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thq's Last 20 Posts
| Gold Silver Ratio And Buying
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
 Posted Yesterday 3:08 pm
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| The ratio strategy has nothing to do with any linkage between the price of gold and silver. It has to do with buying one metal over the other preferentially based on the ratio, which is changing randomly all the time in the short term. We tend to do this in our heads: if silver is at $40 per ounce and gold at $1200 (30 ratio) my buying preference is for gold. If silver is at $20 and gold is at $2000 (100 ratio) my buying preference is for silver. Over a period of 10 years, both events occur. This isn't rocket science. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Gold Silver Ratio And Buying
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/24/2023 12:51 pm
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| I am only a stacker, and don't hold enough silver to use the ratio strategy. I see the logic of it though. If I sell an ounce of gold at 80 ratio I get 80 ounces of silver. When the ratio hits 40 I sell the silver and buy 2 ounces of gold. The size of my gold stack is now two ounces, and I wait for the ratio to rise again to sell the gold. It might take years or it might take weeks per iteration, but the net long term effect is a bigger stack. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Gold Silver Ratio And Buying
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/23/2023 10:36 pm
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I don't track it. Are you a trader or a stacker? IMO ratio is a trader play for the relatively short term, holding both metals. Sell gold to buy silver when the ratio is high, and vice versa when the ratio is low.
"From around the end of 2008 to the middle of 2011, the gold-silver ratio declined from approximately 80:1 to around 45:1.
During that period, the price of silver rose from around $11 an ounce to approximately $30 an ounce. The price of gold rose from approximately $850 an ounce to $1,400 an ounce.
A 2008 buy of 80 ounces of silver against a short sell of one ounce of gold would have resulted in a profit of $1,520 in silver against a loss of $550 in gold, for a net profit of $970."
https://www.investopedia.com/articl...er-ratio.asp |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| France 1811 5 Francs My First Napoleon
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/22/2023 6:53 pm
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I don't think we know each other Albert, but it sounds like you've been in there too. I read about it on-line and had to see it once, when I was in New York seeing our kids and had some time on my hands. I believe I spent an hour in there...the more I talked and told stories, the more boxes that came out. I have been in similar shops all over the world, and have developed a kind of instinct for finding them. Falcone's shop in San Jose CA is similar....lots of Spanish cobs and California nuggets lying around.
Many dusty boxes were shuffled through. I was looking mainly for French coins. I believe that I also found a Charles IX teston in his jumble, but it was not as memorable as the 1815 Napoleon 2 franc.
Here I am on the way to Bosco's....picked up a shirt on the way....
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| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| When Will This Coin Price Inflation End?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/21/2023 2:48 pm
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I recently purchased a nice chopped CC trade dollar from Larry Briggs. But it was an ordeal. His website is not up to date due to problems with his provider (GoDaddy if I remember right). The coin I wanted was sold. After many phone calls and emails he found me a nice one. I probably did better than eBay, but it was a lot of trouble and took two months from the time I sent the check. I ran into eBay dealers with the same "can't find it" problem, and at least got prompt PayPal refunds.
For international coins and silver tableware, I've done very well with the French and UK eBays.
Back to my original point, trade dollar prices are also rapidly inflating. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| When Will This Coin Price Inflation End?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/21/2023 10:45 am
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| I agree that eBay often does not offer great values, and the two examples shown at the start of this thread validate that. But in defense of eBay, I've run in to problems with dealer sites as well. Out-of-date inventories, unresponsive sellers, and prices higher than eBay in many cases. One of the worst problems is lack of guarantees like eBay and PayPal offer, especially for non-delivery in my case. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| When Will This Coin Price Inflation End?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/20/2023 12:54 pm
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CC gold is not something you find in ordinary coin shops. The internet has been a great tool to locate it, and there used to be bargains. The last F-VF 1882-CC half eagle I bought was $600 from a dealer on Collector's Corner, $150 over melt. I don't think he realized what he had, but deals like that on eBay used to be fairly common. If you're not a specialist it's dead stock. Now everyone is a specialist.
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| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| When Will This Coin Price Inflation End?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/20/2023 10:19 am
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I use the CNG and Sedwick auctions and have gotten some good values on ancients, colonials and UK coins. I have not been successful with US coin auctions. Like eBay auctions, I don't enjoy the push bidding and shilling. Over time I've reverted to bidding my maximum and walking away, win or lose. On US coins I usually lose, often to a snipe bid near the end. I'm not the only bargain hunter.
There is a tremendous amount of high end CC gold available right now, more than I ever remember seeing at Northern Nevada. But four and five figure coins are not my play. Five years ago I could find circulated CC eagles and half eagles for under $1000.
The prices of these coins over the last 25 years has been going up steadily. I would expect them to drop only in a depression, when other prices will deflate too. I bought them as historic collectables, with their bullion value as a hedge against deflation. Five figure AU55's have a lot further to drop than a cleaned F-VF. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| When Will This Coin Price Inflation End?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/20/2023 01:44 am
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Sorry about the typo. I just caught it and changed it to 2020. I'm talking about a shift in the last three years, more or less from the start of Covid. The price shift for gold cc's is real, and is the same on dealer sites I use. eBay is just a good place to find examples. If I use dealers like APMEX I always go to their sites rather than use eBay, though I sometimes spot their coins on eBay first.
No seller would take an offer 50% under their asking price. That's literally how much the prices have risen in three years. Maybe it's just the gold cc's? Interesting to hear that the Connecticut coppers haven't seen this kind of inflation. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| France 1811 5 Francs My First Napoleon
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/15/2023 5:19 pm
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Just finished rereading an old France Magazine article on a visit to St. Helena. Expensive and not easy to do but very interesting.
I wish I had a 100 Days coin as nice as that 5 franc erafjel. I have a very worn 2 franc, which I found in Paul Bosco's NYC shop 10 years ago. Randomly mixed up with other coins, it was a memorable find. |
| | Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives |
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| Is Anyone Here A Collector Of Gold Florins?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/12/2023 10:18 am
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| The Venetian gold ducats appeared slightly later. They're the same weight as the florins, but are at a very high purity level. Both coin names have persisted for the last 750 years, though the ducats were predominant. Both coins were subject to debasement as the designs were reproduced in other countries. Numista reports that the Pedro IV Aragon florin is 750 fineness, while Venetian ducats were essentially pure gold. |
| | Forum: Ancient, Greek, Roman, and Medieval Coins |
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| Toned Morgans. Too Common?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/11/2023 10:34 am
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If the dried cod is not soaked too long in the lye, the results are pretty good and can be eaten like a fish filet. But my Norwegian grandmother did not spare the Red Devil, and then overcooked the remains. There were Christmases when the fish disintegrated completely and had to be eaten with a spoon. Usually it ended up like hot fish jello. Slimy, translucent and smelly. As an adult lutefisk eater, I've never done my own lye soak, but purchase Olsen's which is ready-to-cook.
In Italy and France they soak out the dried fish in water, which takes longer but gives a much better result. The French dish I like is a puree of the fish with potatoes known as brandade. The Italian dish is a tomato fish stew called baccala. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Toned Morgans. Too Common?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/10/2023 10:25 pm
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| The lye is washed out before you eat it. I think the lye releases sulfur from the fish, which is rich in it, and it's the sulfur that causes the black tarnish on your fork. As far as sulfur from paper, the biggest source is from papermaker's alum (aluminum sulfate). |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Toned Morgans. Too Common?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/10/2023 4:16 pm
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paralyse, my spoon display rack is in open air, which is not how most people store their silver coins and flatware. I don't see the colorful tarnish on the silverware in the drawer, which slowly turns an ugly uneven gray with time between polishings. We live in a town with a kraft pulp mill, so there is always some reduced sulfur in our air.
When I have used silver dollars in belt buckles they have slowly turned grey. I suppose that a lucky person might get other colors. Maybe cleaning has something to do with the coloration? Dipping or Silver Brite polish chemical might prep the surface.
I also have some open-air display sterling cups and bowls. These always tarnish grey, though they get polished the same way as the spoons.
The oldest spoons that I have have been polished so much that the hallmarks are barely visible. It's ironic that the whole business of "original surfaces" prized by coin collectors is the opposite of what people desire sitting next to their dinner. We eat lutefisk at Christmas, which is renowned for turning sterling black after one meal. The silver has to be polished afterwards. No one wants to eat lutefisk with a black fork. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Toned Morgans. Too Common?
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thq
Pillar of the Community
United States
2736 Posts |
Posted 03/10/2023 08:35 am
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It's just tarnish. I have coin and sterling silver spoons in an open air display rack. After polishing them back to blast white, it takes about a year for them to reexhibit all the colors of the rainbow, as well as grey shades. Then it's time to polish them again. Silver stored in a drawer stays shiny longer.
Some of them are over 300 years old. They all tarnish at about the same rate, to the same colors, without regard to their age. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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