O.K. I plead complete ignorance, but I can't be the only one who has no clue. My preps are in place and I feel fairly confident that my family won't be hungry, thirsty, or cold. Now I am ready to think about money - and to be honest, I have precious little left. Here are my questions...

If you had about $3K to buy gold and silver, exactly what would you buy - why - and where?

Deb

-- Deb (cannottell@somewhere.where), September 30, 1999

Answers

Go to ajpm in Portland, Oregon, and buy 3k worth of 1/10th ounces of us gold eagles. Be quick.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 30, 1999.

Andy you are back! Gold seems to be holding steady at $300. level. Let's hear what you have to say.

-- Bill (y2khippo@yahoo.com), September 30, 1999.

Link here Deb

http://www.ajpm.com/htbin/gold.cgi

Bill,

It's playing out as I suspected, though of course I had no clue that the 15 European banks would gang up and attack the dollar and yen like they did.

hardball time - buy physical now, as much as you can comfortably afford. Most important - TAKE DELIVERY!!!!!!!

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 30, 1999.

Hi, Deb. If you have all your preps in place and if you have some cash stashed, then it would be sensible to buy some gold coins. Think of the cash as money you will use on a daily basis, sort of like a checking account these days, and the gold coins as a savings account, a way to preserve your wealth, to get it through the Y2K period. Hopefully you won't have to touch your gold during the bad times.

The thing to get is U.S. Gold Eagle coins. They come in 1 oz., 1/2 oz., 1/4 oz., and 1/10 oz. denominations. The coins cost a small premium above the price of gold; each coin seller may have a different premium rate so the best thing to do is to call around to all the coin dealers in your area if you live near an urban area with several dealers. Call them one right after another so their quotes will all be off the same (or nearly the same) gold price. You might ask them how much of a premium they charge.

Right now the price of gold is around $300 per oz. so a 1 oz. coin should cost around $315 or so. If you add $150 to your gold purchase money, you can buy ten 1 oz. coins. The smaller denominations have an increasingly higher premium; the smaller the coin the larger the premium percentage. If you think you may have to spend some of the gold during Y2K, then you might want to have smaller denominations in order to buy smaller items; it may be difficult for someone to make change on a 1 oz. gold coin, although I think people will find ways to handle this.

Hope this helps. I expect the price of gold to continue to rise (with the occasional price correction), so it would be wise to buy your gold as soon as possible in order to get the best price. If you need more information on Y2K money and gold questions, see my website at www.y2ksurvive.com.

-- cody (cody@y2ksurvive.com), September 30, 1999.

With only 3k available, I'd go with junk silver. It is recognizable & will likely increase in value (as a percentage) more than gold. Buy dimes and quarters, spend about $2,000 on this. Then set aside about $500 in post 1964 coin, penny, nickel, etc. Then set aside the remainder in bills not larger than $10 (1,5,10). I do not believe that the world will instantly convert to gold on 1/1/00. There will be a transition period and multiple forms of money will be needed if you intend to transact business of any kind. IMHO.

-- enough is (enough@enough.com), September 30, 1999.

Don't forget to buy some lead (in the form of bullets). They hold their value, good barter item and useful in the coming chaos.

-- Bill (y2khippo@yahoo.com), September 30, 1999.

I agree with Enough is - - - Buying silver (Pre-1964 Coins) will give you a fairly big bag of coins to use, (probably more than one-thousand) as oppossed to a much smaller # of Gold coins. Don't delay.

-- Gregg (g.abbott@starting-point.com), September 30, 1999.

Andy and others,

Give us some more reputable places to buy junk silver and/or gold.....

Much thanks!!

-- Vernon Hale (create@premiernet.net), September 30, 1999.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm nervous about sending a check/money order and then waiting 2 weeks to take delivery as it indicates at ajpm.com. Am I worrying unecessarily?

Deb

-- Deb (cannottell@somewhere.where), September 30, 1999.

Deb: Most mail order gold dealers offer immediate, insured delivery if you pay with a cashier's check rather than with a personal check. You should have your gold within a week, probably sooner.

-- cody (cody@y2ksurvive.com), September 30, 1999.

I have a question. Isn't it better to buy foreign 1/10 ounce gold coins such as Philharmonic versus American Eagle in case the Gov. tries to confiscate it? During WW1 or II (I forget which one) they did this. But I heard that they can't confiscate foreign gold. Thanks! Also, would they bother with your silver at all?

-- Debi (LongTimeLurker@shy.com), September 30, 1999.

Deb,

The mail order people--AJPM--are good. I would suggest get $1k in 1/10 of an ounce and the other $2k in one ounce. Good luck.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), September 30, 1999.

Deb,

I would follow Andy's advice and go with the 1/10 oz. coins, if you can find them, but I would go with a 50-50 split with 1 oz. silver coins i.e. $1500 in gold, and $1500 in silver. The 1/10 oz. gold coins are in short supply, so if you cannot acquire them, go with the 1/4 oz. coins. You notice I am not calling them "eagles". The Canadian maple leafs are also a good investment, and if they are available, they are just as good as the eagles.

BTW, avoid the hype over the pre-1933 coins. There is a bunch of bunk saying they are non-confiscatable. That is crap. If TPTB decide they want everyone's gold stash, they will collect ALL of it... period. The premium on these coins is entirely too high. It is a scam, IMHO.

Gold is gold. But if TSHTF, people willing to trade items for gold, which IMHO is what will happen in a post-2000 worst case scenario, will more likely recognize American gold Eagles or Canadian Maple Leafs. If you have a handful of Philharmonics, or French Roosters, etc... you might have to pay MORE for the same barter item, because of mistrust of your coinage.

buyer beware...

I feel like a golden retriever...

The Dog

-- Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), September 30, 1999.

DEB asks: I heard that they can't confiscate foreign gold

No, Deb. They can confiscate ANYTHING THEY WANT TO, including numismatic or collector coins. When you are told they won't, it is simply because it was a historical precident when the confiscation occured in the 1930's. The public was allowed to keep their collector coins which typically cost over 20% more than non-numismatics.

The good news is, we are in an altogether different situation now. Our dollar is not gold backed like it was in the 30's and there are a number of critical issues on the table with regard to possible future confiscation.

My opinion is that gold will once again be 'forced' back to the forefront of what money really is and be used as such.

I am not personally worried about confiscation and the only people who should be concerned is the populace that still trusts their government.

-- OR (orwelliator@biosys.net), September 30, 1999.

Thank you so much Or and Dog for answering my questions. One more question if I may dare. I believe Y2K will be 8+. Am I better off buying 1/10 Silver or bag of pre 1965 silver for $1,500? Also, I am Debi (different than Deb) asking these questions LOL. I am a different person than the above Deb. I guess it must be Deb Day for asking Gold questions. Hi to the other Deb. Sorry I am using a similiar name but I was born with it too LOL. I guess I'll have to use my middle name with it to differentiate us when we post on same.

-- DebiJoy (LongTimeLurker@shy.com), September 30, 1999.

Hi to you too Deb! I'm interested in the answer to your latest question also. But I have another one. I just talked to my brother- in-law. He seems to think that I should buy from a local dealer even though I will have to drive quite a ways out of my way and pay $15 an ounce more. He said that this way I can pay cash and there will be no record of the transaction. He said that by law, the mail order dealer will have to report the transaction to the feds if it is over a certain amount (but didn't know what the amount was). Is that true?

Deb

-- Deb (cannottell@somewhere.where), September 30, 1999.

Deb, Glad to meet you. We Debs have to stick together with our queries LOL. Another one I would have is...I bought some Gold 1/10 Philharmonic (although now I would buy Maple Leaf or Gold Eagle after answer above) from Monex. I was happy with them. But the above folk are recommending AJPM. Wonder if they know something we don't. Recommendations appreciated. I myself, would probably pay a bit more for local if it was not reported. I just am lazy and don't know where to go local for myself (live in rural VA). Let's see what the big boys have to say. I know I speak for you too that we both sure appreciate the advice they are giving us. Also, is it better to barter with pre 1964 silver or 1/10 silver? Gosh, so many questions, so little time.

-- DebiJoy (LongTimeLurker@shy.com), September 30, 1999.

The only denomination of pure silver coin is 1 oz. You can purchase junk silver dimes (pre-'65) and they are 90% silver. They are a little less than 1/10 oz. To me, one or the other, it does not matter... I personally like the 1 oz. liberty coins... but then that is strictly a cosmetic preference. I have both, along with silver quarters... Regarding the record of transaction, the only record is if you SELL more than $10,000. worth at one time. That is another false rumor that floats around.

I have had good luck with the Washington Square Coin Exchange in Ca. But I buy locally mostly. Look in the yellow pages under "Coins and Collecting". I noticed that coin dealers typically GI, by the way.

I don't have Washington Squares website handy, but I will send it in another note...

good luck... and as always, buyer beware...

I think I AM a golden retriever...

The Dog

-- Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), September 30, 1999.

Washington Square Coin Exchange website.... Linkmeisters???

http://www.wscoin.com/SpotMarket.cfm

tail waggin...

The Dog

-- Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), September 30, 1999.

I've dealt with AJPM a number of times, have referred them out to others, who have also reported quick and discreet service.

Ask them about the 10k reporting requirement and how secure their transactions are from govie snoopers.

http://www.ajpm.com/

-- OR (orwelliator@biosys.net), September 30, 1999.

Deb & DebiJoy: Do you girls like to mudwrestle?

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), September 30, 1999.

Your friendly federal and state (U.S.) governments have made buying and selling gold rather dangerous and expensive unless you deal in cash for both buying and selling.

You can buy anonymously from anyone, in cash, if in person. But when you sell back (to a dealer), it's "your papers, please." Buying gold coins in states with sales tax (at least in California) means paying an additional whopping ~8+% (~$25 on a $300 coin).

Now, buying by mail order can be OK, but do you really want a record of your address on file? BTW, the USPS can and will scan "suspicious" packages. If you have shipped UPS or Fedex, then UPS or Fedex PERSONNEL have a record which could enable an unauthorized visit by an employee some night.

Ah, but I'll get a mail receiving service, you might say. Well, now (latest USPS regs) to get mail through a CMRA, you have to furnish PHOTO ID and PROOF of residence. So there goes your privacy there, also.

Ain't it great living in a free country? (Please all you flag-wavers, don't give me crap about going elsewhere. This country has declined to the level of many other countries, whereas it was ONCE the greatest. No more.)

Now, what I'm doing for in-my-midnight-garden metal is buying for cash, and biting the bullet on the sales tax. I'll worry about the fascists' requirements for selling, later.

I will be going to a no sales tax state within a few weeks, so if I have any money left, and the price hasn't already gone through the roof, then I'll get some more, and store there, also.

-- A (A@AisA.com), October 01, 1999.

LOL KoS! Back in my more adventurous days I actually did mudwrestle once! Once in a lifetime is enough though, so I think I'll pass.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. I have decided that peace of mind is worth the inconvenience. I will be buying locally tomorrow, in cash. I have decided on 2/3 gold, 1/3 silver.

Thanks again!

Deb

-- Deb (cannottell@somewhere.where), October 01, 1999.