Pardon if this has been discussed before, but when bullion coins are sold back to a dealer is the sale reported for tax purposes?  It is my understanding that American Gold Eagles sales (any quantity) are NOT reported to the IRS.  Regarding Krugerrands and others, reports are filed on sales of 25 co...

Thanks for the input.  All very good ideas and once again, tinkering with the PP probably defeats it's overall usefulness.

I can see now why the idea would be of no benefit even if held in a tax deferred account.  Like most, I guess I'm just too predisposed to "looking for a better way".

I am pretty sure that this exercise would not be worth the trouble. As much as possible, we want all the buying and selling in the PP to be driven by rebalancing events.  That's where we get our gains. With that said, I'm pretty sure the plan you are describing wouldn't hurt anything (assuming you ...

Based on recent posts I'm going to sell my TLT and buy treasuries either through TD or Fidelity.  I can see advantages to each.  Fidelity for convenience, TD for lack of counter party risk. If one were to buy through Fidelity (on the secondary market), a 25 to 30 year maturity 5 year ladder could be...

What about a short term treasury fund like Vanguard?  Still looks like it might take a while to recover funds. Assuming one buys individual US short term bonds (2 years or less), new issue or on secondary market, held in a brokerage account, it might be as difficult to liquidate as a bond mutual fun...

amp wrote: We could get drunk and compare the size of our PPs.   ;D

That, while wearing leather chaps, might not be a great idea here in Texas.  Well..............maybe in Austin.

craigr wrote:

TripleB wrote: How about this instead of the $170 fisch tool?

http://www.goldcoinbalance.com/

That is very cool. Looks like a simplified version of the Fisch tool. I ordered one and will post a review. Thanks for the link.

Craig,

Any review for us yet?

I have heard that tungsten is a popular filler for gold bars. However, something about its properties makes it harder to fake an intricate gold coin. Perhaps it is too brittle. One more reason to stick with American Eagle coins... Well, I think the biggest reason to stick with American Eagle coins ...

How about this instead of the $170 fisch tool? http://www.goldcoinbalance.com/ I would sure like to hear from anyone who has tried this tool.  Considerably less then the Fisch tool and somewhat less than a cheap pair of digital scales.  However, since I already have a pair of calipers I'm consideri...

Well said MT! I have spent several years over at the Boglehead Forum.  There are a lot of financially savvy folks over there, but I've seen many ugly discussions over slice and dice vs. TSM/TBM.  Once you get out of the comfort zone of these concepts, you are labeled a heretic.  In viewing other typ...

Clive,

Thanks for the explanation.  Very interesting.

As an aside, what did you use to make the graphic included in your last post?  For the graph how did you designate which positions would be dedicated to the PP and which to FTM.  I would like to use this to monitor my holdings.

An equal blend of Larry Swedroe's Fat Tail Minimisation and the PP has had similar risk/reward characteristics since the mid 1920's, whilst reducing both gold and LTT holdings down by a half. 7.5% Small Cap Value, 7.5% Emerging Markets, 12.5% TSM, 12.5% Gold, 12.5% Long dated T, 17.5% TIPS, 30% ST....

I too vividly remember Mr. Ferri's remarks.  IIRC in that thread were many of his supporters casting aspersions at the mere ownership of gold when used in the context of the PP.  I see very few threads over there regarding gold anymore.  I often wonder why??

As for the politicians, a society cannot ask its politicians to be more enlightened than the general population.  That's one of the many problems our country is facing--we are living in a collective fantasyworld fueled by successes in the distant past, like the aging athlete trying to regain past g...

Thanks.  That's what I'm looking for.  Just can't find how to get there from the main page.

Under the 2009 results; at the end of the data for the PP components it states "2008 End of Year Result: +7.8%".  This must be a typo, as I assume this is year end results for 2009??

A couple of years ago I ran across a spreadsheet of Craig's that showed annual and cumulative returns for the PP over many years.  This even broke out annual returns on each of the 4 components. I have not been able to find that data again.  Also, at the time the data went through the end of 2008.  ...

I agree with Craig.  What I've done is use digital calipers and a digital scale for verification.  As long as the width, diameter & weight are accurate, I'm comfortable.  I've done this test on every gold coin I've purchased--even though they were purchased from reputable dealers.  It just gave...

I've had good results from Tulving.com but think I will shop the above dealers on next purchase.  I owned Krugs in the past and felt comfortable but mixed with Eagles may be a good option. Not to change the hijack (but since I started it anyway) when does the dealer "reporting" go into eff...

Not worth it to spend $5 more on the new ones?  I did on my last purchase and they were shiny.  Problem is if you ever sell them they are going to be bought as "old coins" regardless of the dates or new condition.

Why "no" on the Kruggers?

Gold American Eagles sell at a small premium over Krugerrands.  Brand new Eagles sell at a small premium over "our choice of dates" Eagles.  Which one of these 3 is the best to hold given the pricing differential?  These would be for long term buy and hold.

I'm sure this may have been covered here or on the Bogleheads thread but what moves the price/rates of the 30 year bond?  I know ultra short rates are controlled by the Fed, and that trickles on up to intermediates, but seems there are other factors that pertain to the long end of the curve. Also, a...