While some people invest in precious metals as an investment, preppers tend to look at is as a useful currency in the event of a dollar collapse or all-out economic crash. We tend to think of it more as “insurance.” Regardless of why you may want to own some precious metals, oftentimes the only place to get it is online.
Because of that, I have put together a guide that I hope helps those who have put off their gold or silver purchase over fears of conducting business on the internet. I was concerned at first too, but there are reputable dealers that will offer great customer service.
Online precious metals purchases are safe, but they are not cheap. If you want to make money off your gold or silver as an investment, this is likely not the right guide for you. However, if you are simply wanting some real currency for a SHTF situation, this could help you out.
GOLD BULLION
Bullion is sold in the form of bars or coins. The two easiest types of coins to buy and sell are the Canadian Maple Leaf and the American Eagle gold coins. The 22 karat Canadian Maple Leaf sells best in countries outside of the U.S., while the 24 karat American Eagle gold coin sells best within the U.S. The U.S. mint also offers the 24 karat American Buffalo gold coin through reputable dealers, which costs more upfront and is less popular than the American Eagle. Other common gold coins include the Australian Gold Nugget and the South African Krugerrand.
TAXATION
Buying your gold online could be a way to mitigate sales tax as well. Also keep in mind that by law, precious metals dealers are required to report purchase amounts over $10,000 cash to the IRS. However, they are only reporting the amount of money that was spent per transaction, not what was bought or who bought it. If you want to pay cash for your purchase, use a bank wire or check when purchasing more than $10,000 worth of gold. Banks do not report to the IRS.
FINDING A REPUTABLE DEALER
There are several reputable dealers out there, and dare I say, Amazon can be one of them. Amazon is great with returns and customer service, and if you don’t get exactly what was advertised to you, they will take care of it even if the dealer will not. Also, consider looking at www.consumeraffairs.com. The Amazon seller should be listed there, and you can ensure you are buying from a reputable dealer. The U.S. Mint also lists reputable dealers that are not affiliated with the U.S. Mint and reading these customer reviews will help you immensely. Lear Capital has some of the best reviews and is well known for its reputation and customer satisfaction.
WHAT TO AVOID
Dealers that offer free storage or delayed delivery might not be legitimate, and you may never end up seeing the gold that you paid for. Store your gold in your own safe or safety deposit box to reduce your likelihood of getting taken advantage of.
Always avoid buying precious metals on Craigslist, from online dealers offering massive discounts, pawnshops, TV ads, and cold callers.
The bottom line is that if you do buy some precious metals, and it doesn’t quite feel right, you can always sell it. You likely won’t make much, if any, of a profit, but you will come close to recuperating your out of pocket costs at least.
Hopefully, this will give you an idea of where to start if you’d like to insure yourself against an economic crash or dollar collapse. Remember, precious metals are often viewed as “insurance” as opposed to an “investment” by those wanting to protect themselves from global upheaval.
gold is the only metal worth buying.
Some good advice Mr. Mac. on PM’s
OFF TOPIC
Wife worked the ” Farm Share” at our church today where we feed hungry families. We fed 140 Families and had to turn 20+ more away because we ran out of food. Every two weekS when the church does this there are more hungry poor folks than the time before. Hmmmmmmmm?
If you can afford Precious Metals, consider yourself blessed !
(Law of gleaning.)
But, what percentage were fit for labor?
The majority were Elderly and/or Infirmed, so stop being a JO Clown Genius……I mean CW.
I was part of a similar program in a more-blue area of the country, and I appreciate that your hard work was respected.
An space no more than a small, suburban backyard, on a drip, can produce literal truckloads of food from seed!
Also, we throw away enough food to feed the world.
No *deserving person should ever have to do without.
I am not the poster, named Genius, fwiw, but will consider changing my stupid username.
I have an old friend I’ve known since I was five.
They are disabled with MS and live on a $1,200 a month SS check. They now live out of their car. I don’t know if they will survive this summers heat. Thus far WalMart lets them into the AC when the heat peaks.
There are so many Americans who live like this it is sinful.
All over America millions of people are living in tents and cars. I’ve done what I could to help, but the system sucks the life out of especially the disabled.
My heart breaks, my wife and I already help several family members. We have to be careful there are so many crazy laws. If you help a family member too much they might charge you with money laundering or some similar nonsense. It doesn’t matter that family is going hungry, the government wants to control all.
America has let psychopaths take control.
I live in Maine, which has the highest percentage of elderly in the nation. It’s largely a rural state, with a lot of poverty; and a lot of folks here struggle just to survive.
And yet — !! Maine’s largest city (Portland) is now controlled by folks “from away” –this extends to the two southernmost counties (which are the most populated): over half the people in these two counties are from someplace else (mostly Massachusetts).
And here’s the punch line: last week, the news here was dominated by the joyous tidings of hundreds of penniless immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa pouring into Portland. They are currently crammed into the Portland Exposition Building, sleeping on cots –and the Portland Press Herald (a hard-left newspaper that has never found a liberal cause that it didn’t like) ecstatically informs us that hundreds more are on the way.
You see, Portland Maine has the ONLY super-generous handout system of its kind in the entire country, and the word has quickly spread among the refugee community. People arrive here unable to speak a word of English except “Portland”. They have no marketable skills, no knowledge of how to live in a civilized society, no money or resources, and are utterly dependent on handouts.
Not to worry, though…. Portland’s mayor proudly proclaims that “no one will be turned away” and the governor (Democrat, of course) has quickly chimed in with her opinion that “we’re all in this together” and that since it’s unfair for Portland to pay for its own decisions, ALL of the taxpayers in the entire State have to contribute.
All of these refugees will be able to draw on special public funds for two full years after arriving; after that, I believe they will be eligible for ‘public assistance’ (welfare). You don’t need a crystal ball to see a future here that features a massive new permanent underclass of eternal welfare recipients with a sullen, antagonistic, entitlement philosophy. Not the immigrants themselves; but just wait until their children and grandchildren embrace the criminal / rap / ghetto lifestyle.
It’s a perverse form of racism. If hundreds of WHITE people started pouring in from Estonia or Slovenia and soaking up tremendous amounts of taxpayer money, there would be no shortage of criticism. But it’s some sort of Sacred Mission when people with dark skin are involved; and heaven help anyone foolish enough to badmouth this insanity. Such a person would immediately be excoriated as a “hater” filled with “bigotry” and “heartlessness”. I have not heard one peep of criticism for this idiocy.
There are thousands of people in Maine who already cannot afford wholesome food, or necessary medicine, or a decent place to live. Ironically, for well over a year, Portland has already been wrestling with the issue of where to build a new homeless shelter — with no resolution in sight. Not surprisingly, nobody wants dozens of drug addicts, alcoholics, and mentally unstable people living next door. (Yes, I know there are plenty of decent folks that are homeless, too…. but an awful lot of them fall into these categories.)
And now, hundreds of people from halfway around the world are pouring in because a bunch of myopic do-gooders are thrilled at the prospect of enhancing “ethnic diversity” regardless of the crippling cost. Apparently they refuse to recognize that low population density and a population that’s 98% white just MIGHT be factors in this State being a very safe place to live….. so far.
What happens when ‘hundreds’ this year turn into ‘thousands’ next year, and the year after that, and the year after that? Our “public servants” seem willing to welcome an endless flood of indigents who will absolutely bankrupt an already indebted State treasury.
No, they won’t be happy until Portland looks like Roxbury, Mass. Or Baltimore. Or Detroit. Meanwhile, the “progressives” here are pushing hard to disarm the public with “common-sense gun safety laws”. This is also an issue that we seen hammered endlessly in the Press-Herald…. no matter how many laws there are on the books, there is a perpetual cry for just a few more, and then we will achieve a magic utopia, free of violence. Except that it never arrives…. and so it stands to reason that we need even more laws, and more, and yet still more…. with a total ban on private ownership as the ultimate goal.
Current society is a nightmarish inversion of the society that I knew as a kid. When you’re not safe from the leftists in a backwater like Maine, I don’t know where the hell you can go to escape.
Completely understand the sentiment. I grew up in the south and I can honestly say that the America I grew up in no longer exists. Between the “comply or die” culture in policing and the rampant abuse of civil rights, there’s almost nothing left of this once great civilization.
Land of the free only applies to those who come from other places. If you were born here and you don’t meet the target demographics, your situation trends downward with every passing year.
There truly are only a few places left you can flee to. Check the voting history on the last election and pick something that’s deep red. I’ve even seen where Texas is being hollowed out from within. Never seen them be so close to purple in my life, but there it was. If you’re not in flyover states, you’re going to have a harsh, and direct, struggle to persevere through what’s coming.
I weep that people take advantage of compassion and generosity. Truly a shame when even churches can’t be good to people without being abused. We truly have lost our way as a people and a nation.
Seminole. All you are doing is enabling the freeloaders. “Hey everybody a free meal at the church every other week.” Got nothing to do that day, go eat a free meal. Bring the kids and dogs. Funny, exploiting those stupid do-gooder Christians. And next week, lets bring the cousins and their kids. bwhahahahaa
TSB;
Nothing wrong with asking for help just as long as you don’t make a habit of it..
agreed.
also, I would rather charities handle charity than have the government forcibly reallocate my money as they see fit to people in “need”.
TSB is an idiot.
There is need of large farms with everyone working to feed each other.
“If you want to pay cash for your purchase, use a bank wire or check when purchasing more than $10,000 worth of gold. Banks do not report to the IRS.”
Banks reportedly rob safe deposit boxes, and the wire or check would leave a data trail. You’re ultimately hoping they have bigger fish to fry.
‘If you want to p.ay c.ash for your p.urchase, use a b.ank w.ire or c.heck when p.urchasing more than $10,000 worth of gold. B.anks do not report to the IRS.’
B.anks reportedly rob s.afe d.eposit boxes, and the w.ire or c.heck would leave a data trail. You’re ultimately hoping they have bigger fish to fry.
Hey Mac,
Great topic, and I agree that precious metals are first and foremost insurance against many financial perils. Having practiced in financial services for almost 30 years I would like to point out that any transaction of $10,000 or more will be reported to the IRS and FINRA. This will include the name, address, etc. of the purchaser. In my opinion it’s better to make 10 $2000 transactions, than 1 $20,000 transaction. Doing so will also give you the advantage of dollar cost averaging, which will lessen any losses due to market fluctuations.
Just my 2¢
One other thing to note is that the American Eagle is actually 22kt gold, only the Buffalo is 24kt. (.999 Gold)
And the Canadian is the purest in the world at .9999. That 24
canadian gold.9999 pure
eagles .999 pure… u got it backwards… plus that copper tone to the eagle is a turn off. canadians and .9999 bars for me.
there is a reason gold coins are not 24 carrot
no one knows the reason
But remember also that even though the Eagle is only 22k, they’re still one full troy oz. The coins just weighs more than one OzT. They just don’t count the weight of the copper that makes the coin harder, and thus more wear resistant.
If it ever comes to using the coin as actual coinage, carrying and trading them, 22k is better than 24k. 24k is too soft to take much handling. Thats why 22k is known as crown gold. Because all the British coins were 22k.
All the pre-65 American silver coins are only 90%. They contain the full amount of silver for whatever their denomination is, but with copper added. Fine gold and silver are just too soft to withstand steady use.
s said, “In my opinion it’s better to make 10 $2000 transactions, than 1 $20,000 transaction.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuring
The larger figure is a legitimate tax write-off.
US money laundering laws will see you making 10 $2000 dollar transactions and flag you for prosecution.
Be very careful.
If you want to make a one off purchase, you might be better off doing it in one step, and just push through it.
I recently bought a car, I put down 34% and financed at 0% a two year loan for the rest. I got a call from the bank because I spent a lot. I said how the F do I buy a car without a report to the effing Government.
I read about cartels who buy multiple high end cars, a lot more pricey than my junk ride, but somehow the government doesn’t see those purchases.
The Drug trade is several times bigger than WalMart, but amazingly this industry is invisible to the US government. To
Read a book by Selco awhile back. In the Bosnian War it was better to have spare gold/silver jewelry than coins as you could always pass it off as ” My Dear dead Wife’s “. He said that coins would get you robbed as ” If you had one, you might have another in your pocket”.
My aversion to PMs have been stated over the years here.
Perhaps someone could publish how you know the quality and characteristics of Pms used in barter situations? If SHTF the internet will likely be down and if you’all have given up on Fiat government issued currency, how do you know if the gold your trading things for is any good or even real?
It would be a good prepping tip for those that value PMs.
Personally, I’ll invest in chickens
I saw a drunk and a white slaver both doing the same thing.
You negotiate a bargain, in cash, which you have no intention of honoring.
When it comes time to pay off your cash debt, you come with your poker face on. You are the only one who knew, that whole time, you have only half the money you have agreed upon.
You offer another 25% in pm’s.
You start to walk…
They don’t know the quality or characteristics of it. You make them feel desperate.
If the lights are out, there are technically a dent, streak, chemical pen, and acid test.
If the lights are on, there are numbers to run.
Whether or not the lights are on, shysters will have things to do and places to be, well before the matter can be settled as civilized, mental adults. If you have asked this question, you are not an easy mark. They will run away from you like roaches.
CW,
You’d have a very rough time dealing with me.
I place a lot of value on people honoring their
agreements exactly as written.
Anything to do with money, I always write it down
and get signatures/initials.
Same here Rellik;
In the rural area I live in locals don’t take kindly to people who don’t honor their word and try to screw others over.Back in the early 90’s a guy from
Same here Rellik;
Where I live a person is only as good as their word..
(I helped make a delivery to a liquor store, and there are drinks the color of bright lantern fuel, with graffiti looking writing all over it.)
I do watch stupid people but am not one of the vegetables.
Yeah. A written contract will be really valuable in a world lacking the rule of law.
W/O the rule of law, there’s only one way left to make a transaction. It’s called; “cash on the barrel head.” Also known as “money talks, but bullshit walks”. Or, as in SWTPM; “No money, no parts, no deal”.
A written contract is more solid in this nutty world than most else.
Re PM, buy US or Canadian coins. You get US gov protection with US authorized coins. Due to treaties, Canadian coins are next best, avoid anything China made.
If you buy PM bricks etc, the chance of counterfeits increases.
You do pay up for coins, but it is safer against counterfeiting than bricks. I read an article about gold bricks from China. They very carefully made tungsten cores to mimic the density of gold, and covered them with at least a half inch of real gold to defeat X-rays. It wasn’t until samples were cut in half that the counterfeits were detected. The Chinese had spent a huge amount of money to create world class counterfeit gold bricks. The Chinese can’t be trusted.
If the other person doesn’t know the value of precious he may well not want it. Only 2% of Americans recognize PMs as money. Then what? If you don’t have the cash you promised to keep your end of the bargain, and try to pull out, say, some Mercury dimes and claim they are worth a dollar each, you had better “watch out fer dem hogs”.
Later, all they could find was a piece of shin bone stickin up outta the mud…but the pigs looked fat and happy.
I have never seen pm’s accepted any more willingly than a baseball card or Air Jordans, in place of the money.
People with objective morality are rare in this zoo.
The dollar is not dead yet, when that changes, you’ll see. I buy small 24k coins and bars. Stockpile silver by the oz bar. Some machine and some hand poured. Silver coins are good too. Roughly 20% of what I own is precious metals. If I never get to use them, my children will.
pm for after the existing system is over
if you want the paper sell to a dealer
they will try to block that one way or another
I obviously disagree. I know the people I’ll be trading with already for the most part.
relik said:
… Perhaps someone could publish how you know the quality and characteristics of Pms used in barter situations? …
These may help some: (Read thru the comments also)
htt_ps://graywolfsurvival.com/2282/is-silver-a-good-investment-for-preppers/
htt_ps://graywolfsurvival.com/3386/collecting-silver-gold-best-idea-bartering-shtf/
I read a book written by a man that went through an economic collapse in Argentina. The gold used were 14k links of gold chain . If you had 24k coin you lost out as merchants were generally set up for the common 14K gold links which were small enough for transactions. A friends wife was in Belarus when the USSR collapsed. She said silver was not used (maybe it wasn’t because the supply was so low, no silver coinage) but gold chains and rings were always money.
This product would be good for that purpose also:
https://www.jmbullion.com/50-gram-valcambi-gold-combibar/
It’s 50 grams of three nines fine gold(24k), which is also 1.6 ounces Troy, that is made to be able to break them apart into 1 gram bars if desired. At this moment, from that source, apx. 1430 USD per Troy ounce. That’s almost ten dollars less, per gram, than buying 1 gram Pamp Suisse bars.
Who would question 14 CT gold. As long as it. Looks like gold.
Try to pass off. 18 CT gold and everyone suspects you.
A simple plastic device called the Fisch will detect any but the most sophisticated fakes.
cash is king to me. if cash was backed by gold like it used to be thatd be different.
“Remember, precious metals are often viewed as “insurance” as opposed to an “investment” by those wanting to protect themselves from global upheaval.”
As far as blue books and charts, etc, are involved, people in dire straights, and sketchy people, waste alot, in order to make things run smoothly, get the transaction over with, get you out of their personal space, get to where they are going.
People from s-hole countries will attest to this.
Big business, banking, and commodities work this way, also, imhblo.
You pay for convenience like the rolling stone.
Coming soon, before the Iowa primary: China trade mess ends and stock market zooms up 10% for that week.
US GDP exceeds 3% for FY 2020.
Gold & BitCoin fall below $1,000. and silver below $12.
Never bet against the FED.
If you have discovered an inverse relationship, you have a trading strategy, right there.
Short term manipulation crap. A smart man bets against the scum ass fed.
What? No mention of the Panda coin? It’s also .999 and one of the top 5 gold coins for investment. Maybe some of yer “insurance” could include several of these in case the trade war takes the wrong turn.
JRS,
I studied Mandarin Chinese language for two years. I also studied the culture.
In things of business, the last people I’d want to trust is the Chinese. I trust Moslems even less, but I don’t consider Moselms to be people.
I’d buy Russian gold before Chinese anyday,
but my great grandfather was in the Russian Imperial army,
so I have a bias.
I have my limits, but what ultimately matters is whether it trades. It could just as soon be a black mystery box or arcade token.
Some conspicuously foreign person with your same level of class would probably have a very relatable value system.
Yea, most of my comments are not really serious. You may have noticed. Wouldn’t bet much money on most any advice I might give…although, may get lucky and be right some day.
I have a lovely collection of .999 silver coins with naked women printed on them. As long as it’s a troy oz. I want it.
JRS,
I’d not sell myself short.
Genius and another commenter saved me thousands in Solar stuff.
I listen to Nailbanger when it comes to
tropical farm stuff( someday we will figure out how
to raise potatoes here).
Honeypot has good old fashioned advice.
Marantha(sp?) had good medical info till it was chased off.
HCKS was a real hoot and entertaining.
The only person I don’t miss was acid etch, he was pretty acerbic.
Who could forget me???
No one misses acid. I suspect he still posts as eisenkerutz as near as I can tell. Same ideology, same all caps, same insults.
Glad some of the more classy old timers like you are still with us though. I may not agree with everyone all the time but the advice is invaluable.
Too keep a few on on hand doesn’t hurt.
And I’d like to correct that the gold and silver maples are in fact the purest in the world at 5 9s fine.
I know this because :
1.) I’m Canadian
2.) A coin collectors
3.) Amateur gold and silversmith.
The best stuff to buy and invest in heavily is pre-64 us coinage. Easy to get , easily recognizable.
The Morgan and peace dollar are very popular. I use them at trade shows ect.
I’ve even payed my entry fees for archery tournaments with an 1888 Morgan.
And if the shit hits the fan and food and bullets are the coin of the land bury your stash and come get it later when things recover assuming you survive.
Is this thing on??
Relik,
Maranatha was chased off because they could not refrain from attacking other posts in order to legitimize thier own. Not to mention the walls upon walls of quoted scripture.
AB,
How’d the stove turn out?
You are right about the scripture.
I own 4 or so bibles, I don’t need,
people picking and choosing to back up
some narrative.
Welcome back!
relik,
stove works great. ive almost got my little cabin done it should work out great this winter. as ive said it is’nt for permenent dwelling , only a hunting getaway type thing.
AB did you have a good hunting season this year? Mine was dismal. The frequent rains flooded a lot of the woods and there were many times I could not get to my spot. I killed one this year. The prior year my son and I brought in eleven doe.
yes I agree since im not a Christian I don’t wish to read a barrage of religious dogma. And be told im a such and such and cannot possibly be a good moral person.
PM’s are great, however, most recognized in the US are cigarettes, booze & ammo. Anyone who asks, yes, but “I have to go to get them, they’re not here. Might take a couple of days.” I live on the edge of a large state park, stuff buries just fine & is about 5 minutes away.
In a disaster, have these in this order.
Water. A gallon a day per person, for at least two months.
Generator + fuel + oil for oil changes for thirty days. It will let you eat all you have in a freezer, or heat your house. If rationed, it can last much longer, heat is a priority in winter, as is little AC in the heat of August.
Once you are out of winter and the freezer is empty or past killer heat, running AC in just one room. You are way ahead.
Do you have long term canned food. Not a fuzzy topic, but I like to remind people that most Hotel breakfast bars serve powdered eggs. We’ve all eaten them and never blinked. Have several cases. Like a six month supply, heavy on protein. Light on starches.
Be the gray man, be well fed. Strike like a lightening bolt when threatened. Otherwise stay out of sight.
Before anyone makes the usual uneducated “cant eat gold” comment, I’ll preemptitively state the following:
PM’s are for long term storage and wealth retention for After the crisis, not during.
If you dont have enough food, water, hard goods, etc (daily necessities) then you should focus on those first. If you do, then you put your extra money into “savings” (ie- pms) and you wont have to worry about eating your gold.
This discussion assumes that you are surrounded by people who are skilled with their hands, who have useful labor, materials, or tools to barter.
Also, that the price is not pegged artificially low, within your country. Some countries pay pennies! People still scrounge, like we do for recyclables.
There’s a young guy in our town that deals in PM’s, he has a little shop.He sells gold and silver for a dollar over spot price, or will buy it for a dollar under spot. Fairer than most. Managed to stack a little silver over the last few years, just to have it. However, I place more value in food and water and survival items than PM’s.I can see the ragged hungry survivors now, trying to barter they’re last few coins for food. “But it’s a genuine U.S. Gold Eagle…..”O.K., I’ll trade you one genuine tomato for it.Maybe even throw in a chili pepper, as I’m in a generous mood today. Now get the F%$k off my land.”
You have some very serious errors in this article. The Canadian Maple Leaf is NOT 22K, but .9999. That is 4 nines, not three, which is the standard for 24K gold. So it is not only NOT 22k, it is even more pure than that, usually acknowledged as the MOST pure gold coin in the world.
Just click the link to Amazon that is provided as the words: “Canadian Maple Leaf”. The picture of the coin very clearly states: “9999 fine gold”.
Also, stay away from Amazon. Buy the same coins at Apmex, monex, provident metals, or a host of others for >100 USD less instead.
https://www.apmex.com/product/95505/canada-1-oz-gold-maple-leaf-999-fine-random-year
Been purchasing silver for the last 15 years or so from the same Gentleman. He’s been very fair and we both see things the same way regarding what is discussed here at times.
id like to point out the canadian silver maple and gold maple is the purest gold and silver on the market at .99999. the maples are over priced due to popularity. i collect coins mostly us pre 64.
so if your gonna stash pm id suggest a roll of quarters half dollars and a roll of dimes. easily recognizable its a known weight and purity. yes i collect gold and silver. the gold i pan out of the creeks rivers and streams around here. its not much about a troy oz in almost a year. nothing wrong with collecting pm. no you cant eat it it wont keep you warm but lets say your forced to run with not much hope of returning soon. my idea bury it.
assuming you survive the war, invasion, natural disaster whatever…… society will level off again commerce and trade will eventually resume. say you survive till it does youll need some form of wealth chances are your stockpile will be depleted. at least yuoll have the option of returning and digging it up giving you some chance instead of none
PM’s my ass. try and pay your property taxes with PM’s. better to not waste money on PM’s just go ahead and right now purchase whatever you think you might be able to trade them for after SHTF. I have no use for shiney metals or glittery stones at present. Why would I trade for them after SHTF? . Some shit skin would maybe kill you for them? Better to buy the makings of a still and some seeds of crops you can use to brew hooch. That is something you could give away and then kill the recipients after they get drunk if they need killing?
Forget the link to Amazon. Apmex and lots of others are cheaper for the same thing:
https://www.apmex.com/product/9/canada-1-oz-gold-maple-leaf-9999-fine-random-year
Apmex is cheaper than Amazon. check it out:
https://www.apmex.com/product/9/canada-1-oz-gold-maple-leaf-9999-fine-random-year
A precious metals buying guide that doesn’t address silver at all is woefully incomplete. Pre-64 silver coinage–junk silver–is commonly available on eBay and at low premiums.