An Interview about How to Buy Gold and Silver

Hundreds of readers have been writing to us wondering how to go about buying gold and silver, so we turned to our expert and asked him some questions.

Our contributing writer ‘The Market Man’ has been writing and spreading tips about getting into precious metals for quite a while now. He claims that for investors, as well as just for savings purposes, buying gold and silver are the best options available today. The fears of a rapid decline in the value of the dollar as well as the projected massive inflation due to the enormous budget deficits is getting people’s attention. Hundreds of readers have been writing to us wondering how to go about buying gold and silver, so we turned to our expert and asked him some questions.

Here are some of his answers.

Question: You have been very convincing and effective in finally turning people’s opinions away from the TV Spin Doctors and Wall Street “experts” and we are ready to secure our finances and wealth through the acquisition of some gold and silver, but first is there anything else you can recommend in that line up?

Answer: Gold and silver absolutely shore up your buying power and¬†preserve/increase your wealth. If you want to round out an investment portfolio, water, farm land and oil are great additions. Paper wealth is subject to liar’s figures and those figures lie. Commodities have actual true value.

Question: Okay, let’s stick with gold and silver for now. ¬†I have $2,500 to buy gold and silver, where do I start? Obviously not with bullion, so what are my best options?

Answer: One ounce Silver Eagles, which are actually bullion and true money, and they are perfect for that level of commitment. Silver is increasing in value at a much larger multiple than gold, but gold is great. If you specifically want gold, $2300 will get 2 one ounce gold maple leafs or gold eagles.

Question: So how do I go about that? Where can I actually plop $2,500 on the counter and get the value equivalent in gold?

Answer: My personal preference in dealers is one of the world’s most stable and valued… Kitco of Montreal, Canada. Go to Kitco.com to check out all of your options. They ship world wide.

Question: Okay now I have a couple of gold and silver coins, but I cannot walk into Best Buy and buy a stereo or a computer with it, so essentially I’m just investing in gold or putting my savings into gold in the hope that the $1,043 ¬†per ounce of gold or $17 per ounce of silver goes up further in the near future. Correct?

Answer: Yes, correct. My research is showing that you might expect gold to reach the $2,000 per oz range within the next 18-24 months. Silver is going into a shortage situation in the very near future. I envision a price range of $130-150 per oz in the next 2 years.

Question: Obviously I just bought gold and silver as an investment and not as a monetary means of transaction. What are the laws on using gold and silver in regular everyday purchases?

Answer: You certainly may try using the metals in that manner as there are no laws against it, but, at this moment in history it’s just not practical. Banks around the world buy, sell, and deal in gold and silver for their customers, but not here in the U.S. We are extremely backward in that respect.

Question: I heard there are substantial transactional cost involved in purchasing gold. What are we typically looking at with coins and bullion?

Answer: You should expect a commission rate between 1 1/2% – 3% at the best dealers. I have an Everbank.com 401k precious metals account that charges 1.5%

Question: So now I have physically taken possession of some gold. What do you suggest I do with it? Put it in a bank vault outside of the country? Can I insure it?

Answer: Insurance is available for “collectible” coins and jewelry, but not normally on standard coins and bullion. Off shore vaults are a good option but I recommend taking personal possion of the metal and hide it securely where you have access to it. Be sure to have one other person that you trust know its where abouts.

Question: People that are buying gold are mostly buying it for investment purposes or secured savings, do you foresee any situation where gold and silver will actually turn into a transactional currency?

Answer: The Middle East is thinking about requiring the U.S. to¬†pay for oil in gold VS dollars, but for traditional currency use there just isn’t enough of the metals available. However I do forsee some currencies being backed by gold and silver.

Closing: Well thanks for clarifying the issues surrounding gold and silver a bit. Anything you would like to add?

I hope your readers are starting to think about the metals. Now that China is asking their citizens to put their savings in gold and silver, our U.S. citizens can benefit and prosper from the dramatically increased demand for the wonderful metals. There is no ceiling as to where the prices will reach. The metals are the one hedge against erosion of your wealth that you can depend on.