Mr. Rawles,
Not long ago you mentioned the price of precious metals had fallen. Today the market ended with spot precious metals taking a sharp dive. If any reader does not have at least some silver or gold for when the economy really drops off, now is definitely the time to get them. Kitco is one source. I use the Northwest Territorial Mint for large purchases. For smaller buys, I have used Mint Products, but they are more for the collector, and not bullion speculator.
I have been able to amass a large sum of bullion, in the forms of silver and gold. Most gold is the older coins from the [late] 1800s and early 1900s. This gives me the bonus of not only having gold [bullion], but also having a [numismatic] rare coin. When things go really bad, I also keep a large quantity of [non-numismatic circulated] silver dimes. Buying these in $1,000 face value bags is the way to go. This will allow a person to have the smaller coins for barter. Also, having some Morgan and Peace dollars can be helpful. With the current low costs people can give now purchase them for use as birthday or Christmas presents, as well. Most young people have never seen the large dollar coins, so these coins make unique gifts.
As a last mention on this topic, Canadian silver dollars are selling for about the same cost as a US dollar, yet they are worth $5 Canadian dollars. With the current economy and weak US dollar, these are a better buy than the US Silver Eagles and people should look to these if they have a choice concerning coins. Also, plan on getting a small scale that does not take batteries. If one can be obtained, the older postage scales that can handle smaller weights would be advisable.With a scale available, [heavily worn] silver coins can be weighed to help determine their value, after TSHTF. Regards, – J. Russ