I am interested in investing in some silver as a leverage against inflation. I am wondering if there are any of you that have any ideas?

If you don’t want to pay shipping then scout out local pawn shops and buy items in 24karat gold, most of them have on site gold testers which will affirm the karat content for you and the prices will be usually be below market price for weight.

@VzzBzz Actually, I got exactly the same advice from a friend of mine on Facebook. That’s what I’m going to do.

When my ex husband and I had our jewelry business, we’d often had clients bring us pawn items to re make into our designs because they could find gemstones and metal less expensive than if we bought and provided them new.
Good shopping to you.

What about a pawn shop? I understand that the buying end of the business is cooking, but the selling not so much, maybe you could get a good deal.

@SuperMouse That seems to be the consensus, thanks.

To the Fluther moderators—thank you for making me edit this question. You are correct in that it seemed “spammy” although it was not my intent. I merely posted the link as an example of the offshore bank that one person (who I trust) was recommending, but I can see how it seemed like it was spam.

@Benny [mod says] As a rule, we strongly encourage people to link to other sites that are relevant to the discussion. However, we do have our fair share of spammers as well, and, as you noticed, we react quickly to prevent the site from being overrun.

@shilolo That’s what I figured—no problem. I linked to it for information only. But I see your point and I appreciate the oversight. If you like, I can link to it in a comment again for interest now that I’ve clarified my point. Or not—at this point I think I have my answer.

@Benny I’m glad you weren’t offended. With the recent influx of new users, it can be hard to determine intent, since spammers are invariably users with little to no lurve and who signed up within the past few days. At this point, it is completely up to you.

@shilolo Nah, I’ll pass, unless someone reading this thread is interested. The person who recommended the site to me is a good friend of mine, a financial adviser, and also a new member of Fluther. He just suggested it as an example, and I was looking to see if there were other options.

@shilolo BTW, you might want to take a look at this question and the one answer that is there. http://www.fluther.com/disc/5869/advice-on-buying-gold-and-silver-coins/

Now that looks like spam, if you ask me.

@Benny Thanks for the heads-up. I removed the quip. In the future, you can also use the “flag as” link to send us your concerns. We heavily rely on the users to help us police the site to eliminate spammers, personal attacks, hate speech, etc. since we don’t actively monitor all threads at all times.

@shilolo Oh, there’s the “flag as”! It was right in front of me!

Just to let you know, one of the major problems with wis was the lack of moderation, and it caused people to leave. I’m seeing now that the moderating on this site is not only thoughtful, but interactive. I can speak for at least 3 people I know of and say that we appreciate it. There are some format issues that will take getting used to, and there are a few things about wis that I liked better, but overall, this is a great site.

Take some of your gold and silver (flatware, jewelry) about which you have some idea of cost. Now try to sell it to a retailer. Bring smelling salts. Gold ingots may work, however, but you need a really strong back.

metal traders are stuck in the wild west let the buyer beware. Stick with the large exchanges as you know what you are getting(purity/weight) and for what price(spot price at time of purchse).

As for a hedge against inflation, meh it’s a speculative play – too many people are buying for all the wrong reasons, creating metal bubbles.

I’m long on gold, bought a bunch of equity in mining companies back in January, not because I think gold going to go higher (although I’m hedged against that as well), but becasue I believe all the speculation has shot up the price of the commodity that’s used in industrial applications (such as electronic equipment) and jewellery.

The gold bugs are going to continue to hoard their gold, and we are going to sell the floor out from under them. The same type of strategy applies to any other metal..so be careful.

@HarmonyAlexandria Hi Harmony, great to see you! Thanks for the information. I have a Vanguard account and I see that they have gold stock funds.

I’ll probably just stick with what I know best—stock index mutual funds. They’re cheap.

I would try and buy bullion from a major player with the lowest premium to current silver prices that meets your demand.
I would prefer the tangible in hand, before I would gamble on some hedged metal fund.

I would recommend that you investigate newly-minted non-numismatic silver coins issued by the US mint. You will be able to purchase them from a reputable dealer for a fairly small premium over the value of their silver content.