A Golden Weekend
Saturday, I took my wife to my favorite coin shop ( ok, the only coin shop I’ve ever been to ) to take a look at a bit of gold. Naturally we had to hit the ATM first, since coin shops only accept cash. The margins are apparently pretty thin, so credit cards will destroy any chance they have at making a profit.
I decided to pick up two 1/4 ounce American Gold Eagles, rather than a single half ounce. The quarter oz gold eagle is slightly smaller than a US quarter, though it’s noticeably heavier. It also makes a very distinctive ringing sound when flipped into the air. The picture isn’t clear at all ( remember, I’m bad with the camera ), but I got one 1999 and a 2002 issue coin. The years don’t matter a bit to me; I’m just buying for the metal content. Spot price was 917 when I bought, so that would be $458.50 for the half ounce. The fee was 10% over spot ( a bit high, but then again I didn’t have to pay shipping ). All in all a good buy, and one I was happy with.
Growing collection of precious metals
The last time I displayed my precious metal collection, it was quite a bit smaller. Back then it consisted of just 8 ounces of silver and 1/10 oz of gold. Here’s my collection today:
A bit different picture, isn’t it? In that pile are 88 silver eagles ( I have 90, two didn’t make it in the picture. I guess they were shy? ), 13.744 oz of “junk” US 90% silver, 1 1/10 oz gold eagle, and my two latest 1/4 oz gold eagles. So that’s a total of 104.514 oz of pure silver, and 6/10 oz of pure gold. Compared to many bullion collectors, it’s not very much at all. But this time last year I didn’t own and silver or gold bullion - so I think it’s a great start. Plus I’ve got my wife’s support too - more in that in a later post.
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April 22nd, 2008 at 6:27 pm
First, congratulations on your increasing silver/gold holdings.
Second, congratulations on getting the wife’s support. The WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) is crucial in making any venture work, finance ventures in particular
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Thank you. I hope to continue to increase my position in metals throughout the year.
The WAF is HUGE! If you think about it, it should be. After all, 2 different people often have very different ideas when it comes to money. I think at first she thought it was almost like a coin collection ( not my thing ), but now she understands. Inflation has hit home with her, and she’s supportive of getting into metals.