Mr. Rawles,
I would first like you to know your family is in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you and your family for opening our eyes to what is happening all around us and for helping to prepare us for what could happen. To borrow a phrase, “The sleeper has awakened”.
On to my topic. I am what may be described as a prepper and after reading many of the countless articles by investors on the accumulation of silver, I began to take your advice as well as their advice and have been purchasing silver whenever the budget allows. With a family with two small boys (2 and 4) and both my wife and I working, it is hard to justify the expense of obtaining silver or gold for that matter. My point is this, I was purchasing Silver Eagles and after reading many posts on SurvivalBlog, I have turned to buying pre-1965 silver coins as “junk silver”. The going rate right now on auction web sites is 10 or more times face value of the coins. I cannot afford to buy even a quarter bag of silver at a time let alone the half bag ($500) recommended. I work in commodities and watch most very closely along with the weather and the US dollar, but silver and gold are not our main trading. My concern is that there is such a great demand for silver right now. For this example I will use the 1 oz. Silver Eagle. Recently the price over spot to obtain eagles was over $5 (now it is around $2.50 per Eagle). This means that if the going rate [per ounce] in the spot month (the month closest to the month we are in at the time) is for example $14, then you would have to pay $19 dollars per Silver Eagle. All because of high demand. The U.S. Mint has suspended the production of the proof and the uncirculated Silver Eagle because by law, the mint has to satisfy the demand for the bullion Silver Eagle. The same thing goes for the proof gold coins. I am writing this because I am afraid that most people are waiting for silver to return to the $5 area. With the demand for a hedge against inflation, the demand for silver could continue for some time. My advice is to be prepared as possible and don’t count on precious metals to return to previous low levels anytime in the near future. Thank you for all that you do to keep us informed. – Traveller