Maryellen: Does it matter if we buy gold and silver coins vs. jewelry made of the metal? I mean, if it doesn’t matter, we may as well enjoy our investment as jewelry!!
JJ I think Blayne was steering you correctly about buying coins, not only as an investment, but as something that can be practically used if the dollar collapses.
There are several advantages of collectors coins.
First they have intrinsic value so they can be used for trading.
Secondly, they have collectors value so even if the price of gold or silver drops they will still hold their value and in many cases go up.
Thirdly, you do not have to pay sales tax when you buy and sell them.
Getting a few gold coins is fine for diversity of investment but they are not too practical for spending. A one ounce gold eagle sells for about $1500 so this would be kind of awkward to trade for some groceries.
I would recommend the pre 1921 Morgan silver dollars for several reasons.
First, collectors love these coins and they will always be in demand.
Ruth: What if the Lights don’t gather because many didn’t have soul contact or hear the soul, is that a possibility?
JJ If the lights do not gather by the time the next major earth changes come then we could lose many of the basics of our civilization and have to start over.
What happened in Japan was just the earth scratching an itch. Imagine what a major spinal adjustment would be like.
So far the media and anti nuclear people are attempting to scare the dickens out of the people.
The truth is that no one has received a dangerous level of radiation yet nor are they likely to unless the worst possible scenario happens and if it does it will be nothing like Chernobyl as the Japanese plants have a much better design.
The only ones who need to be concerned about radiation levels at present are those working directly with the core in the plant itself and they are monitoring levels closely.
Here’s an article giving some good information without the hype.
http://www.stoptheaclu.com/2011/03/14/a-factual-reply-to-the-nuclear-panic-spark\ ed-by-the-japanese-disaster/
Secondly, there is a very limited number of them so they will eventually go up in price even if the price of silver goes down.
There are two directions to go with these. You can buy the rare more expensive coins, say $60 or more retail – or the less expensive at around $30-$40 or less each. The cheaper ones will have good value for their silver content as well as the collecting value. I would recommend going this direction unless you get a good deal on the more expensive coins – and this can be done.
You can accomplish this on Ebay by reviewing numerous coins and then making bids on those that seem to be undervalued. Here are fairly current prices on Morgans: http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/prices/mordlr/pricesgd.shtml
The problem with buying jewelry is that the price is highly marked up and if you ever sell it then you have to take a big discount. If I wanted to buy jewelry as an investment I would go on Crag’s list and look for some deals from private individuals. If you buy low enough you can always get your money back and maybe make a profit.
If anyone else has good ideas for inflation proof investments feel free to post.
Dan: How are you going to treat the water for storage in your 55 gallon drums? Purify, mineralize, sun, and then store it or just store tapwater which you then purify, mineralize and sun prior to drinking (or some other method)?
JJ If I wind up using them I’ll do the same thing. I’ll filter it, add ingredients (if available) and then place clear jugs in the sun. Purifying water by using the sun is recommended in survival manuals anyway.
You can get clear glass bottles by going to glass recycling bins and taking what you need. Gallon ones are not always available though.
JJ wrote: If I wind up using them I’ll do the same thing. I’ll filter it, add ingredients (if available) and then place clear jugs in the sun.
Dan: You’ll do this before or after you place the water in the 55gal drums and store it?
JJ
After. I’ll take the water out of the drums, filter it, put it into clear glass jugs, add ingredients and then place them in the sun.