Any silver stackers on the board?

[Snapolit1]

What are your thoughts on platinum? See it on eBay on occasion and have often thought about. No idea what the history of it investing or collecting wise.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

What are your thoughts on platinum? See it on eBay on occasion and have often thought about. No idea what the history of it investing or collecting wise.

I can't give an opinion on platinum as I really don't know much about it. I've thought about picking up an ounce or two just to have, but I haven't done it yet. For me, the reason I chose silver is it's industrial uses. I'm not sure what platinum is used for, but I do know it does have some industrial uses, just never researched it.

[58pinson]

Platinum has a much shorter history as a precious metal commodity than gold or silver. In my opinion, at it's current value it is grossly underpriced when compared to gold and silver if based on no other criteria than it's scarcity. Numbers indicate that it is mined at a quantity 15x or so less than gold. The only platinum national mint coin that I am aware of is the Canadian 1 oz Maple Leaf. A beautiful coin. There are quite a multitude of platinum bars offered by different producers. It just doesn't seem to have the cachet, or "safe haven" status among precious metal "stackers" that gold and silver possess. Speculation with it is of course possible without taking physical possession of it. Personally, I think it has a high probabilty of increasing in value and a very small downside risk. Do I own any? No.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by 58pinson

Platinum has a much shorter history as a precious metal commodity than gold or silver. In my opinion, at it's current value it is grossly underpriced when compared to gold and silver if based on no other criteria than it's scarcity. Numbers indicate that it is mined at a quantity 15x or so less than gold. The only platinum national mint coin that I am aware of is the Canadian 1 oz Maple Leaf. A beautiful coin. There are quite a multitude of platinum bars offered by different producers. It just doesn't seem to have the cachet, or "safe haven" status among precious metal "stackers" that gold and silver possess. Speculation with it is of course possible without taking physical possession of it. Personally, I think it has a high probabilty of increasing in value and a very small downside risk. Do I own any? No.

US Mint produces platinum coins.
https://www.apmex.com/category/31100...merican-eagles

[58pinson]

Was not aware of that. Thanks for the info.

[Snapolit1]

Guys, one more ? on this kind of investing/collecting if you can bear it. . . . .

In looking at titanium, there seems to be a real differential between a 1 ounce bar and say a 1 ounce US mint coin. If you want to dip a toe in this is, is there really any reason to buy some 2018 US Mint coin? Is there really a market for these recent coins, whether Canadian, US, S. African or anywhere else, above and beyond the metal itself?

[I realize of course that vintage coins like a St Gaudens gold piece merits a substantial premium over the price of the raw material.]

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Guys, one more ? on this kind of investing/collecting if you can bear it. . . . .

In looking at titanium, there seems to be a real differential between a 1 ounce bar and say a 1 ounce US mint coin. If you want to dip a toe in this is, is there really any reason to buy some 2018 US Mint coin? Is there really a market for these recent coins, whether Canadian, US, S. African or anywhere else, above and beyond the metal itself?

[I realize of course that vintage coins like a St Gaudens gold piece merits a substantial premium over the price of the raw material.]

There is some collectible value to the coins, and even more for the graded coins. Most experts I have read say just buy metal though.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

There is some collectible value to the coins, and even more for the graded coins. Most experts I have read say just buy metal though.

This. The premiums on most coins are hard to recoup when you go to sell...not always, but many times.

[todeen]

This was an interesting thread that died. I didn't really see any input by preppers, kind of shocking. Nor did there seem to be any historical explanations.

To make sense of a preppers' response, one must understand the historical understanding of currency. Over thousands of years humans have moved away from a barter based economy to a currency economy. Humans once used shells as a means of currency. Eventually, moving into minted coins - think of the Romans 2000 years ago. Although silver might seem like a worthless metal, it has defined human currency models for hundreds of years. Before the US Dollar, silver was the global currency. World exploration after Columbus was defined by silver when the most powerful global economies were based on the idea of mercantilism. England decimated the Qing dynasty (China) by robbing their coffers of silver, in exchange for opium. tsk tsk tsk. During the slave trade in the Atlantic, European economies realized they would bankrupt themselves if they purchased slaves with silver, so they turned to trading weapons and rum, among other trade goods. They took the slaves to the Americas where they were exchanged for silver, and the silver returned to Europe. Only in more modern times have individuals believed that paper currency can be backed by a country's GDP. It's an interesting concept that preppers think is based on sleight of hand.

Preppers therefore believe that if the global economy fails, or even the US economy, currency will revert to the previous system of trading in metals and trade goods. Why? Because historically, for thousands of years, people have believed that metals hold value. And gems. And things that glitter to the eye. One can't necessarily walk around with a Picasso or a Van Gogh, but one can walk around with a shiny coin in their pocket. One prepper book I read suggested a supply of junk metal, bullets, cigarettes, and some other trade goods that might be appealing to others. Obviously as has been quoted earlier, silver takes up a lot of space and is heavy. But it also can be divided much easier than gold. Can you imagine having to chip off flakes of gold? How bothersome! So junk silver, silver eagles, and silver bars would be much more beneficial in that regard.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

What are your thoughts on platinum? See it on eBay on occasion and have often thought about. No idea what the history of it investing or collecting wise.

I've looked into it. Very volatile was my impression last time I did.