What's going on with silver?

[Ad Orientem]

And the blood letting continues... Silver briefly dropped below $14.00 oz, though it has since moved slightly above that level. The silver/gold price ratio is now 85:1. Gold is also down below its $1200 oz support level.

[ochotona]

$11.90 silver! (Aspiration, not fact)

[dualstow]

ok. Never mind, in light of ocho’s edit.

$11.90 silver!

Apmex says $14.23 (1:50 EST). I guess that was a brief blip?

[Cortopassi]

I am hoping a multi-decade low in silver corresponds with my rebalancing in early Jan! In any event, it will likely be close (I hope)

[Ad Orientem]

$11.90 silver! (Aspiration, not fact)

I would not mind that on a temporary basis. But I would prefer that it not get there for a month or so. My discretionary (VP) reserves are somewhat depleted at the moment.

[dualstow]

Remember when we all used to discuss the exact composition of golden eagles and gold krugs? I don’t remember anyone exploring silver in a similar, uh, vein.

Silver eagles have a tiny bit of copper, but the wiki page doesn’t tell us about what non-silver metal is in Vienna philharmonics. Is it always copper?

[dualstow]

I had no idea that Apmex shows your whole portfolio that you bought from them. It's not merely order history. It shows the current value and the % that is gold, that is silver, etc. Nice.

[Xan]

I had no idea that Apmex shows your whole portfolio that you bought from them. It's not merely order history. It shows the current value and the % that is gold, that is silver, etc. Nice.

Eek. I'd much rather they forget they ever heard of me. Am I wrong?

[dualstow]

I had no idea that Apmex shows your whole portfolio that you bought from them. It's not merely order history. It shows the current value and the % that is gold, that is silver, etc. Nice.

Eek. I'd much rather they forget they ever heard of me. Am I wrong?

I can understand that sentiment, too. I think you can order as a guest, without logging in.

[ochotona]

So if I got a monster box of silver, and hid it in my attic, how could I armor it so that it could withstand a fire? What kind of container would I have to put it into? What is the UL designation or whatever of such a box? Could I make one? Silver melts at 1763 deg F.

Would a broken mini-refrigerator that no one wants be a place to start?

{Genuine green monster box from the United States Mint. Dimensions are: 14.75" x 8.5" x 4.5". Holds up to 25 tubes for Silver Eagle coins.}

[Cortopassi]

Attic? What happens when the joists burn through and it ends up in the basement, spilled all over? I think the lowest level of the house is more appropriate.

Fire Rating
Fire ratings are evaluated by testing to see if safes withstand varying furnace heat for specific amounts of time. For example, the UL Class 350 1-hour fire rating means that the internal temperature of the safe will not exceed 350°F for at least 1 hour when exposed to external temperatures over 1700°F. A safe may have a 1-, 2-, or 3-hour time classification. Additionally, safes will be heated and then dropped from heights reaching 30 feet to test against explosions.

[dualstow]

So if I got a monster box of silver, and hid it in my attic, how could I armor it so that it could withstand a fire? What kind of container would I have to put it into? What is the UL designation or whatever of such a box? Could I make one? Silver melts at 1763 deg F.

Would a broken mini-refrigerator that no one wants be a place to start?

{Genuine green monster box from the United States Mint. Dimensions are: 14.75" x 8.5" x 4.5". Holds up to 25 tubes for Silver Eagle coins.}

Never mind where silver melts. You don't want the plastic box melting all over it, right?
I feel like I read very recently that someone suggested a fireproof box inside a safe. I think that's what I would do.

[ochotona]

No basement. House on slab.

[dualstow]

Can you store it at that cool place you posted pics of? The place where you bought gold in the past?

[ochotona]

Can you store it at that cool place you posted pics of? The place where you bought gold in the past?

Oh, my safe deposit box at Chappell Hill Bank? Yeah, well, they ran out of big boxes, there is no room in my small box for bulky silver, and I can't upgrade to another box... I guess I could get another box at another institution, though. Yeah, for a few bucks a year, maybe I should do that.

[Ad Orientem]

Can you store it at that cool place you posted pics of? The place where you bought gold in the past?

Oh, my safe deposit box at Chappell Hill Bank? Yeah, well, they ran out of big boxes, there is no room in my small box for bulky silver, and I can't upgrade to another box... I guess I could get another box at another institution, though. Yeah, for a few bucks a year, maybe I should do that.

if you have a lot of PMs spreading them around is a good idea. I now have two SDBs at different banks. This was necessitated by my recent silver buys.

[eufo]

Obviously bury it in the backyard.

[Ad Orientem]

If I decide to do anymore speculating in silver I may just buy the SLV ETF.

[dualstow]

If I decide to do anymore speculating in silver I may just buy the SLV ETF.

Well, that fizzled out rather quickly. And I don't blame you at all. I never planned to buy physical silver, period, but I couldn't help myself. If I look at the picture enough times while checking the spot price it might as well be something that lingered in my Amazon cart. Resistance is futile.

I plan to give most of mine away as gifts, like I did with my initial order (also paltry) a couple of years ago.

It's fun to visualize how much your total wealth is in gold ounces, silver ounces, and big macs, but without cheap and convenient storage, gold is the only thing that really makes sense to have in physical. IMO. You know, some of the thousands of Saudi princes probably have rooms full of silver and gold coins. Not for me.

[Ad Orientem]

If I decide to do anymore speculating in silver I may just buy the SLV ETF.

Well, that fizzled out rather quickly. And I don't blame you at all. I never planned to buy physical silver, period, but I couldn't help myself. If I look at the picture enough times while checking the spot price it might as well be something that lingered in my Amazon cart. Resistance is futile.

I plan to give most of mine away as gifts, like I did with my initial order (also paltry) a couple of years ago.

It's fun to visualize how much your total wealth is in gold ounces, silver ounces, and big macs, but without cheap and convenient storage, gold is the only thing that really makes sense to have in physical. IMO. You know, some of the thousands of Saudi princes probably have rooms full of silver and gold coins. Not for me.

Storage is indeed an issue. But for me the problem is more that I am fundamentally a gold guy when the subject is long term investing in PMs. I like silver on an aesthetic basis. I think it is actually nicer looking than gold. But from the investment POV the attraction is purely speculative based on the current rather unusual market conditions.

[dualstow]

Harry gave his reasons for phasing it out. That’s always been good enough for me.

[eufo]

Harry gave his reasons for phasing it out. That’s always been good enough for me.

Please forgive my laziness of not looking it up myself, but what were his reasons?

For me, the obvious ones are storage and portability. It would be difficult to conceal a large amount of wealth in silver.

[ochotona]

No kidding, my gold holdings would weigh 655 lbs if silver. But that was before the boat accident.

[dualstow]

He said that gold was doing the job on its own, i.e. the job of 25% of the portfolio, and that silver was superfluous. I read this in Best Laid Plans...He also mentioned what you’ve often heard about silver being more important for industrial use than a store of value.

I wasn’t aware of Harry when he was publishing that newsletter, but I think he got everyone out of silver at a fairly fortuitous time.

[ochotona]

He said that gold was doing the job on its own, i.e. the job of 25% of the portfolio, and that silver was superfluous. I read this in Best Laid Plans...He also mentioned what you’ve often heard about silver being more important for industrial use than a store of value.

I wasn’t aware of Harry when he was publishing that newsletter, but I think he got everyone out of silver at a fairly fortuitous time.

I'm just fearful if we have a bad global industrial recession, silver could fall into single digits. I'm not a buyer