Do you buy physical gold and silver?

@scheng1 (24650)
Singapore
May 14, 2011 11:33pm CST
Many people have physical gold and silver at home. Most of these are in the form of gold and silver jewelries. While jewelries are nice to look at, and serve an important function in weddings and other occasions, these are not the investment grade gold and silver. Some collectors invest in investment grade gold and silver, such as silver coins, gold coins, gold bars, and silver bars. Do you buy physical gold and silver? Where do you get them, and in what form is the physical gold and silver?
2 people like this
8 responses
@yugasini (12836)
• Anantapur, India
15 May 11
hi Scheng, As we are Arya Vysya it is compulsary to wear some gold ornaments on their body of the ladies, one Talibottu chain (Talibottu means symbal of marriege tied by the husband),one Nalla poosalu(globule)these also the symbal of marriage,one necklance on the next and 4 gold bangles,most of the people wish to have these minimum requirements for women,business people are rich people will buy gold bars and coins,have nice day
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
15 May 11
Hi Yusaini, that is a very interesting culture, but I feel sad for the poor people. They need to work very hard to save money for the children to get married then. I wonder if your people need to buy pure gold, or can any cheaper version qualify? I think wearing gold jewelries is a must in many cultures where marriage is concerned. It is hard to imagine a wedding without any form of gold ornaments.
@yugasini (12836)
• Anantapur, India
15 May 11
hi scheng, thanks for the response, the poor people will buy the gold covering ornaments for the marriages,now a day rich people are also using the gold covering ornaments for marraiges and out going parties,becuase of theft,without gold there is no marriage in India and especially in our community,have a nice day
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
16 May 11
Hi Yugasini, I think the value of gold has caused many people to keep their jewelries in safe, rather than wearing it. In this case, buying gold jewelries defeat the purpose. We might as well buy pure gold bar, or gold stock, and wait for the price to go up. No point buying jewelries that we are afraid to use, and attract robbers too.
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
16 May 11
Yes, i do bought some gold and silver jewelries when i was young before. Before the price of gold and silver jewelries are very cheap and easy to buy. Not like now, the price had gone sky rocketing especially for gold, that's it is really not worth to invest money into them. Where else, the price of silver seems not really worth to invest money into them as well, because when we sell them off, they don't worth much. That's why, at this moment i don't invest any money into them, still waiting for their prices to drop, then only i will continue buying more of them in future.
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
18 May 11
At this moment, i don't plan to buy or sell any gold or silver jewelries. I plan to give some of my gold jewelries to my sisters during their marriage time. That's why, i bought quite a lot jewelries during my younger age.
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
18 May 11
At this moment, i don't plan to buy or sell any of my jewelries. Maybe in future when the price is going down, then i plan to add more jewelries into my collection. :)
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
16 May 11
Hi Myfb2009, I doubt the price of both gold and silver will fall to the same price as two years ago. The financial crisis is not really over, since many people are still jobless. The US dollar is still declining, and unlikely to improve in the short term. I think you would have made a nice profits if you sell away your gold or silver jewelries. The highest point of silver is about $50, and the lowest ever price is $4.
@sunny5u (2069)
• India
2 Sep 11
Yeah, v buy gold and silver ornaments to wear but not to store because the prices are going high and the investment on Gold and Silver is not at all good thinking. Because if investment is done on that then after a peak situation the down fall trades. Better is investing on Land is best one. World wide 100's of crores trading is going on gold and silver. As we are vysyas my mom is so much interested in gold and silver but i am not and i tell her don't worry i will buy but the prices will come down soon.As, soon as it comes down i will buy this only to wear but not to store...
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Sep 11
Hi Sunny5u, price of gold and silver will come down only when the US economy is in full employment. That is still a long way in the future. Buying gold and silver for investment is not the same as buying gold and silver ornaments. Gold and silver ornaments are too expensive, since you are paying for the price of gold and silver, plus the workmanship, the salary of the people in the goldsmith shop, and the fees of the mint. Gold and silver ornaments are not pure too. Gold is too soft to make into jewelries, so many other metals are mixed into gold to make it hard. That is why gold and silver ornaments are useless for investment.
@youless (112054)
• Guangzhou, China
16 May 11
I don't buy both of them. As to jewelries, I am not interested in them. I don't wear any jewelries. I think sometimes it is dangerous because you may be robbed. And even if I don't wear jewelries, I have to spend money to store them in the safe in the bank. So I don't want to buy more jewelries and it may need a long time selling them. I think I will just leave to my child later. As to the gold, it will mean something when you buy a lot of it. But it is also risky. If I just buy a little gold, it is a meaningless investment. I love China
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
17 May 11
Hi Youless, it is impossible to buy a lot of gold. Just a little gold bar of 31`gram cost more than $1,500. We are not even talking about converting to Renminbi. It takes a few months of savings just to get a little gold bar of 31 grams. You do not need to store it in a safe in the bank. It is so tiny that you can push it down the sofa, and nobody will ever know about it. Many people in China are snapping up gold and silver, for the sake of protecting their money. The bank saving rate is so low, and the inflation is so high. Equally as many people are buying gold and silver in United States to protect against the declining value of their currencies.
@millertime (1394)
• United States
16 May 11
So far I have not invested in precious metals but I have been thinking about it. With the U.S. economy being what it is and the government printing money like it's going out of style, owning a different form of "currency" is a good hedge against the hyper inflation that's on the way in our near future. Right now though, I think there is a bit of a price correction going on and I'm not sure what the prices are going to do in the next couple of weeks or months. Now might not be the best time to invest. I'm not really sure if I'm going to buy physical metals or invest in gold and silver stocks. Maybe a little of both. I figure a good hedge is about 10% of my savings in metals. I don't know if I would keep any physical metals at home though. It's not really very safe and vulnerable to break ins and theft. A safe deposit box would be much safer.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
16 May 11
Hi Millertime, you can use the dollar cost averaging method for investing in precious metals. That means you buy at regular interval, avoiding the peak. Right now silver is undergoing a price correction, mainly due to the margin change for investing in silver. There was a week when CME adjusted the margin requirements four times. It caused the price of silver to fall from nearly $50 to $34. Later it rebound, and then something caused it to fall again. Best to buy a bit each time a correction happens.
@Simon1223 (903)
• China
16 May 11
My parents have some small gold and silver bars at home, which are inherited from my ancestors. They told me that these gold and silver bars have historical values so that we should preserve them generation by generation. Personally speaking, I have no physical gold ans silver but plan to buy some. In my view, buying gold and silver is a good way of anti-inflation.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
16 May 11
Hi Simon, I think you have very wise ancestors. My grandparents did not leave behind much gold and silver. We had just one or two little gold rings, which do not sell for a lot of money even with the current price. I think you have inherited their wisdom as well. Even if you buy a little silver bar every month, you would be rich by the time you are ready for retirement. A little one ounce silver bar is less than forty dollars. Even if the price increases, it still within the range of most people. Gold is getting too expensive for us to invest.
@sunny5u (2069)
• India
15 May 11
Hi scheng1, in my home we have the gold in the form of jewellery and silver like utensils or so and things we keep for god like statues and more, ofcourse we get them from the jewellery shop.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
16 May 11
Hi Sunny5u, I have never thought of gold in the form of gold statues. Even though I see many gold statues in the temple, I never think of these as valuable metals. That is a valid point! I do not have any liking for gold or silver jewelries, but I buy silver bar for investment purpose. It does not look nice at all, just a bulky lump.
• Philippines
15 May 11
I buy silver jewelries such as necklace, rings, and watch. I really love to collect silver. I buy them in mall, silver shops and somewhere. However, I don't buy gold because I don't have enough money to buy those thing. I can't afford it from now.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
16 May 11
Hi Princejhaizee, these are valuable jewelries for both cosmetic purpose and for investment purpose. I buy silver bar instead of jewelries, since i want pure silver. In term of silver jewelries, it is hard to know whether we buy pure silver or 90% silver or less. I cannot afford to buy gold too, not even a small gold of just five grams.