Silver Investing for the Regular Joe

As the value of the dollar continues to decline around the world, precious metals are being touted as a way to protect your savings. You might be asking the following questions: How does one invest in precious metals? Does one need a large amount of cash to invest? Where can one go to purchase metals? I had these same questions and looked into the issue for myself. The following article will discuss my introduction to the world of precious metals.

How does one invest in precious metals?

There are many ways to invest in precious metals. First, you need to decide how much you want to invest, as there are different investment grade metals. You also need to decide whether or not you want to physically own the metal, or if you want to buy and sell without ever holding the metal. You can also add precious metals to an IRA.

Does one need a large amount of cash to invest?

I decided that I wanted to physically own some precious metal, and didn't have a lot of money to get started. I first looked into the different types of metal available to me. The most common are gold and silver, but you can also invest in platinum and palladium. Platinum will cost you more than $2,000 per troy ounce; gold is currently priced around $910 per troy ounce; palladium is around $440 per troy ounce; and silver will cost you roughly $20 per troy ounce. All of these prices are for 99.9% (.999) pure metal. Other grades are available, so beware! You can purchase all of these in one troy ounce bars, rounds, and other weights. Be sure that you are purchasing TROY weights, as this is the industry standard. One troy ounce is approximately 31.1 grams. One troy pound equals 12 troy ounces.

Where can one go to purchase metals?

Looking at these prices, I decided to get into the silver game. After some reading, I found that some are predicting the price of silver to more than double based on the current supply and price of gold. I decided to start looking for a place to purchase some one troy ounce bars. Bars are sold as either bullion bars or art bars. Sometimes you will see the term ingot, which is a type of bar. Art bars are usually more expensive than bullion bars, as they have some sort of picture on them. The artwork increases the value. Doing a Google search, I found several online stores for purchasing both bullion and art bars. You will always pay more than the current spot value of metal, as vendors need to make a profit. Even with the mark-up, prices are reasonable. After much searching, I discovered that ebay has a very active metals trade. You can bid on all types and sizes of metal, often at prices lower than online stores. A quick search yields more than 800 auctions for one ounce silver bars; more than 75 auctions for one ounce gold bars; eight palladium bar auctions; and fewer platinum auctions. I have made several silver bar purchase since my initial search, and have not been disappointed. As with any online auction, make sure the seller has a good feedback rating.

If you decide to buy some metal, do your homework. Decide how much you want to invest, and start looking for a good deal. Always remember that investing in metals is similar to investing in stocks, as the price changes by the minute. There is some risk involved in owning metals, but the market is not as volatile as the stock market. Lastly, this is just one average guy's insight into the world of precious metal investment.