I know some on this forum will be loath to respond or offer their two cents worth (since their worth is assuredly more than two cents) on a comment of nothing more or less than practicality. After all, responding to or commenting on the following requires no harurumphing, posturing, chin-in-hand pontification on the philosophic ramifications of Y2K. Nor does it require Bartlett's at the elbow... often without attribution. But, as a practical matter on Y2K preparation, for those so inclined, the price of silver continues to climb. In less than a week, it has gone from a spot price of $4.94 to $5.27 an ounce. Gold, also, is climbing, though not as quickly as silver. For the tweedy types with patches at the elbow, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

-- Hiyo Silver (spotprice@silver.com), January 12, 1999

Answers

Yes, and "junk silver" pre-1965 90% silver US coins are going up even faster. Lately, a "bag" of $1000 face value has been going up 3% per day! I understand that this is entirely due to those preparing for Y2K. As of the close yesterday, a bag now costs $5459 and is going up $160-$200 a day.

-- David Holladay (davidh@brailleplanet.org), January 12, 1999.

I've been crusing this site for a while now, I've not chosen to answer as so many do it so well. However, this putting your money into silver and gold, is a concept I don't understand. If this is TEOTWAWKI, then you have silver, and I have food. Guess who survives. If it's not TEOTWAWKI, there is a recession, prices go through the floor. Your metal is now probably worth my paper. Nothing. So why bother? Stock up on the things you can truely use, and eat, and drink, and work with. Spread the wealth now, and make yourself some friends that you can count on. This, in my humble opinion, will keep you alive and well much longer than your hoarded metal.

-- Robert (Cardinal@Redbird.com), January 12, 1999.

Robert, I agree. Somebody (North?) has already written the scenario, if I take my gold to trade for a gun, somebody's going to leave with gold AND gun.

-- Blue Himalayan (bh@k2.y), January 12, 1999.

In addition to the silver, I have the food, the water, the power source and the guns and ammunition. Anyone who questions the wisdom of having wealth available in the form of gold and silver in hard times has not studied history.

-- Hiyo Silver (spotprice@silver.com), January 12, 1999.

Hiyo Silver: Bait taken. Let me guess. You decided to take break from reading "How To Win Friends & Influence GI's"?

Robert: I don't know what the future will bring. Your 3rd sentence begins, "If this is TEOTWAWKI...". This signifies that you are not sure of the future either. I like the theory that says to hold a little silver/gold as a hedge. I see diversification as a good strategy, both pre- & post-Y2K.

If Y2K is mild, I can convert my coinage into cash easily. I don't know of any car salespersons who would accept 10,000 rolls of T.P. & 1/2 ton of wheat as a downpayment.

If it is TEOTWAWKI, silver/gold may have some value. They may not. Although the last few generations have not known silver/gold as currency, the recorded history of our species tells a different story. Perhaps as Zachariah Sitchin postulates, gold is woven into the very fabric of our beginnings.

Glad you joined us.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), January 12, 1999.

A true GI, Bingo, should understand the relevance and importance of gold and silver.

-- Vic Parker (francisco@d'anconia.com), January 12, 1999.

If it is TEOTWAWKI, then silver and gold will certainly have some value, but not until the period of turmoil is over. Showing a gold coin before the turmoil is over will probably get you nothing but dead. The period of turmoil will last until most of the really bad guys are dead.

-- dave (wootendave@hotmail.com), January 12, 1999.

Anyone that understands the true value of our current currency and understands how the Federal Reserve works is going to pack away some silver and gold along with their food storage. It's the prudent thing to do.

It's very easy for all of us to understand why it is necessary to store away food and water. It is harder to understand why silver and gold are necessary. Currencies generally die over long periods of time, over generations. Suffice it to say that once you do understand you will peg the importance of at least a small precious metals stash not too far below food.

Bob

-- Bob Benson (appysys@inreach.com), January 12, 1999.

Any commodity that has stood as a medium of exchange since time immemorial is good enough for me. That defines gold and silver.

-- Vic Parker (francisco@d'anconia.com), January 12, 1999.

"SHOW ME THE MON..., UH, GOLD!!!"

A few American Eagles in a sock makes a great cosh.

This from Canada...

"I was advised by my bank manager today that the Canadian mint can't deliver maple leaf gold OR silver coins at present and that they are not willing to give any future delivery dates either. Reason given... demand is suddenly too great.

-David"

Andy

"The conveniences and comforts of humanity in general will be linked up by one mechanism, which will produce comforts and conveniences beyond human imagination. But the smallest mistake will bring the whole mechanism to a certain collapse. In this way the end of the world will be brought about."

Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, 1922 (Sufi Prophet)

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), January 12, 1999.

Silver has been climbing over the last year, a dealer I talked to suggests it may be due to Y2K? I believe that it may will go higher before the year is up. Many people are scared. The market is over valued. Financial turmoil is still present in other parts of the world. Y2K fear adds to the mix.

Buying SOME metal is not a bad thing. Many investment advisors would suggest 5% in precious metals under normal circumstances. But I would set aside enough money to cover the basics first. Metal tends to be a little crunchy going down. Got the basics covered? Why not get some metals?

I am concerned about so much arguing I have "heard" on here. Don't we already get enough harassment from the DGI's? It seems to me that we might at least TRY to play well with each other.

-- sue (conibear@gateway.net), January 12, 1999.

Is Euro based on gold? It could get popular if it is.

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), January 12, 1999.

The main reason people are converting their money into gold and silver is to "PRESERVE" their wealth. If you have a few hundred thousand dollars in the bank, you cannot possibly convert all that money into food storage. After you have all your preparations in place and you have a large amount of money left over, it makes good sense to preserve that wealth with silver and gold. Once Y2K is over, simply convert it back into cash.

-- Eddie Pons (ponski@soft-link.com), January 12, 1999.

Gold and silver are good but what will happen if we have massive deflation equal to or greater than the inflation we have had after W.W. 2 ? If the price of metal continues to climb say gold hits 3000 dollars an ounce how will you get a good price on a purchase ? Will deflation lower the value of gold to 35 dollars an ounce ? If gold and silver continue to climb could it be so expensive no one can deal with it. How will it be devided up into spendible pieces? If america does better than the rest of the world will they ship massive amounts of gold here to purchase their needs and will this send the value of gold to the bottom?

-- Beachbum (Bebu@sable.com), January 12, 1999.

Might I humbly suggest that ammunition might be the precious metal of the future? But as a caveat, I have a friend in OZ who says many store enough ammunition to shoot themselves into trouble but not many store enough to shoot themselves out of it.

nine

-- nine (nine_fingers @hotmail.com), January 13, 1999.

Whew! I didn't mean to start a war. I now understand a good middle of the road point of view. However, I still say, when it's all said and done. When the dust finally settles, and a lot of people just aren't anymore. The time to rebuild has come, are you going to be one of the rebuilders, or are you going to be too worried about re-establishing your own empire? Survival of me and mine is primal. Superiority of me and mine is what got us here in the first place. I have no doubt that many of us may have to kill or be killed, do whatever is necessary to get through the hard times. But do we have to keep the attitudes that brought us to this point?

-- Robert (Cardinal@redbird.com), January 13, 1999.

So an alternate strategy to stashing gold and silver, would be to do as the merchants did during the California gold rush days. Sell the picks and shovels. In potentialpost Y2K days, rice and beans?

Seems a different and prudent way to add to a coin collection.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), January 13, 1999.

AAaaaaaaaaggggghhhhh! Glad we're not rich enough to worry about gold & silver coins:

Mint Runs Short Of Gold, Silver Coins: Y2K Panic Cited As Contributing Factor In Demand

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1999

By Jon E. Dougherty, ) 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

Because of unprecedented demand, the U.S. Mint has announced they are out of certain types of gold, silver and platinum coins and won't have any new ones minted until spring.

"The five coin proof set, silver proof set and premier silver proof set, and the 10 coin uncirculated set are no longer available," said the Mint in an official statement.

According to details published on the U.S. Mint Website, sales of certain precious metal coins and coin sets rose dramatically last year, surpassing the 1 million-ounce mark for the first time since 1987.

In August, the Mint said American Eagle gold bullion had sold 1,025,000 ounces compared to about 489,000 ounces during the previous year, an increase of about 110 percent.

Mint officials believe the increased demand is likely to remain high well into 1999.

"The intense interest in the 1998 sets promises to carry over into the New Year as we introduce the first annual sets containing 50 State Quarters," said Mint Director Philip N. Diehl in a press release.

Robby Noel, co-owner of the Patriot Trading Group -- a precious metals wholesaler -- said the demand for gold and silver coins has gone up sharply because of fears over the Y2K millennium bug and the prospect for runs on cash and because of the perception of instability in Washington with the Clinton administration.

"If you look at units sold in gold there is an interesting fact," Noel said. "At the start of 1998 when most people thought Clinton was toast, sales went up mainly for one ounce units As the country moved into spring things cooled off politically and so did sales."

Noel pointed out that the Mint's own figures substantiate another sharp increase in sales by mid-summer because of concerns over the economic calamities facing Russia, Asia and South America.

"Y2K awareness has also been a contributing factor," Noel said. "The smallest U.S. Eagle (gold coin), the $5 tenth of an ounce unit, started to skyrocket," and that unit is one of the most affordable. Noel said that the price of precious metals reported on Wall Street "has nothing to do with the real world of precious metals," where gold and silver are traded on paper and "players never have any intention of taking delivery." Physical metal buyers -- in this case, ordinary consumers -- who actually take possession of the metals they buy is what has led to recent shortages.

"Can the U.S. Mint keep up with demand? Maybe," he said, "but if V stockpiles are any indication the answer is no."

Current gold holdings in the U.S. Treasury are about 260 million ounces, he said, but production is also down because the prices are depressed. Consequently, he explained, there is a phenomenon occurring where gold and silver are relatively inexpensive at the retail level even though demand is high and production has fallen off.

"As for 1999, the prices (retail customers pay) may not rise, per se, however premiums could explode," he said. For example, a junk bag of silver, which should be selling for about $3,700 is currently priced at $5,600. "The price of silver has not changed yet, but the supply and demand factors have caused a huge premium increase," Noel said.

He also said the price of gold is typically very "political." That's because governments traditionally use the price of gold as an indicator of the people's confidence in their paper currencies. "The dollar is a perception of value" rather than an actual one, he said. "I have no doubt we will test this perception real soon," Noel predicted. "The Euro (the new unified European currency) is trying to sell perception after a week and it doesn't look good yet. That's good news for the dollar -- for now."
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-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), January 13, 1999.

Hi All

I love this topic because I have been collecting silver coins for a while. It is an accumlation of wealth - a place holder if you will. One can only store so much wheat, beans whatever and then has to put there extra wealth into something else. Something that will be liquid in the market. I am here to tell you gold and silver is the device that will be recognized for hundreds of year tto come. I do anticipate that the market will see silver being worth 50 to 60 times the face value of the original coin. The problem lies with the money that the gold and silver will be represented by for purchase - our present money.

-- Duane (Duane24062@aol.com), January 13, 1999.

I see three levels of personal preparation.

1. Heat, water and food.

2. Barter goods: toilet paper, matches, quarts of oil, etc.

and then if you still have money left over (I don't)...

3. Silver and gold.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), January 14, 1999.