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Replies: 17 / Views: 902 |
Pillar of the Community
United States
1220 Posts |
I've watched the precious metals climbing, wondering just how high they may go? I've only sold on a few occasions, and almost always regretted it. Are any of you waiting to unload?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7171 Posts |
I use bullion as a temporary store of wealth, so when money comes in, I may buy some bullion, so I also sell when something comes up that I want. I haven't sold a lot (about $3,000) but in this climate I'm tempted. I believe there is a disconnect between the prices of Gold/Silver and the cost of production, for example it currently costs $1200-$1500 to produce an ounce of gold, but its price is $3800, that makes a lot of idle mines profitable. Can gold/silver stay at the current price, will it fall?
If it falls sell now and put the money on hold, if it rises you might not be able to get back what you sold, so I'm currently on the fence and will wait for the price to drop before I start buying again.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1024 Posts |
If I do things right it won't be my problem. The kids will have to make that decision after I'm gone
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5212 Posts |
One of the best adages that I learned in investing was from a (very rich) former hedge fund guy. Don't fall into the trap of unrealized gains. When dealing with any sort of investment, if you double your money in a particular vehicle, take half off the table. Let your original investment amount run with the current investment, but bank an equal amount into something unrelated (i.e. diversified) and less risky. That way, if the hot investment suddenly falters and deflates from a peak, you've already captured a nice portion of the gains.
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Valued Member
United States
273 Posts |
Hard to say because it is only clear in hindsight. If our holding period is forever, we should be doing the same thing that we've been doing and that is DCA. But even recent history has shown us that there are long dry spells where PMs are flat a s a pancake while other investments race ahead.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5340 Posts |
I don't think I actually have any sort of set amount that would make me decide to suddenly start selling. I have been slowly stacking silver and gold for years, partially as a hedge against inflation, but mostly in the event that my retirement funds (including social security) end up not being enough for the needs of my wife and I. Given the way our combined 401Ks are doing lately, I may end up just holding onto most of it and letting our son inherit it, but there's always the chance some unexpected expense (including major medical) will crop up at some point that will induce me to sell. Hopefully, if that ever does happen, god and silver prices will be at or above their current values and won't have come crashing back down. Having said that, I actually did sell off about $10,000 worth of junk silver when silver hit $40/oz. It originally belonged to my dad (who passed away in 2015) and I bought it off my brother (who needed the cash) for around $17/0z. back in 2017. But that wasn't really because I needed the money at the time or because silver had hit some magical value that I had previously decided to sell at. Instead, since I sold it to a dealer at the yearly coin show I attended, it was really just an excuse to spend more than I had officially budgeted for at the show this year. As I explained to my wife, I brought (and spent) the agreed-upon budgeted amount, but then I just "traded" those bags of old silver dimes for one or two "special" coins, which is a totally different thing. Yeah, she didn't buy it either... 
Edited by barryg 09/29/2025 10:18 am
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Moderator
 United States
33739 Posts |
Quote: which is a totally different thing  I do like the concept of having some flexibility to spend down or add to the pile when it is convenient to do that. To @the's question though, I've been much better about selling stop-limits for individual stocks than PMs.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
5273 Posts |
Sold off bucket loads last month. Invested all of it into high yield blue chip dividend stocks . Older people like me need income not speculation.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7266 Posts |
I think right now if you need money to pay off your debts so you can once again get your head above water and start breathing again I'd say sell - getting rid of debt is the number one thing to do! Having 10% of your payment that goes to principal is outrageous.
I'm single, kids are grown and doing well, House and cars paid for, so I've reached the "Promised Land" - anybody else be careful and be smart with your finances. That is why now with Silver and Gold so high I wonder how much further it can rise before people stop buying?
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Moderator
 United States
171012 Posts |
Quote: But that wasn't really because I needed the money at the time or because silver had hit some magical value that I had previously decided to sell at. Instead, since I sold it to a dealer at the yearly coin show I attended, it was really just an excuse to spend more that I had officially budgeted for at the show this year... I call that perfection. 
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Moderator
 United States
171012 Posts |
Quote: Invested all of it into high yield blue chip dividend stocks . Older people like me need income not speculation. 
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Moderator
 United States
171012 Posts |
Quote: I think right now if you need money to pay off your debts so you can once again get your head above water and start breathing again I'd say sell - getting rid of debt is the number one thing to do! Having 10% of your payment that goes to principal is outrageous. Debt? What is that?  My only debt is whatever I spend between the monthly credit card payments. Yes, credit card, not debit card. Debit cards offer no protection and no cash back. No interest on credit card because I pay the balance every month.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3194 Posts |
Quote: My only debt is whatever I spend between the monthly credit card payments. Yes, credit card, not debit card. Debit cards offer no protection and no cash back. No interest on credit card because I pay the balance every month. Ditto. I'm about 2.5 years away from retiring. I don't plan to leave an inheritance for anyone, but there may be some left when we are gone and that would probably go to my niece and nephews. So, I'm planning to spend as much as I can before I kick off. I don't need the funds that selling my gold and silver would bring, but there will come a time when I do sell it or barter it away. It's hard to decide when to sell. The prices are obviously higher than they've been for a while, but as others have said, the dollar isn't worth what it was in the past. Also, the higher the price goes and the more volatile the market is, the harder it is to sell a large pile of silver for what we may think is a fair price. The buyers don't want to get stuck with a depreciating asset any more that we do.
"Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5212 Posts |
Quote: Yes, credit card, not debit card. Debit cards offer no protection and no cash back. jbuck, I have lost count of how many times I have told people that. Don't enter your banking pin anywhere. Run your debit card in credit card mode for all transactions, especially in-person payments on terminals. Even that doesn't have the same protections as a real credit card. It is much, much harder to get a bank's fraud department to restore cash to your checking account than it is to challenge a credit card transaction with Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, Discover.
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Moderator
 United States
171012 Posts |
Exactly!  The only reason why I have a debit card is because it also functions as the ATM card for cash withdrawals.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1910 Posts |
Quote: The only reason why I have a debit card is because it also functions as the ATM card for cash withdrawals. that's exactly what mine is for and for nothing else. 
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Replies: 17 / Views: 902 |