Reason number one for why storing all of your gold in an allocated or unallocated bank account is a bad idea:
A client of a major Swiss bank was recently refused access to his physical gold and had to hire attorneys and threaten to expose the bank publicly before finally getting it back in his own hands, according to Jim Rickards of Omnis.
“My inference is that that gold was not there,†Rickards told King World News. “The bank had to scramble, go out and find it somewhere before they could make good delivery.â€
Rickards expects the world will eventually go to a gold standard-backed currency.
“To me, the big issue is, is it going to be intelligent or is it going to be ugly?†Rickards says. “Is it going to be something we think about, we have a public debate, hearing in Congress … we give some thought to, and then, over time … we do it in stages†so that markets can adjust.
Unfortunately, says Rickards, we’re on “the other path,†ignoring the issue and acting as if gold plays no role in finance, “which, of course, it does, keep printing money until almost spontaneous collapse of the dollar and then, in the midst of chaos, on an emergency basis, have the president announce that we’re back on the gold standard.â€
Rickards’ advice? Get your gold out now before other banks begin following suit.
Source: Money News
When it hits the fan, and you really need access to that allocated gold you bought through a bank broker, you can be assured that it won’t be available. Imagine a scenario where the US dollar completely collapses causing panic across the world. Everyone with physical gold holdings is going to head straight to their local banker to claim and take physical delivery of their precious metals. But, like paper gold assets (i.e. commodity ETFs), the chances are slim that your trusted bank will be able to make delivery, especially if the majority of PM holders are asking to make physical withdrawals.
We’re not suggesting that you take allocated/unallocated storage completely out of your wealth preservation strategy, we’re simply suggesting that you consider diversifying even your precious metals holdings:
- Don’t keep everything at one bank
- If possible, keep your assets in different regions, countries
- Secure your gold in a personal safe deposit box (or two). Take note that safe deposit boxes aren’t always the safest way to store so keep this in mind.
- Consider leaving some of your holdings with a trusted family member. We hesitate to make this recommendation, but there is a little bit of risk involved in all methods of gold storage. It may even be possible for one to store reserve gold or other monetary instruments with a family member without necessarily telling them you’re doing so, but this also has its risks – so think long and hard before you consider this avenue.
- Get a shovel and start digging
The key, in our opinion, is diversification in all aspects. Consider Murphy’s Law and plan for worst case scenarios. When the SHTF, be prepared to lose some of your reserves and preps, including PM’s, food, and other items which you may be depending on to see you through an emergency or disaster.
Plan A is great. Plan B is even better. Plans C, D, and E will give you peace of mind.
An easy way to keep things safe is, well, a safe!
A good fire proof vault can be had for about $1000.
I keep my documents, passports, metals, and cash in mine.
Such a simple and common concept that it totally slipped my mind! Thanks for the comment dabullify!
Mac
This just in:Â The House of Reps have voted (not to vote on tax cut bill).
Got physical? Want to get physical? Naked shorts?
Comments….. LOL! And people here are afraid that government will confiscate their 401K’s? No doubt that eventually that would happen, but better yet just like Roosevelt did, make it illegal for anyone to hold gold. How would you trade it if it becomes illegal to hold it? Regardless if it’s in your safe or in the bank vault. The bank vault is the last place I would keep anything.
You see in this world there’s two kinds of people my friend – those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig. …
Truly a great quote.
I don’t like safes after watching the Cabela’s video on popping these open in less than a few seconds, especially the lower priced safes. Also if an uninvited person enters your home they will ultimately gain access to your safe through fear and intimidation i.e. open the safe or pay a price I would open the safe. What ever asset you have it needs to be readily available in case you need to go mobile quickly.
if you want your gold to be safe, bury it in multi locations.. never put all your eggs (or preps) in one location… spread the risk, so to speak 🙂
With all those austerity measures there is no need for them to forbid possesion, or to close down the bank safes.
They will make us to sell our gold slowly, in order to makes ends meet.
What a weird times we are in!!!
Yesterday in a village near Heraklion, burglars stole 20 chickens and 3 cooking pots. They also stole from a nearby house a pan along with the omelet. It’s funny or it’s tragical; i leave it to your judgment.
The conclusion is that thieves (at least here) don’t have preferences anymore.
Manos
Get a safe and a gun…don’t trust anyone, and don’t let anyone know what you have or they will tell everyone. Just how hard is this?
Isn’t it amazing that we spend much time & money digging up gold/silver only to make it safe by burying it again! It’s just that simple, unless you don’t “get it”. Big ground/little shovel theory.
Comments…..Manos: Where I live people are rustling cattle. They shoot them then saw them up with a chain saw. Ranchers are out on horseback with their rifles ready to shoot on the spot anyone caught shooting their cows.Â
You are very right Manos. Never barter until it’s time. The toughest choice is when you have no choices. Even the chickens are not safe.
Keep an easy to reach loaded gun in the safe too.
Just another option for you If you were forced to open it.
Plan E looks pretty good to me. I know how to use both.
In S.E. Alabama people do steal chickens, goats,  some cattle.  People living out from town seem to get robbed more as no one is watching near by.  Some churches and schools have been robbed.  Not smart to tell anyone what your buying, storing,  not even close friends.  Next it will be dogs and cats if people are hungry enough. Guns and ammo, food will be  priceless if shtf.  Many I know don’t buy pm’s.
Comments….. I have a little silver that I have been storing away. I put it in different places around my property. It wouldn’t be worth the money for any government to come with a crew and try to find it and dig it up. Not enough there to justify the expense.
But, then again, we are talking about the Government. They don’t have to justify their expenditures.
“Comments….. LOL! And people here are afraid that government will confiscate their 401K’s? No doubt that eventually that would happen, but better yet just like Roosevelt did, make it illegal for anyone to hold gold. How would you trade it if it becomes illegal to hold it? Regardless if it’s in your safe or in the bank vault. The bank vault is the last place I would keep anything.”
 Why are you LOL? It seems that most people “here” have dumped their 401K’s years ago & purchased the only commodities that one can store. If it becomes illegal the price will double. When they no longer have physical to sell it won’t be worth paper and become priceless. I am my own banker. A safe is a relative term. The Food Channel is on cable.
With banks being so heavily regulated, one must consider them to be an extension of the federal government.
That being said, who the hell would put their gold into their hands?
Buy it,
obtain physical,
keep it home or within reach.
“Have more than thou showest, Â speak less than thou knowest.” Â William Shakepeare
Don’t tell anyone, but those who should know, about your PMs. Â Â The fewer people that know, Â you have gold/silver, Â the better.
Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
The bankers were the goldsmiths of days gone by. Why would any logical reasoning human being think anything has changed. Deposit your gold and if the bankers know about it, you can figure they will leverage it, trade it or loan against it.Â
Never forget the new and improved types of deposits. Time and demand. Now days, even large checking accounts are slipped into the time deposit category along with savings deposits. Hence the notification period for large withdrawls.
Â
Trust whomever you want. My definition of trust requires intimate knowledge of what will the to-be trusted entity do if certain situations occur. If I don’t know, then I have no trust.
I don’t own any but I would throw it in the ocean. I’m a pretty good pitcher.
Gold will not be confiscated again. As you can see by the article, nobody seems to have very much of it. Even those who claim to have it.
Back then it was money to steal, today it is not.
Don’t worry about the corporation seizing it. Besides, most people didn’t turn in their gold anyway.  So you don’t have to either.
When the SHTF, everything will be black market anyway, most commerce will take place there and the government will be cut out of the transaction. As it should be.
i will be happy to store your silver, platinum or gold bullion in my secret unregistered bombproof lead and titanium lined secret vault located 1,950 feet under lake oaxoko in the jungles of southern mexico. i am extending this service to you because of my profound interest in the fiduciary welfare of you and your beloved family. please call me as soon as possible (no collect calls please).
if a currency crash happens bring several internal revenue service form 1099’s and mexican national security export license forms  and i will be most happy to exchange your pm’s for whellbarrows full of brand new crisp uncirculated u.s. ten doller bills as soon as possible for a minmum surcharge - no questions asked. trust me gentlemen. my former husbands trusted me to the very end. god bless their encrusted cremated soulsÂ
please hurry. because i am currently overwhelmed by storage requests this offer can only be extended for two more days.
god bless america and god bless the federal reserve ten dollar notes which are the envy of the entire world’s global banking communities.
your old friend,
mushroom
How do you know it’s day?
Do I get to keep the whellbarrow(s)?
The chocolate gold foil stuff is probably what they will pass out. Almost just as good. You know that you can eat it but it’s too pretty.
@mushroom…I’ve a large parcel of sh*t I’m sending you…
This is a no brainer! Ever hear of fractional reserve banking? Uh, yeah, its an unethical but often practiced way to steal money. Well, once a thief, always a thief. Do you really think the bank would “honest up” just because its not fake money? Fake money is easier to fractionate than real money (like gold) but did you think they wouldn’t try? Bankers, lawyers and politicians have their own code as to what is honorable. That code does not mesh with anything else in the world. Them going broke will be better than seeing them swing!
Banks see everything they hold as theirs and they don’t like giving it up. Oh, I know on the outside they act like they want to help you, however, down inside, they think you are stealing from them when you withdraw. I never keep my money in a bank. Hidden in a firesafe with my silver, mine is. The only thing more dangerious than leaving it lay out on the kitchen table would be to put it in a bank during bad times. They (or the government, which, I’m not sure what the difference really is) will take your property and not even say thank you. Don’t trust them.
A little lesson on security.
I had a friend once had some money he needed to store. He was an old timer but he saw inflation eating away his cash. So, he devised a way to store his cash in silver and keep it safe. Understand, he had a safe in the house. In it he put a few $100 FRNs, 10oz of silver rounds and a couple gold rings. He took all the rest of his money and put it in 100oz silver bars. He had 5 of them. As soon as he got them home, he took them into his basement workshop and took some sandpaper and roughed them up a bit. Then he took a hammer and dinged them all up some (but no severely). He then painted them a dingy red. After the paint was all dried, it took them ouside and rolled them around in a mudhole for a bit then took them back into the house. Once they dried from the mud, he rinsed them off.
What he did next was the most shocking. 3 of them he used for door stops. He put a couple more under the kitcen sink and then a couple more under the bathroom sink. I’m not sure how many he had. Maybe 10, but they were all over his house. They just looked like sandstone bricks. They were hanging around in plain site. He was robbed 3 times in the next 5 years. But, they never got his silver! In one story he told me, as one robber was fleeing the scene, he actually tripped on one of the door stops, fell on the ground and probably broke some ribs before he got up and ran off.
Misdirection is the basis of security. Always have stuff that looks valuable in expected places. Once they get that, they think they’re done. Buy a cheap safe. put some stuff it in. But, someplace else, put the bulk of your stuff. It does two things: 1) the thieves are attracted to the obious place and don’t go for the really good stuff. 2) they probably won’t come back if they think you don’t have much. Its a double ruse.
Security through obscurity is REAL security. If you have a safe, they will get into it eventually. Make them work really hard for very little and put your valuables someplace much more safe: in the wall or in a fake bottom drawer.
You should check out out a book called “Secret Rooms, Secret Compartments” by Jerry Dzindzeleta, copyright 1990. I believe that it is still available on Amazon. It’s based on the concept of if they can’t see it or find it …… then they can’t steal it. The mechanics illustrated in the book can be made by anyone. It will help you to think outside of the box and adapt these ideas to your particular situation.
You can always ‘stash’ a small fire resistant box up in the attic crawl space between the rafters, underneath the insulation and as far away from the access panel as possible. Most B & E boys aren’t going to root around in your attic.
Then there is always the fake wall outlet that hides a small stash box in the wall.
Trust a bankster or the government? I would much rather play in the traffic out there on IH-95 during rush hour traffic … its probably much safer.Â
Mona – If they want to they will take everything, including the fillings in your teeth.Â
As far as I’m concerned, why own something you don’t have? Have is the key word here.  The wife and I own some gold. Not a lot but we at least have it. As far as where to hide it….. Well, in today’s price, we have roughly $20,000 in gold. I could put it in my pocket and walk out the door. It’s not a treasure chest for crap sake. I can hide this in a thousand different places that you would never in your lifetime find it.   Silver, that’s another thing, but still, unless you have 500 lbs of it……which I sure as heck don’t. Not yet!
Mushroom – How do you store your stacks of tens?Â
If I had any gold I would keep it in a gold account with Johnson Mathey. Just saying, if I had any gold.
Careful or they will burn your house down. Jim Morrison is free, Wesley Snipes is not, Charles Rangel is. The Brits always know how to protest. Think your taxes are high? They will pay your ss is you live to be 90 but it won’t be worth anything.
What kind of sh*t?
Comments…..gold? hah, the only gold i have is wrapped around my ring finger and is called a wedding band. for those of you who have more of that gold stuff everyone is raving about…and banks who don’t wanna give it back…keep it with you . last week, in memphis tn. a credit union was asked for $10.00 in quarters. the reply was “all we have in the bank at this moment is one roll of quarters. this was the reply given to an 85 yr. old lady who just needed quarters to do her laundry folks. so anyway if ya can’t get change at the bank what makes you think it will be easy to get your gold when you need it?
Wow, melt down!Â
caryn, I understand. I never care what other people have. If they have more, it really doesn’t effect me. If they have less, I treat them with greater understanding (tolerance) & listen to understand. I would help that lady do her laundry, I’ve done it before. God bless you.
Wake up people. Gold and Silver is a suckers game. Why do you think they are so willing part with it. Water and food will be the new gold. you can’t wipe your behind with gold.
When shtf comes, the hold machine shuts down. The production and distribution system shuts down. Without it, markets don’t  function.Â
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Gold is most useful when you have liquid markets for exchange.  If there are any markets after shtf they will be in the streets and in disarray.
FIGHT THE CAUSE – NOT THE SYMPTOM
Join the Revolution
Read “Common Sense 3.1†at ( http://www.revolution2.osixs.org )
We don’t have to live like this anymore. “Spread the News”
Â
Don’t throw paint at my rolls because we’re having fun! We’re beautiful people too. Have a little faith, have a little faith baby. Hey, you student, bring back that hood RR figure, it’s real gold.Â
Damn them Icelanders. They never took the IMF bailout! Let them eat fish! Who do they think they are with all of that free energy & beautiful women & hot volcanoes.
During WW2 people in Germany would take wheel barrows of cash to the grocery store to buy bread and milk. The value of German currency dropped so low that people would steal your wheel barrow and dump out the cash.
You’re off about 20 years there Anonymous….it was Wiemar Germany 1922-23.  The German mark went to nothing because the Allies forced the Germans to pay WW1 reparations in gold.
Anon: Use to date a model from Iceland, so I know it’s hot women and beautiful volcanos. Just saying.
@ tn: “During the first half of 1922 the Mark stabilized at about 320 Marks per Dollar accompanied by international reparations conferences including one in June 1922 organized by U.S. investment banker J. P. Morgan, Jr.[4] When these meetings produced no workable solution, the inflation changed to hyperinflation and the Mark fell to 8000 Marks per Dollar by December 1922. ” Wikipedia says.. .
Excellent advice in this piece: you need redundency measures. Just like planes or nuclear submarines have back-up systems when one fails, you need back-up systems for wealth preservation and your safety.
Have many options to choose from. Don’t rely on one source. Here in the UK, you have many people who say stupid things like ‘it ain’t worf it to save’, or ‘I will just go on the dole (welfare)’. ‘the government will take care of everything’, ‘get as much debt as you can: the government and banks will just write it off’. That is most people’s plan in the UK: rely on welfare and the government. Those people will be in for a shock and will be very poor. As inflation increases, the government will not be able to increase welfare to match it.
Cities will fill up with very poor and sketchy people. These people will be bad to be around for many reasons: they will be poor role models, they will be passive or violent and thieving, disease will spread (look at the bed bugs thing in New York), but fundamentally losers are depressing to be around and distracting from your survival measures.