Silver spot price have dropped quite a bit since I last posted here. Opinions range from “sell, sell, sell!” to “It’s time to buy!” Some folks lost a lot of value in their portfolio over the past year while others played it better and still came out ahead in the market.
To the right you will see a chart with the current silver spot price. The chart is dynamic, which means that it will always update with the current values.
Spot Price
Spot Price
At the time of this writing silver is bouncing around the $19.20 mark. That is close to half what silver was fetching about a year ago.
At these low rates it would be much easier for folks to add some silver to their “portfolio” or “nest egg” than what it was a year ago. However, for those who did purchase silver when it was in the $30+ range things are tough. Some cannot afford to hold on to their investments and so make the decision to sell at much lower prices than what they had invested in their silver. The fortunate ones are those who can set that silver back and wait. Better yet, add more to the cache.
Often its about how you play the market. Look at demand as well as value. The process isn’t much different whether you are dealing with comic books, electronics or coins. When demand is high you can generally find buyers who will pay enough to make it worth your while. When demand is low it can be difficult and time consuming to locate a buyer even if the item has a high dollar value.
Buying Based Upon Silver Spot Price
A true scenario about a couple friends of mine and their silver buying adventures over the past few years:
Bob bought 100 one ounce “rounds” from a shop that bases its pricing upon the silver spot price value. They sell one ounce rounds and bars for spot + $1.65 and conversely buy them for spot – $1.65 that specified amount. This means that if the silver spot price increases by 3.30 per ounce you would be able to break even. More than that, of course, would profit. Bob bought his rounds when silver was in the $14 neighborhood. When silver was seeing mid to high $30 figures he was anxious to sell but he kept hoping silver values would continue to climb. As it dropped he waited and waited and now has decided not to sell at all. He could actually see a little profit but nothing close to what he could have gotten if he had sold his silver a year ago.
At about this same time Ted accumulated a cache of silver bars and rounds purchased at the same dealer. Ted paid from $14 to $20 per ounce for what he got over a period of time. When silver was just below $30 per ounce Ted sold half of what he had. The money he got was almost enough to cover his entire silver purchase which meant he had quite a nice stash at almost 0 cost. He was able to pay himself back for his investment AND he still had possession of half the silver. Ted also hesitated, waiting for silver to climb ever higher, and didn’t sell his remaining metal. Ted agrees with me when I say that silver will go on the rise again in the near future. (when is the near future? I don’t know).
Both Bob and Ted are back to buying silver occasionally, you know looking for the good deals and squirreling it back. I was talking with the both of them just yesterday and they were talking about some of the great deals they had found. It made me envious!
Keep in mind that silver is not generally a means to “get rich quick” but it is known and trusted as an excellent hedge against inflation. But that is not to say that a person can’t make some good money playing with it. Bob and Ted are characters and they have a lot of fun and competition with the whole thing. They are dead serious at it too!
I tend to think that silver will not stay at these low dollar figures for too long.
In the meantime let us keep our ears and eyes open for the good deals. Check out flea markets, pawn shops, “junk” stores, and even yard sales for coins and bars. Some jewelry stores even have old coins available. I know of one that keeps a basket on a counter full of Franklin and Kennedy half dollars.
Written by Beauregard J. Finnegan Esq. & Copyright 2014 CoinCollectorGuide.com