Gold Rush Of 2008

Clembo, what you are describing sounds like people are hoarding, combined with some people who are panic buying. Good for short term profit, but isn't it risky for a long term buyer? I wouldn't want to buy at $1000 and watch gold drop $200 in a week later on next year. In Canada, we have government backed deposit insurance for up to $100,000. Since I don't have that much, I'll be keeping away from bullion (except for my two silver maples!, and Canadian silver coins) and keeping my money in the bank.

Are there such protections in the U.S.?

But once, I believe in 2011, when demand pics up again and we're out of the quagmire, Pt will have the largest instantaneous price growth, probably back to the 2000-3000 range.

Generally, people aren't hoarding gold for the fear of unsafe bank deposits.

Rather, people are hoarding it for fear of impending inflation. There is no insurance against inflation, except to dump the dollar.

But -- like you -- I am also leery of gold's volatility. And for instance Pt rising in 2011 is no reason to buy it now.

I don't know a whole lot about stocks and precious metals. But I seriously think Platinum will not be as strong as Silver in the future. I actually believe that the world will be moving fast towards electric cars, or at least hybrids. The technology is there for electric vehicles and the look of these cars are modern, not TOO modern *outta-this-world* space car look- or the really dorky looking "Smart Car". They just have to modify the price of these cars through mass production. I mean, I could build a Delorian in my garage, but to do it right, it will take me 5 to 10 years and a quarter million dollars to build one car. This is why I think Silver would be a better investment; Silver is used to make Batteries.

Due to the current recession, regular people want to buy physical silver and gold because most people can't afford $100,000 to invest, so they buy gold and silver in coin form or small 10 oz bars. I believe Numismatics are going to be increasingly more popular as well. When you search for Silver, you can find it in 1oz Canadian (or U.S.) minted coins which is perfect for regular people to invest in... This will lead some people into Numismatics. This is how I ended up here!

Oh and, with Nickel, I think it's in the stages that Silver was, back in the late 60's and 70's. It took over 30 years for silver to get where it's at today... but due to the increased population and mass use of nickel world wide; I think it will take about 5 to 10 years for Nickel to gain some steady momentum. Nickel is used in many products, one of the main purpose is to use Nickel to plate steel (Stainless Steel). Steel is actually a really crappy metal, it rusts quickly. Once you add super "Space-Gold"(Nickel) to steel, you have rust free and STRONGER steel. Also, Nickel shines like Silver, but with out the Tarnishing. You know how stainless steel appliances are very popular in North America? We set world wide trends in North America and everyone in the world wants what we have. China is the worlds photocopier and they want to build their own stainless steel appliances and possibly sell it cheaper back to North America, this is why I believe China has horded so much Nickel in the past year. I mean, honestly, China is the king of counterfeit.

Anyways, I'm just rambling on.

I'm buying a couple 1oz Gold Maple Leafs on Monday, so its been on my mind lately.


Cheers!

James.

What if you went to the grocery store and tried paying for your food with gold or silver... will they accept it? If they agree, how do you prove your gold or silver is real and not counterfeit?

Okie-Colin, being in the biz that I am, please permit me to point out that the term "cost basis" has specific technical meaning in the tax world. When you say that "My cost basis is zero as they were a gift.", that is not accurate for federal tax purposes. Your basis is actually the cost the giver paid for whatever was gifted. Should you sell and report the transaction on your tax return, the difference in definition of cost basis could result in enormous differences in the amount of capital gains tax due. If you simply meant that it didn't cost you anything out of pocket, then, well, er.....never mind.

Sorry. I didn't mean to offend. I have just learned to assume nothing. Was only trying to be helpful.