Downsides to precious metals?

[SonicBlue03]

My stepfather has been investing in silver, gold, and the like for about forty years. He's at a point where he sees it more as passing on legacy. Mom sees it more as a hassle. Short of having a very real (and fluctuating value depending on demand and market) what are the actual downsides to maintaining value or even wealth in precious metals in today's world?

I know there's a lot of metal holders here. I'm curious what downsides you see (if any) considering the state of things.

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[Camelfilter]

As in all things investment wise: Buy low, sell high.

PM's can be a hobby.

PM's can simply be another basket for wealth. A tangible basket. Like firearms. The market goes up. The market goes down. Regardless, some folks will not sell. Just a basket for wealth, perhaps to be passed on to the next generation...

 

[ma96782]

I'd invest in the mining stock before I'd by the physical product. Just my opinion. Downside : Fake Gold, storage and weight. Then.....someone could just decide to rob you/kill you for what you have. Rrrrright......the police and the courts. Justice? LOL. But, that's really sort of another subject.

BUT......


Besides....


Aloha, Mark

 

[wjv]

Downside : Fake Gold,

Only if you buy from Billy Bob's Auto Parts and Precious Metals Emporium. . .

 

[SonicBlue03]

Seems like - especially now - liquidating to cash potentially creates more problems than it's worth.

 

[ma96782]

Only if you buy from Billy Bob's Auto Parts and Precious Metals Emporium. . .

The problem is not only limited to the guy selling on the street corner, on EBay or at the "Jewelry Store."

Aloha, Mark

 

[CountryGent]

I used to be much more of a gold bug than I am now, but we do keep a small amount of our assets in investment-grade gold, silver and in the past platinum and palladium. (There is only one mining stock in our portfolio at the present, though that isn't owning physical metals.)

Indeed, buy low, sell high. The formula I used in the past was when the economy was doing great, putting some bucks in metals. When it tanked, sell some as needed, as the fear drove the price up.

There are downsides; storage and tracking the investments is kind of PITA. Selling off stock isn't difficult these days, but it is a little more than just a few mouse clicks to dump and there are ancillary costs. And, more importantly, unlike other investments, gold and silver produce no yield from the investment. (Gold was made illegal to own in the US for some decades; this is a fear of many gold investors though, candidly, I'm not all that concerned about it.)

From the companies I've worked with I never feared counterfeit bullion. Though I'm sure there is some sleazebag outfit out there that traffics in said. As with all things, caveat emptor.

Happy investing.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

Well watch the show last man on earth they were playing Jenga with gold bricks so if it all goes down the crappa Guns and rounds is where it is at !

 

[dangerranger60]

Other than storage, and security, your savings are not earning interest, and the US government is doing everything in its power to punish people who use cash. I think the last one will be the biggest problem.
Our government wants to know how much you have and how much you are moving around. If they can force everyone to go electronic it just takes a big enough computer to track it all.
I started saving silver coins in the 60's when they were still circulating. At that time I was paying $1 an oz. Most of the silver coins I have, I only paid face value for. Right now they are worth about $27 an oz.
If I bought silver today and the price doubled, it would be because people have lost faith in the US dollar. The problem is the buying power is the same. The price of silver inflates at the same rate as the price of goods. So unless you can afford to sink a bunch of money into PMs only to get an equal amount of spending power later, its not much of an investment. But if you have money that is doing nothing now, and want to protect that cash from inflation PMs are a good answer. Good Luck. DR

 

[ma96782]

But don't get me wrong because I've also thought about doing this.

And BTW....my GF just recently showed me a picture of her sister with what appeared to be a very heavy gold chain. She said that her brother had purchased it to "hide" the actual money from his wife. My GF's sister will be keeping/hiding it in her safe. Cough, cough.

BTW.....
I believe in NOT hiding money from your spouse. Note : I'm DIVORCED. LOL.

Anyway....
I asked how does that work. OK, ok.....just say that he travels to VN sometimes. Gold trading is NOT just limited to Thailand. He returns without the chain(s). Yup....consider it as, "spending money" while he is on vacation there.

Rrrrright.....you don't want to know the other stuff.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Bon Sauvage]

I have bought gold and silver coins but never as an investment. I hold to the old catchphrase, "Buy them and pray that they never change in value."

 

[JohnnyMac]

When it comes time to bug out, you have to decide if the extra weight of the gold or the extra weight of the bullets is more valuable to carry.

 

[OldBroad44]

If you keep the gold/silver/jewels at home or hidden somewhere other than a safe deposit box it can get stolen. If its in a safe deposit box--well, in the great depression the banks failed and closed and you lost access to your safe deposit box. My mother told me that most people ultimately were able to recover the contents of their safe deposit boxes, but not for months.

What if you get accused of dealing drugs and the cops get a warrant to break into your box. Seeing the treasure they confiscate it all claiming its the ill gotten gains from drug dealing. Now they are really keen to railroad you for drug dealing so they can keep the treasure.

If you have a joint box with someone who dies your box is locked and you have no access until it is opened in presence of authorities. Now you better be able to prove the treasure is yours. Otherwise it might be claimed to be the property of the dead person, to be distributed according to their will.

 

[ThePostMan]

If you keep the gold/silver/jewels at home or hidden somewhere other than a safe deposit box it can get stolen. If its in a safe deposit box--well, in the great depression the banks failed and closed and you lost access to your safe deposit box. My mother told me that most people ultimately were able to recover the contents of their safe deposit boxes, but not for months.

What if you get accused of dealing drugs and the cops get a warrant to break into your box. Seeing the treasure they confiscate it all claiming its the ill gotten gains from drug dealing. Now they are really keen to railroad you for drug dealing so they can keep the treasure.

If you have a joint box with someone who dies your box is locked and you have no access until it is opened in presence of authorities. Now you better be able to prove the treasure is yours. Otherwise it might be claimed to be the property of the dead person, to be distributed according to their will.

yeah Safe boxes are not insured so if something happens to your box you are in trouble... I would not worry about the bank closing etc, you would get your contents, also if you are on a joint box everything in that box is owned joint with right of survivor so if one dies the other gets it banks don't do it differently now days unless maybe you are with the SWISS. And if someone you love dies you bring in a death cert and a will or death cert and wait 90 days they will drill the box and give it to you. worked at banks for a long time seen it all.

 

[ThePostMan]

with all that said precious metals are not a great investment, they are supposed to run as a counter to inflation and down markets etc. but historically they don't really. I think they are best for collecting for rarity of a coin lets say or a small part of a portfolio, but the market lays waste to PMs as far as returns go. Shiz goes down no one will want that heavy crap that you cant eat or kill with. And you can lose all your money in the market PM people say, well if you are diversified no and if it all crashes refer back to eating it and killing with it.

 

[flylo]

All the cash, stocks, bonds, IRAs, 401Ks Crypto are just IOUs from people I don't trust anymore & could all be gone at the flip of a switch that turns the net off. If the stuff hits the fan do you thing people will want a block of gold to haul around?

 

[David Sherman]

My stepfather has been investing in silver, gold, and the like for about forty years. He's at a point where he sees it more as passing on legacy. Mom sees it more as a hassle. Short of having a very real (and fluctuating value depending on demand and market) what are the actual downsides to maintaining value or even wealth in precious metals in today's world?

I know there's a lot of metal holders here. I'm curious what downsides you see (if any) considering the state of things.

I invest in lead.

 

[deerbandit]

When it comes time to bug out, you have to decide if the extra weight of the gold or the extra weight of the bullets is more valuable to carry.

More bullets will win every time.

 

[03A3Sporter]

The biggest down side to any precious metals is assuming that because they are worth something right now , they will be worth something when you actually need to use them as a medium of exchange. I have some silver and gold and I am not assuming someone would trade me a bunch of food or other essential items for them if things get dire.

All the cash, stocks, bonds, IRAs, 401Ks Crypto are just IOUs from people I don't trust anymore & could all be gone at the flip of a switch that turns the net off. If the stuff hits the fan do you thing people will want a block of gold to haul around?

 

[citizen a]

They don't pay dividends or interest, they don't really do anything. I have some PM, but not a lot.