How I buy silver.
A year ago I felt so buried in debt that I didn't spend 5 minutes thinking about buying silver. Since I've killed so much of my debt it's been something that I've spent some time learning how to do over the last couple of months. So what is junk silver? It's circulated US coinage that holds little to no numismatic (collectible) value. You're simply buying beat up coins for the value of the silver inside them. For the rest of this article when I say junk silver I'm primarily talking about 1932-1964 dimes, quarters, and half dollars.
First, I'm not a financial planner, I'm not offering financial advice, and as always buyer beware.
So, am I a goldbug? Nope. I think our economy would be manipulated by folks in power if we were on a gold standard, just as every government in the history of the world has been imperfect. The simple solutions of doing what's best for the country, worrying about the constitutionality of any law, and staying out of debt are not anywhere on the radar at the highest levels. Fiscal responsibility died with the formation of Social Security and later Medicare, and I have no reason to think it's going to change anytime soon. That leaves me with being able to take care of my family and help my community.
So why silver? Because I can afford it right now, it's anonymous, and junk silver is really hard to counterfeit. Those reasons make me feel comfortable buying it. Also, unlike my rainy day fund at the local credit union, it takes some real effort to liquidate the silver, so I'm more likely to hang onto it. This serves to make it a savings mechanism for me as well.
Could the price go down? Absolutely. By half? Again, that's a legitimate concern. For me I take solace in how unsound our fiscal policy has been. When you think about the way we've been printing money like mad for the last several years, the hedge against inflation counters the argument about possible decline in value pretty well.
It's pretty easy to buy, find a local source, try pawnshops and coin shops. Ask if they have any junk silver. If they do ask how much they're charging per dollar of coinage. How do you know if their quoted price is a fair price? www.coinhttp://www.
Final piece of advice, go through each coin and make sure that it's 1964 or previous. I've seen a couple of dealers that "accidentally" leave in 1965 and later coinage. Have fun, share the process with your kids. It's a great conversation piece to tell folks that in 1964 you could buy a cup of great coffee or a little more than a gallon of gas for a quarter, with a silver quarter being worth between $5.50 and $6.25 depending on the market, you still can.
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