What Would You Do #2?

I think we all understand that this is not 1980 and most all the rules have changed. The hard part is understanding what the rules are NOW!
I think the big problem we have here and now in 2011 will be IF Silver/Gold drop there is alot more in private hands now then there was then, and it is a bigger part of our total assets. Also back in the 80's when prices were dropping, I would say it was mostly the US and Europe......... now you will have the WORLD trying to drop their PM's.
OneBowl, Thank you for your post, I understood what you were trying to say and agree with you. Ofcourse the big question we all want answered.......when will it drop and how low will it go?

From what I have heard here I think my 10k will stay tucked away in the safe for now!

Collecting coins and PM articles is a great hobby and it is also one that a person can make a bit of money doing.

That said, if a person wanted to invest in PMs, strictly as an investment, and wanted it to be extremely liquid, it would be difficult to beat a PM ETF. These are available for both gold and silver and perhaps even platinum and palladium as well. They can be bought and sold at any time of the day that the market is open with a few mouse clicks. On top of that, one can use "trailing stops" on most (all?) ETFs such that good down-side protection of your investment is possible. A TS of about 2% for gold or 10% for silver should work well. As the PM rises, the stop resets to a higher dollar value. If the PM declines less than the TS, you still own it. If it declines more than the TS, it is sold automatically, locking in the bulk of your profit. Note that in a market that is bouncing up and down, a larger TS will be needed so as to not get stopped out of the market sooner than you might want. If I were to make a substantial investment in gold or silver, this is the method I would consider.