Dollar on the decline, silver on the rise... Should I??

[phoenixzorn]

MODs, please don't move this thread today... wait until tomorrow so I can at least get some answers to a very pressing question from everyone...

So, the dollar is falling faster than a HALO jumper, and as a result, the spot price of silver is climbing at an unprecedented rate. I have a Selmer Tenor Saxophone that I've had for the last 15 years, and it was worth $6800 in 1997, so with inflation and the fact that it held it's value in British Pounds and Euros, etc... it is worth $10,000 USD today... right now... actually more than that because the dollar is falling...

My question, should you choose to accept it, is do I keep this piece of my life that means so much to me, or do I sell it right now, today, knowing that I'll probably never get another one, and buy the full value in silver to keep my money safe??

I don't play much anymore, maybe a couple times per month... but with the impending crash, I can't find any good reason to NOT sell it and buy hard silver.

Please give me advice based on these facts...

1. I got this Sax when I was in 7th grade... I'm 28 now.
2. I was a professional Saxophone player....
3. Every day, my saxophone holds it's value in Lbs or Euros or Yen or AUD... which means the USD value goes UP...
4. In this pending recession, and depression, and complete collapse of the dollar, my saxophone won't get me shit when it comes to money... might make me happy to play, but that's about it.
5. My wife hasn't allowed me to sell it to pay bills, but maybe she'll let me sell it for an investment.
6. I love my sax, but I want to protect my family more...

Is this the right thing to do?

 

[-lotus-]

if i had something i could sell for 10,000 and buy silver i would do it in a heartbeat, regardless of sentimental attachment. silver went up huge today. it was at 18.80 yesterday, its up to 19.68 at the time of this post. if you had purchased 532 1/10th oz silver coins at 18.80 yesterday, right NOW you would have already made a 400+ profit.

 

[MusoSpuso]

I'm a musician myself and if I were in your shoes I would not sell.

I would however find a way to invest any extra savings (not all mind you) into some silver.

8 years ago would have been the prime time to buy but 20/20 hindsight and all...

That being said, many "silver experts" (whatever that is) believe the price will go up to as much as $30 in 2008 so there is some room to grow.

Keep in mind however that hard currencies/commodoties are not necessarily (though potentially) an investment to grow wealth. It's more a way to store wealth or hedge against the fluctuations and weakness of the dollar or the market at large.

The most simple way to put it:

Put your money in places that grow faster than the inflation rate.

Right now silver and I think gold qualify. But you could also be safe in finding a high yield savings account or money market account. The problem with silver is that it is very volatile because it inversely reflects the market so it's a very loooooong term investment whereas a high yield savings account or MM account would be a bit more liquid in the short term.

Buy silver/gold if you qualify for either or both of the below reasons:

1) You want a very long term protection of your wealth (6-10 years--over the course of a general market cycle)

2) You think civilization is going to collapse soon and you feel the need to have real money around

There is a hidden 3) which is that if you want to actually grow wealth out of the metals markets but that requires a lot of time/money/education/stress management.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Dustancostine]

Here is a great solution. Find a way to play gigs on the side (or even on the side of the street) and use that money to buy silver. You get the silver and you get to keep your sax and you get to play music which you apparently love.

--Dustan

 

[amy31416]

Here is a great solution. Find a way to play gigs on the side (or even on the side of the street) and use that money to buy silver. You get the silver and you get to keep your sax and you get to play music which you apparently love.

--Dustan

Being rather nostalgic myself, I really wish I still had my first Rickenbacher bass. I regret selling it to this day.

 

[bobbyw24]

http://www.gloomdoom.com

THOUGHTS FROM IZZY

By Israel Friedman

Mid-February 2008


(Israel Friedman is a friend and mentor to Theodore Butler. He has followed silver for many decades. He has written articles for us in the past. Investment Rarities does not necessarily endorse these views.)


The U.S. mint sold 2,170,000 silver eagles and only 26,000 gold eagles in the month of January. By my calculation 83 times more silver eagles were sold then gold eagles. This is an enormous difference that shows you how much more interest there is in silver. Investors are starting to understand that silver is a better investment then gold. I congratulate Mr. Butler that by his writing about silver, more and more people are buying physical silver.


In my opinion, the beauty of silver is that any amount of silver you buy will reward you tremendously. Maybe only 0.5% of the world population has heard about silver and they are mostly American investors who bought in the last 15 years around 400 million ounces of silver.


Today, many silver investors are asking why silver doesn't achieve all time highs like gold. Mr. Butler answers this question every week by emphasizing the control of prices on the COMEX by 4 or less traders that hold more than 50% of the net short position. When you hold a position of more than 50%, you control the market. This may be changing now. The short position is the main reason why the price of silver is behind the gold price, but this creates the opportunity to buy silver.


Different people have different opinions or expectations for future prices. I personally believe that only silver can be characterized as real precious metal and gold is a second violin. I made this decision by understanding the rarity of the metal and its world stocks. Let's look at gold first: its world stocks increase almost 100 million ounces annually. Contrast this to silver, which is in a yearly deficit and is decreasing yearly. World gold stocks are around 5 billion ounces and silver around 1 to 2 billion ounces. I say with conviction that silver is more rare than gold and, in my eyes, is the only precious metal. I think investors are beginning to understand that a shortage can develop easily in silver, but not so in gold, because it is not used that much industrially. It is a lot easier for people to pay $15 or $20 for an ounce than $900 or $1,000, especially when the cheap one has the most value.


If 90% of the world population knew this, the prices of silver and gold would be different. In the short term, with gold prices over $900, silver would be in the hundreds. Mr. Butler doesn’t like my numbers. He says that they are too extreme and people are going to lose confidence in my writing, but I hope he will not censor me, because this is my opinion. Silver in the hundreds of dollars will come only with a shortage of silver. The 4 or less shorts will give up. With a shortage, world investors will recognize the rarity of silver.


Gold and silver seem to trade together, tick by tick. It is easy for many people to think they are the same commodity. Not true. Gold and silver are very different, even if they behave now as one. I am certain that will change, and perhaps very soon. You don’t have to look very far to see just how different silver is from gold.


Some of you want to hear how I see the future in silver prices and what I think about the world in my crystal ball.


(1) Life expectancy will rise tremendously and most of you will live over 100 in years to come.

(2) It will be very important to save and prepare for a long life.

(3) Investment in education----silver----farmland, in my opinion, will do the best.

(4) At some point, in 15 to 20 years, silver prices will be 5 times higher then gold prices. If my calculation is correct, a dollar invested in silver will do many times better than gold. In real estate value, I think 1,000 ounces of silver will buy a 3-bedroom apartment in Manhattan in Trump Towers.


I am a different thinker, and some gold investors don't like my opinion, but that is their problem.

Those who believe in silver value should buy eagles and force the mint to work overtime.

 

[phoenixzorn]

Pad

 

[voytechs]

Unless you absolutely need the money, save your instrument. Buy smaller amount each month. The price will continue to go up. It may actually come down a little bit at some point as people start taking profits, but long term its going to $100 or more. I bought mine at $13 in November. Right now its $20.26.

 

[quezkittel]

Save the saxophone, unless you are truly desperate for money now. And if the economy collapses and you need the money, sell your sax to somebody in a more stable country.

Question for all you experts- if the economy Does ever collapse, of course gold would be a far better commodity to have than worthless paper, but why would anybody want to exchange gold for food or oil or other hard items? Does anybody invest in buying and storing gasoline and other things that would seem like they would be more valuable during a complete collapse?

(if the economy collapsed and I had a lot of oil or food stockpiled, I wouldn't trade it for gold except out of pity... but is there a reason why I'd want to?)

 

[Exarel]

hm.. i'm been wondering about gold or silver too..

 

[ClockwiseSpark]

Personally I'd wait till silver hit $50 an ounce but in the end it's a decision only you can make.

 

[Corydoras]

If you're asking other people what they think, you're not ready to sell it.

 

[angelatc]

If you're asking other people what they think, you're not ready to sell it.

Yes, I'd keep it. It's not going to depreciate either.