophe. No one talks about what happens later. The point of silver in the context of prepping is that it will be a great thing to have if your prep plan works. Here is the reason to have silver. TSHTF.  There is a serious breakdown of society. You bug out (or whatever your survival plan is). It works. America loses somewhere between 100 and 200 million people to various problems. Some percentage (hopefully small) of those casualties caused by you defending you and yours from thieves/marauders. Now, it’s 14 months later. Things are quieting down. (They’ll never get back to “normal”.) Your stored food is down by half. Your medical kit needs several items replenished. Your ammo is down by half. Your pants wore down faster than you imagined from all the work/foot travel and you are in serious need of some jeans. You’re down to one spare pair of boots, and the kids are outgrowing theirs. Now that things are more settled, honest traders are coming around with some of the things you need. What exactly are you going to use to get those items?  Unless you can start making some sellable item(s) in your retreat, you will need something of value. Silver will do the trick. Â
Remember, this is NOT an investment strategy. If you care about prices and selling for a profit, you are a speculator and may or may not see those profits materialize. This is about whether or not PMs should be part of your survival plan. IMHO the answer is yes. Many have said they will never trade their food for silver in a time of shortage, and they are correct. But if America loses 200 million people, there will still be 100 million people alive and kicking when TS Stops HTF. You will need some way to engage those people in commerce. That means exchanging something of value for something of value. PMs are something of value because the person who is trading with you can carry it back home and exchange it for something there. That’s why PMs have been money for 6000 years. The other option is to make something. So your survival plan should include a “What If I Really Survive, What Then?” plan. You will need to get busy making something or growing something or doing something that people will trade with you for, and also have a supply of PMs.       Â
Silver is volatile. so futures can kill you, and options may expire. That leaves physical silver.
I would rather go for REE, (rare earth elements), these are needed for hgh tach electronics, wind turbines, solar panels, jet engines,etc.
China has over 90% of the current world production. China has already squeezed the exports down to a trickle. In a few years it will need all of their production as contracts come in for wind turbines for the (non-existent) global-warming scare/scam.
A massive new REE discovery in Southern Greenland by ASX GGG wil unfortunately take a couple of years to come online, as a refinery needs to be built, (over a billion$ for that), roads, rail, electrix, and water etc. pto be put in place.
TODAY we have the Canadian company Stans Energy Corp. They received the go- ahaed only a few weeks ago from the Kyrgystan Govt. to buy the massive, mothballed, Â ALREADY EXISTING REE refinery, that is 97% still operational..
Stans has purchased a 25 year lease on the huge mine that adjoins the refinery, and a large nearby REE find also.
Stans E C is still a penny stock, and it still sits below the radar.
While Silver may double in a few years, penny stocks can double overnight.
The Kalahari uraniam find went up 10,000%, (X100) after five years.
Stans? We will see.
I put my money where my mouth is, sold my non-performing penny stocks,. (Tanqueray, Mill City etc.) and bought Stans E C.
The Bubble With A Silver Lining:
“…have any of the structural problems facing the developed world’s economies been solved? My answer is no. Has the average person put even 5% of their money in physical silver? No. Are savers being compensated for inflation risks, or is the Fed raising rates? Both no. From these answers, it is safe to say that the silver bull is far from over. The silver price rise (at least so far) is not about industrial demand. It is about people making a start toward redefining the nature of money, wealth, and savings. This redefinition- believe it or not- has only just begun.”
http://financialsense.com/contributors/ryan-jordan/the-bubble-with-a-silver-lining
Save, Invest, Speculate, Trade or Gamble?:
“…It’s almost metaphysically impossible for “everything†to be expensive, if for no other reason than that it raises the question: “Relative to what?†Nonetheless, we’re in a genuine economic and financial twilight zone, where nothing is cheap and everything is high risk. This is most unusual because there’s usuallysomething on the other end of the seesaw.
…You have to decide – basically right now – how you’re going to play your cards over the next few years. If you don’t, you’re going to find yourself acting in an ad hoc way in what will be a chaotic situation. If that’s the case, you’re likely to wind up as financial road kill.
There are basically three realistic actions available to you: saving, investing, and speculating. I urge you to burn the distinctions into your consciousness. When people don’t fully understand the words they use, they can’t understand the concepts they convey; the result is confusion.”
http://financialsense.com/contributors/doug-casey/save-invest-speculate-trade-or-gamble
Comments….. Russ Says:
    Years ago researchers did tests on the electrical conductivity of various metals and rated copper 100% but then later another researcher discovered that their tests did not include silver causing him to redue the tests that resulted in rating silver 120%. Now industrials can draw a fine wire from one troy oz. of 999.99 silver that’s 50 miles long. Therefore, it will be quite some time until silver is replaced from present uses…in my opinion.
    Once the rest of the world catches onto the importance of gold as the monetary mental of choice such as is now happening with the awakening of the Chinese population by their government, my position today is that gold shares will skyrocket to untold levels in price, because the extreem shortage of above ground gold will become so evident that all mining operations will be needed to meet the overwhelming demands for Au (gold). Nobody can begin to immagine what this demand will be like but we do know that the Central Banks are way out ahead as always of the masses in their purchases of gold that underlies their future. If you can find a copy of the book by Dr. Franz Pick who, prior to his death was the worlds’ formost currency expert, The Triumph Of Gold, you might begin to invision a little bit of what he’s tried to tell us but the bottom line here is that words mean almost nothing until they are translated into human experiences. John Exter has also tried to help us invision this change with his picture of the inverted pyrimid with gold resting of the bottom apex; while all other paper related assets rise above that apex. It’s not till all the other layers above the apex try to get into the gold apex that humanity will realize what Mr. Exter said when he said: “There a war going on between paper I owe you nothing money and gold money and gold will win in a bigger and better way than anybody has ever immagined!” There’s a saying that goes like this: Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold!! As long as Helicopter Ben keeps printing the upper limit price of gold is definitely infinity. During the German Weimiar Republics’ hyperinflation gold went to 86 trillion paper marks per troy oz. By the way, due to the German hyperinflation between 1913 and 1923 German mortgages, due to everyone selling everything they had to eat, sold for one US penny. A loaf of bread was pegged at 300 billion paper marks!! Nobody there then could afford cake!!
Russ, California
He left out one of the most compelling bullish factors for silver- that fact that it’s been manipulated on the short side by big banks holding concentrated positions to the tune of 25% or more of annual production.
Now that the Frank/Dodd financial reform bill is law, and lawsuits have been levied against the commercial shorts, silver’s glass ceiling is about to crumble.
A must read article, and must watch video, both explain why EVERY American should be loading up on PHYSICAL SILVER:
1) The Silver Bullet and the Silver Shield
http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/02.11/silvershield.html
2) Crash JP Morgan – Buy Silver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN0rcNJXFfI
Physical silver will continue to outperform gold over the next decade. Physical silver is a better investment than gold, long-term. Buy 1 oz. silver bullion coins/rounds, and 10 oz. bars/ingots, for prices closest to ‘spot’. If possible, pay cash, through a local bullion dealer. If there are none in your area, you may safely buy silver bullion online. I personally have had great success/prices/service, from all the following:
1) Golden Eagle Coin & Jewelry
2) Scottsdale Silver
3) Quality Silver Bullion
4) Lynn Coins
You may also wish to compare prices with any or all of the following:
1) Provident Metals
2) Monarch Precious Metals
3) APMEX
I store my PHYSICAL SILVER in a safe-deposit box, at my local bank. I pay a $15 annual fee. If you cannot afford a high-end home safe, or do not have property on which to bury your physical silver – a safe deposit box at your local bank vault – is the safest option.
“The single most important thing any human being can do, anywhere in the world, right now, today – is BUY SILVER. EVEN IF ONLY ONE OUNCE, OR TWO. BUY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AFFORD. IF 100 Million human beings buy one ounce of silver – the central banker parasites are FINISHED. And, humanity can go back to living as God intended them to live – in FREEDOM.
The Silver Bullet and the Silver Shield http://dont-tread-on.me/the-silver-bullet-and-the…
Crash JP Morgan – Buy Silver (Episode 96, Keiser Report) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN0rcNJXFfI
I’m a Crazy Silver-Bug…Why Aren’t You?
(or, 33 reasons to buy silver, instead of gold…) http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/597.cfm
‘LET’S GET THIS GLOBAL PARTY STARTED’ – Max Keiser, 2010
source: http://www.thelibertyunderground.net/2011/05/ron-paul-both-parties-are-controlled-by.html
Watch ‘The Best Documentary of 2010′ – “The Secret of OZ”, to understand how the European Central Bankers took over the United States, in 1913, and realize, that by buying SILVER, we may be able to take our country back…
The Secret of Oz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkq2E8mswI
What went wrong in America? This Video Provides The Answer
http://www.stampyourcash.com/
What went wrong in America? THIS book PROVIDES THE DEFINITIVE ANSWER
The single most important book – that every American should read – SOON !
Psychological Warfare and the New World Order: The Secret War Against the American People
http://www.amazon.com/Psychological-Warfare-New-World-Order/dp/0932367232
Yes, both technical and fundamental indicators suggest silver price higher, $44 can be possibly seen in coming months.