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As you can see, the market has its ups and downs. Keep an eye on things and buy when the price is low. If you can get an ounce of silver for under $10, jump on the deal! Also, try to stay away from little known products like platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Unless you are an experienced investor, you won’t be able to do much with these metals. Platinum is an industrial material found in catalytic converters. At its all time high, it was going for about $1800 per ounce. With the auto companies in the toilet right now, that price has dropped considerably.

Now, for the scams. I would be wary of anything that seems too good to be true, especially online sales. Many people have expressed their displeasure with North West Territorial Mint. They have silver on about a four month back order. I have used them in the past, and besides the long wait for your product, I have no complaints. The biggest scams I have run across recently are the Free Lakota Bank and Midas Resources.

The Free Lakota bank is not affiliated with the Lakota Nation of American Indians. It is marketed as a bank that does not practice Fractional Reserve banking, and is trying to set up its own precious metal standard and currency. While this may seem like a great idea, don’t buy into it, it is a total scam. Their Lakota Silver American Buffalo was going for $80 per ounce when they opened up. Now the prices have come down, but it still looks fishy to me. While I agree that we need to do away with the Federal Reserve System and fractional reserve banking practices, this is not the way to go about it. Don’t do it, you’ll get ripped off.

Midas Resources has a good video on their homepage that explains fractional reserve banking to kindergarteners. If you don’t understand how the system works, you can check it out there. However, this is where the good stops. Midas has been in lawsuit after lawsuit for its shady business practices. Again, it’s just too fishy for me. There are plenty of other places to buy. Shop around.

Finally, I should discuss privacy and storage. In 1933, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, outlawing the private ownership of gold. Coins with numismatic or rare value were exempt from this as they were seen as collector’s items and not bullion investments. This was Roosevelt’s way of allowing his rich friends to keep their gold. The average man at the time didn’t have the money to invest in rare gold coins, but the rich did. Talk about helping out the working man! Anyway, gold across the country was confiscated. Gerald Ford rescinded this order in 1974, allowing the public to once again own gold. I don’t really want to get into the entire history of gold, the gold standard, and the Federal Reserve in this post. I would highly recommend looking this information up and doing a study on it for yourself.

My only point here is that confiscation has happened before, and in the time of national economic “crisis”, it could happen again. For this reason, many people do not feel comfortable making online purchases for precious metals. This leaves a paper trail that can ultimately be traced back to you. In many cities there are stores that specialize in selling precious metals. Some will give you a good deal, and some will rip you off; you just have to shop around. There are laws that require purchases over a certain monetary value to be documented by the dealer and filed with the US Treasury Department. If you are concerned with your privacy, I would recommend purchasing your precious metals in small quantities from local dealers who will agree not to take your name or print it on a receipt. They will usually charge you a higher premium on the spot price, but the privacy may be worth it.

Storage is another concern. A safe deposit box at a bank would be everyone’s first thought, but this raises one big issue. During an economic crash or a total SHTF scenerio, the government may call for national bank holidays. This is the one time you want to make sure you have your precious metals close at hand, and during a time like this, your bank will likely be closed. This leaves you with a couple other options. 1- Keep it in your house. If you have a safe or a really good hiding spot, this may be a good choice for you. Remember though, criminals can crack safes, and they know all the typical hiding places in a person’s house. That fake can of Campbell’s soup with the false bottom may not be the best place to put things of importance. 2- Keep it somewhere NO ONE but you can find it. A one foot length of 4 inch diameter PVC pipe, two end caps, some pipe glue, and a post hole digger can hide just about anything. I will let your mind do the rest of the work on that, but the possibilities are endless.

In summary, precious metals can provide stability for you and your family. Not just financially, but also mentally and emotionally. Knowing that you always have a small backup stash can go a long way in tough times. Whatever you buy should be extremely personal. Keep it quiet and keep it away from prying eyes. In the end, you can’t eat your precious metals, and no amount of gold or silver will buy food for your family when the entire town is starving. So before investing, be sure you have some food saved up. Don’t break yourself making these purchases. An ounce of silver per month will go a long way after a few years. If you want to plan for every eventuality, precious metals are a must. Be smart, and invest safe. See you at Galt’s Gulch!