Has anyone seen the price of gold? It's up and down around US $1,000.

That's a bit rich so this panda will settle on gold's poorer cousin silver.

The Chinese government came out some months ago in a newscast promoting silver bars as an investment vehicle good for everyone. Various silver bar sizes should be available in every bank I think. Has anyone seen this? I heard they also have tv ads for this (i've never watched more than an hour of tv in China, do you even have commercials?).

What I'd really like to know how well the message has been getting out? Are they really pushing it like everyone has been saying? Can you actually get silver at your local bank now? And are people buying it? Precious metals seem to be a new concept for China. It's real money.

TIA

I'd invest in Gold, not silver. I remember when it only cost 300 bucks an ounce, wish I had known then what I know now, 1,000 bucks an ounce is crazy. People are buying it up because it's a commodity that is stable and reliable in what is a crap market. It's a good investment, but only if you buy a lot, as it doesn't gain much value in the short term, great for the long term though. I'd avoid silver.

Ah.. yeah..

Well, let me fill you in. Gold at $1000 Bri, is cheap. Just look at the US! Gold is old hat. Worried about inflation, buy gold. All things considered it is a tiny market. People there eventually will get it figured. And if your portfolio was gold this year, for the last two years, the last 10, you'd be singing.

Silver is an even smaller market and it has a dual purpose. Like Gold we keep it, but unlike gold we also use it up. In small amounts it goes into just about everything.

Is everyone happy with their cell phone? Going to buy a new one? Does everyone in China have a TV yet? More silver used up. Solar and wind are all the buzz. Silver is needed for that because the currents are so low. Hybrid cars? the same. And the hottest new batteries being considered for computers? Silver/zinc. Silver wire and the batteries will be recaptured but in most products it's not.

The US military is ramping up their nano-silver fiber t-shirts. They were meant to keep troops cool but they found it worked great as an instant dressing. Silver, a natural antibiotic, is carried into the wounds just as the bullets and shrapnel tear through the flesh (sounds great, eh?). Understandably, everybody wants one.

The demand on silver and the number of new uses is increasing. And what's coming out of the ground is not keeping up. We're using more than we produce. Silver is in deficit. It may be priced higher than gold one day simply because we NEED it. (eg. imagine silver went up 100 fold your cell phone might only go up by $6. So what? You'll still going to buy it)

The are other issues which bode well for silver. Another important one is the enormous concentrated short position held on the COMEX futures exchange by two US banks (just guess which ones!) They can't hold it indefinitely. Eventually will have to let it go. It will just get too expensive for them. In the mean time this market manipulation, silver price suppression is a gift. Silver is cheap! Buy silver!

Oh, and have you heard about the guys in China's metal recycling areas hoarding copper? They've decided to sit on tons of the physical as a form of savings/investment. It's filling up back yards all over! That's crazy! I wish I had the link.

If silver is gold's little brother copper might be their not tooo distant cousin. Gold is priced too high these people. Let's hope they do well with that and move on to silver, the poor man's gold -for the time being.

Silver to the moon!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2009 05:14PM by Silver.Panda.

Silver cost more than gold, unlikely, as it is the sparsity of gold that in part makes it so valuable, same with truffles, emeralds, and other such rarities. Also, silver is not at all rare.

Brian99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Silver cost more than gold, unlikely, as it is the
> sparsity of gold that in part makes it so
> valuable, same with truffles, emeralds, and other
> such rarities. Also, silver is not at all rare.

I imagine you were born into a household of silver servers and spoons . Reality is there is a shortage.

The Perth Mint of Australia, the US Mint have delayed and cancelled silver coins series this past year. Various reasons given but many observers point to the shortage. If silver is abundant where you are might I suggest you start collecting.

Remember, silver is getting used up. China and India are growing, demand will continue to increase. Already in shortage, a continuing silver deficit (this is tentative), and growing demand. I love gold, wish I had more, I'd trade if for silver.

This is your opinion, however I said Silver is not "rare" I did not say it was "abundant" but it is not rare by any definition. You need to improve your English big time.

As for silver running out, such materials are constantly recycled and reused, and put back into service anew. As for there being a shortage, if there is it is more to do with people who have large stockpiles of it not selling, so as to drive the price up.

No, afraid silver is not rare, it is however in demand now, hence those who have large stockpiles, corporations and private individuals who in the past bought it as an invest, will hold onto it for some time longer to validate such a lengthy invest period. Many companies have large stock piles dating back 30, 40 years, as silver was once a smart invest, and is again. trust me, any shortages you perceive are created ones, not actual ones. Take care

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2009 03:39PM by Brian99.

Ah.. I thought we were expressing ideas not nit-picking vocab.

Sorry Brian.

Not ideas were talking about, but solid prove able facts, hence if your wording is wrong, and puts across the wrong facts, you should expect it to be corrected. Not nit picking at all, simply clarifying and clearing up where you were mistaken, however you may feel free to call it whatever you like, as the reasons and motive behind what I said are open to interpretation.

I must say, there are so many non native speakers on this site that the usage of English here is rather "flexible" shall we say, when it comes to meaning and interpretation. Too much so if you ask me, makes it rather hard at times to have a conversation.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2009 03:46PM by Brian99.

Brian99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not ideas were talking about, but solid prove able
> facts, hence if your wording is wrong, and puts
> across the wrong facts, you should expect it to be
> corrected. Not nit picking at all, simply
> clarifying and clearing up where you were
> mistaken, however you may feel free to call it
> whatever you like, as the reasons and motive
> behind what I said are open to interpretation.

Them's fightn' words.

> I must say, there are so many non native speakers
> on this site that the usage of English here is
> rather "flexible" shall we say, when it comes to
> meaning and interpretation. Too much so if you ask
> me, makes it rather hard at times to have a
> conversation.


Brian, you crack me up! But I'm here for ya man! if you've got an ear.

Search engine's not working for ya there? Here, allow me..

I do a bit of reading. I print it all out minus links and everything else, so this isn't from my regular stack.

A tiny Market
[silverstockreport.com]
[silverstockreport.com]

Production 2009
[news.silverseek.com]

Cell phone recycling
[www.eoearth.org]

Deficit Silver
[www.gold-eagle.com]

I haven't mentioned silver leasing yet. People are sold paper thinking it corresponds with some actual silver.. somewhere. A single bar may actually have many owners. There are many ways to own silver. Best is to first make sure you've got some physical in hand.

Silver Leasing 101
[www.24hgold.com]
[www.metalsleasing.com]

After being called a stinking liar Bri, you ask me to trust ya?! Ha-ha!! Right, well, those are my links. Now show me these companies that've been packing silver for like 30, 40 years! LOL! Their shareholders would eat them alive! Gold has been unpopular. Banks don't like. They're always bad mouthing it. And like where would they keep it anyway?! Ha-ha-ha!

Kitco is good
[www.kitco.com]

And GATA has something important to say
[www.gata.org]

Cheers!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2009 06:32PM by Silver.Panda.

No one called you a liar, and people who stock pile commodities don't generally advertise this fact, would make it much harder to wield any control of the market. However you are rather naive, likely you think diamonds are rare as well. Diamonds are more rare than silver, however in truth they are not rare at all, instead they are merely stockpiled by a handful of diamond dealers who control the supply. If they did not do this, the myth of diamonds being rare, and therefore costly, would go right out the window. It is no different for ant commodity that in truth is not rare at all, like silver.

You can feel free to do all the research you want, what I am talking about is simple business, logic, and common sense. I'd suggest you do a study of metallurgy as well as mineralogy, you will find that silver is not all that rare.

The big diamond wholesalers deny they stockpile their product and thereby control the market, however everyone knows this to be true, it is no different with silver, believe you me. I'd suggest a stiff dose of simple common sense, because if you need graphs and studies to provide it for you, you will never have it. Bye

Ha-ha-ha! I called your bluff! Loser!

Every commodity is different. You know diamonds? I know a bit about Silver. I started hauling my first JM bars back from the bank when I was like 10 or 11 years old. I've done alright thanks.

Christmas is coming up. I always tell people to shy away from Franklin Mint. Their premiums are high and you'll never get that money back. I got a tiny trinket one year as a kid and a bill every month after for the next in the series.

Silver coins are great gifts. The Chinese New Year coins put out by the Canadian and Australian mints are popular worldwide and easy to trade.

And is silver fun? You bet! Have a friend hold a silver coin in cup of hot tea. Tell him it's good his health, hold it by the edge. Almost in an instant you'll see him jump back and drop the coin! It's a good laugh. Ag transfers heat very, very quickly. To have even more fun to pull out some ice cubes!

So, are you in China Brian99? My question about silver bars in banks there still hasn't been answered. Have you seen it? Is it being promoted?

tia

Name calling, the last resort of the desperate, how sad you need to stoop to such low ends. Bye.

Come on back any time partner!


And bring your silver spurs..

Here's the video of silver bars being pushed on CCTV btw.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2009 07:05AM by Silver.Panda.

Gold up $30, Silver up 85 cents on the day!

I knew there was something getting me up early, besides the cat (lol).

The article linked below explains Silver better than I. It's all one place and just out today.

$17.21/oz -and the sun is shining!!

Silver set to Soar as it did in the 1970’s

- Silver Remains Very Undervalued
- Why Silver is in a Bull Market & How High Could it Go?
- Is Silver about returns or a hedge against inflation & systemic risk?
- Silver: Declining Supply
- Silver: Increasing Industrial Demand
- Silver: Increasing Investment Demand
- Silver Undervalued Versus Gold
- A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
- Conclusion

The Canadian Mint is something else. This is probably the nicest silver coin I've ever seen.



Canadian Mint

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/2009 06:15AM by Silver.Panda.

A silver brick is heavy as f**k!

Guestpass0001 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A silver brick is heavy as f**k!


Let's hope you've got at least a couple to knock together. Throw an ice cube on one of them. You'll see it liquify in seconds.

I've now heard that China has actually set up kiosks, or outlets of some sort in Beijing for silver. Can anyone confirm this?

Actually, I do have a couple of brick-sized ones (from inheritance). Yeah, they fetch a fair amount and are a hedge, but honestly, I don't think too much of them because they are unwieldy and I'm just not a silver bug.

In China, I really don't think large amounts of silver is that great of an investment, because one, silver is cumbersome and attracts criminals, two, one needs to hide it or put in a safe place and keep it a secret, three, try finding a market to exchange and get a fair rate and you'll let out your secret and expose yourself to criminals and rip-off artists, four, silver has rallied for some time now so you're not getting it cheap (yeah, it could go up significantly higher but it isn't cheap and it would have been smarter to bulk up during the 90s and early 2000s), five, that's why the government is interested in selling off some of their supply because it's a good time for them to sell their excess. Yes, in my opinion, it has just about started reaching the point of becoming a seller's market (and probably for at least another 9 months, a year or two, when Fed raises interest rates and strengthening the dollar and when central banks and governments around the world pull away from their stimulus programs) because demand and price have become irrational from a lot of late-comers and speculators.

I think it's easier, safer and smarter to just trade a silver exchange traded fund or a mining stock from somewhere around the world. You avoid above reasons 1 - 3, and you could trade as much as you want all day or hold it as long as you want.

Also, the beautifully designed silver coins like the ones above are to attract collectors and stimulate public desire as central banks profit from selling excess silver inventory. Once you have them, you'll soon realize how difficult it is to sell them at a fair price. Furthermore, actual circulating coins do not have much silver if at all these days and are made up of cheaper alloys, otherwise the coin would be worth more than its nominal value.

It's good to hear you've got some physical. There are many ways to own silver and I agree bars are too heavy.

Silver was taken out of our coinage long ago. Pre 1965 US coins were all 90% silver and are still traded as "junk" silver. It's good to have. A 1964 dime for example gets you $1.25 at today's price. When the sh*t hits the fan, it'll be ideal for buying bread, milk etc.

I just don't understand how people have the impression there is an abundance of silver. China, I've heard, has effectively halted the export of silver and gold. Halt the export of rare earth metals and that'll screw Toyota! They'll have to move to China! lol!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2009 08:48PM by Silver.Panda.

Here's a good place to find out what your coins are worth.

Melt Value of Coins

Cool. Pre 1983 US pennies are worth 2 cents!

Did the cat that wake me up? So early.. yawn.. I don't know.. yawn!

Oh, hey.. Silver's at $18.40, Gold at $1,141! Cool. Time to make some money.

Silver Prices to Hit New Highs in 2010

VANCOUVER (BNWNews.ca) 
Silver may yet outshine gold in 2010 as spot prices for the white metal respond to the prospect of a surge in industrial demand. With a little additional help from investment demand, silver may even rally into the  $25 an ounce range.
 -snip
"Prices may spike as high as $25," he says. At the very least, it should breach its most recent high, which was set at $20.79 in the spring of 2008, he adds.
 -snip
 In fact, silver inventories became so run-down during the financial crisis that it may take up to six months to fully rebuild them to normal levels. Parikh also notes that demand from the industrial sector tends to be quite price inelastic, meaning that buyers have few options other than to pay prevailing prices.

The train hasn't left the station yet. Everyone is welcome to jump on. There are many ways to either own or have exposure to Silver, Gold. Good, and now it's back to bed for me. Good luck everyone (_ _) ZZZzz..

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2009 09:16PM by Silver.Panda.

I know at these price levels for precious and industrial metals, mining companies are working hard to rape the earth for big profit, and selling contracts promising future deliveries at irrational quotes!

Silver.P, that coinflation website is kinda cool because I have a collection stashed away and I don't think about it unless I come across something to add which is rare. So it reminded me of it with info...I'll send it around, thx.