Bought my first silver!

[johndoh]

I just made my first silver purchase, and I couldn't be happier. Yes, I know, I should have been buying for years, but I'm a freshman in college on a budget which consists mostly of ramen noodles.

After reading several threads on getting started in silver, I scrapped my plan to buy online and sought out a local coin dealer. The end result? 20 Mercury dimes (1933-1942) for $53 in Federal Reserve Notes. Coinflation has the silver value listed at $2.7025, so I got a good deal and spent the fruits of my labor locally.

 

[jclay2]

Good man. First dimes, then quarters, and sooner or later you are stockpiling 10 oz gold bars!

 

[ILUVRP]

Great buy , 90% silver dimes , pre 1965 are the way to go.

 

[gls]

Beautiful design on the Mercury dimes, it features the mythological goddess "Liberty" as opposed to some scumbag politician like on the newer coins.

 

[johndoh]

Agreed, I love the way they look. I'd rather not covet anything with FDR's likeness stamped on it.

 

[TheNcredibleEgg]

You will be ok longterm with the purchase - but I honestly fear you are buying into a short term bubble.

Silver will likely correct back to $25 within the next 18 months. It will probably go higher short term (my guess is $40 range) - bubbles always do - but people need to be careful about buying a commodity that has risen way over 100% in the last 12 months.

 

[Seraphim]

You clearly have no understanding of the fundementals driving commodities.

You will be ok longterm with the purchase - but I honestly fear you are buying into a short term bubble.

Silver will likely correct back to $25 within the next 18 months. It will probably go higher short term (my guess is $40 range) - bubbles always do - but people need to be careful about buying a commodity that has risen way over 100% in the last 12 months.

 

[Arklatex]

Mercury dimes are sweet!

 

[TheNcredibleEgg]

You clearly have no understanding of the fundementals driving commodities.

We shall see.

I believe I have every understanding - and most commodities (especially ag) are still ok to buy now - but silver is in a bubble/short squeeze, and people need to be careful with it.

It's very unwise to chase anything - especially something that is up over 100% in the past 12 months. More supply is going to hit the market in silver.

 

[georgiaboy]

Beautiful design on the Mercury dimes, it features the mythological goddess "Liberty" as opposed to some scumbag politician like on the newer coins.

So that's not Mercury, the Roman God of speed, commerce, and abundance, on the face?

 

[gls]

So that's not Mercury, the Roman God of speed, commerce, and abundance, on the face?

Nope, it is actually officially called the "Winged Liberty Head" dime -- the name "Mercury" is a popular misnomer due to the resemblance to the Roman god but its definitely the goddess "Liberty" wearing a Phrygian cap.

 

[scrosnoe]

it is good to dive in when you can -- this peak will look like a trough some day LOL

there is something to be said for steady consistent additions to portfolio over time IF you have long term objectives; so for conversations on 'when' to buy you need to clarify if you are a short term commodity trader or a long term commodity 'holder'

BTW it is a 'mercury' dime and it is lady liberty on the face!

More info here

blessings all/sc

 

[AZKing]

We shall see. It's very unwise to chase anything - especially something that is up over 100% in the past 12 months. More supply is going to hit the market in silver.

Bernanke launching QE3 should have a significant effect on that. JP Morgan and the other banks are trying to manipulate the hell out of the market, but they can only do so much.

 

[Mogambo Guru]

We shall see.

I believe I have every understanding - and most commodities (especially ag) are still ok to buy now - but silver is in a bubble/short squeeze, and people need to be careful with it.

It's very unwise to chase anything - especially something that is up over 100% in the past 12 months. More supply is going to hit the market in silver.

I was thinking it had gone up too fast recently also.. Then I started looking at some longer term charts. Then last weekend I went out and bought more gold & silver.

Here is the chart I was looking at.. I wanted to see it from before the crisis all the way to today. Basically silver got hit harder in 2008 and didnt fully recover until just recently.
Is it gonna keep going up as fast as recently, doubt it, but it should now advance at about the same rate as gold. I personally think the gold/silver ratio will continue to close slowly. And if the manipulation rumors are true at all, then who knows, but I am not banking on that, the fundamentals are good enough on their own.

Thats a beautiful chart!

 

[Mike4Freedom]

Beautiful design on the Mercury dimes, it features the mythological goddess "Liberty" as opposed to some scumbag politician like on the newer coins.

Nice +1

 

[RileyE104]

Remember, whatever you buy now can be averaged down later by buying more at a cheaper price.

 

[pmbug]

Silver is not a bubble. The dollar is a bubble that has only recently started deflating.

Great job OP. Watch your change from Taco Bell (or whatever fast food you college kids eat these days). You can still find pre-'65 dimes in circulation occassionally.

 

[cubical]

Silver is not a bubble. The dollar is a bubble that has only recently started deflating.

Great job OP. Watch your change from Taco Bell (or whatever fast food you college kids eat these days). You can still find pre-'65 dimes in circulation occassionally.

haha, I am always doing that now.

 

[jclay2]

Good luck. There are too many of us. Gresham's Law has taken full effect and all the good money is out. However, a couple weeks ago I did get a 1964 silver quarter. I still can't believe that happened.

 

[farrar]

We shall see.

I believe I have every understanding - and most commodities (especially ag) are still ok to buy now - but silver is in a bubble/short squeeze, and people need to be careful with it.

It's very unwise to chase anything - especially something that is up over 100% in the past 12 months. More supply is going to hit the market in silver.

I am also a full time college freshman/ senior high schooler (dual enrolled), who has made a first time purchase in silver. I have that keep the change thing at BoA, and bought a few rounds with it after 6 months of savings.

Anyways I too have been worried about a bubble. It is possible people are buying silver in fear and speculation, only to find that the dollar may not burst for another decade... If the dollar crisis goes cold before it bursts, Silver may pop as people try to make short term returns on what should be a long term investment (as they no longer fear a dollar crisis people will be compelled to cash in on a 100% return).

At the same time there are these factors:
1. China has recently been pushing silver investments, given their history this is not surprise.
2. As I recall, silver is historically priced 16:1 against gold. Now far less valued, many financial institutions sell silver but do not allow an audit of your own holdings (this may indicate that a contributing factor to lower ratio is the practice of overselling silver to speculators). This can, however, mean many things, even negative.
3. (personal): Longterm, really any losses made will be recovered. Being at I have so little to spend on it anyway, I felt it best to put my savings into silver as it it is illiquid (hard to give into the temptation of spending it), safe in the long term, potential profitable in the short term, lower opportunity cost in the longterm (and possible short term) than in keeping cash.

I'm not going to put all my eggs in silver counting on a crisis, but I confident enough it will come that I am compelled to put my money where my mouth is. Also I noticed silver appears to be declining, so I will be holding off for a little while on purchase #2.