Posts by Michael Morgan5

A recession? Yeah, it’s looking more than just likely at this point.
I’d say we’re looking at 2020.

But even so, we aren't about to go out and drop money on a brand-new SUV for the niece.😛

Jeremy Jackson2 said:So, where would actually be the best place to pick up some gold? Like, which state should I look at? And if I do buy some, how does crossing state lines work—is it just a matter of carrying the receipt and being totally fine? Oh, and what if someone else is buying it on my behalf? How does the ownership transfer actually happen... I mean, does the receipt or the bill of sale show the actual buyer's name?
When you guys mention jewelry stores, is it really just any shop, or are there certain ones that are way more reliable and safer than others? Maybe some are better for this kind of thing?
And thanks, seriously, to everyone out there! Whether you're trying to steer me wrong or genuinely helping me out, I guess I don't mind... because honestly, any info is better than that pathetic 0% interest rate my bank is offering on my kid's savings account right now.

Ownership isn't some complicated legal hurdle here. You buy it, grab your receipt, and walk out.
If you’re buying in Austria (which is what I’d suggest), for amounts over $10,000, you’ll need to show ID, so your name will be on the paperwork, but you don't actually need that receipt when it comes time to sell it later.
Personally, I always go for http://smh.net/at/01101801-philharmo...gold-2018.html
That said, you can't really go wrong with an American Eagle Gold Coin, an American Eagle Outfitters piece, or pretty much anything else they have in stock—even though the Philharmonic Orchestra stuff is .999 fine while the American Eagle Gold Coin is .916.
Just scroll back through this thread; you'll find plenty of posts with more granular details.
I’m not in the mood to type the same thing all over again.🙂
You could buy locally, sure, but if you're looking at 500g chunks, it makes way more sense to make the trip down to Austin.
Crossing the border is standard procedure; you aren't required to report cash or gold, and frankly, nobody is going to bother asking you about it.

Jeremy Jackson2 said:I could really use some advice here. So, JP Morgan Chase basically killed the interest rate on our kid's savings account, and now we’re just sitting here with this lump sum for our little one and nowhere to go with it. The plan is to have them use it after they turn 18—maybe to start a small business or head off to college—so we definitely want to keep saving and setting money aside. But I'm honestly stuck on what to do with the $33333 we've already tucked away. Right now, it's just sitting in a bank account earning absolutely zero percent. I was looking into buying a half-kilo gold bar? But then I started wondering... how can you even be sure they’re giving you real gold? Maybe it’s better to get several smaller pieces instead, so you could actually test each one on the spot if you had to... I don't know. Housing savings plans and life insurance feel so abstract to me, and I'm really not looking to take out a loan, unless maybe for something short-term like 3 to 5 years.

I've been looking directly at these links here and I noticed some differences right off the bat,
On one site, for a half-kilo bar, it's untaxed $17,500.00 * $17,250.00
But over at Gold Standard, a half-kilo is $17,141.26 vs $17,723.43
Based on this, it seems like a better deal to go through Gold Standard, assuming the quality of the bar is the same—it says 999 purity, right?

In America, you'll end up paying $250-$260 more for a 500g bar than you would in Austria.
If you decide to buy here in the States, check their actual inventory first.
If they ask for upfront payment but won't have the gold ready for 7-10 days, my advice is to think twice. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do, but let's face it, legal disputes in this country can drag on for over a decade.

Otherwise, it's much more practical to buy gold coins.
True, you'll pay a bit more to buy them (and get a bit less when you sell), but you won't be forced to liquidate an entire bar if you suddenly need some quick cash.

Wrong subforum.

Taylor Robinson51 said:Personally, I tend to source my gold in Austria. My recent purchases were made here:

http://smh.net/at/anlegen/preisliste.html

The red figures indicate their buy price, while green shows what they sell for. You're looking at a spread of 2-5% for gold. For larger quantities, I recommend the 1 oz Philharmonic coins... for smaller amounts, stick to the 1 ducat pieces, where the spread sits closer to 2-3%.

Keep in mind that silver and platinum are subject to sales tax, unlike investment-grade gold which is tax-exempt. Buying those metals through this specific retail method isn't advisable given the tax burden...

Same here.

I don't always sell back to SMH, but they're my go-to for most of my purchases.

Here are a couple of other links if you want to compare...https://philoro.at/shop/goldmuenzen

https://www.goldundco.at/en/precious-metal-prices.html

Yeah, they just lowered the ask at Goldman Sachs to 5 EUR. When I was typing my post last night, it was sitting at 1150.30, but that’s probably just because the Austrians refresh their pricing on a 24-hour cycle.

From where I’m standing, making the trip over to Austria to pick up the goods is an absolute no-brainer.
Between gas, tolls, and grabbing a decent lunch, I’m looking at about 100 USD if I head out solo.
But here’s the kicker... you don't have to deal with any annoying currency conversion losses or middleman bank fees. You just walk in with cash and walk out with gold.

1150 Federal Reserve compared to an 1131 Federal Reserve ask at the Vienna Philharmonic for an ounce—you really think a few bucks difference doesn't matter?

Thomas Patel6 said:Not trying to act like a know-it-all here... but I just went to measure that old 5-cent nickel we used to have. It's about 18 millimeters across.

Meanwhile, that New York Philharmonic coin weighing 3-ish grams, which costs roughly $333, is only 16 millimeters wide.

Look, I'm definitely no expert when it comes to gold investing... But paying around $333 for a coin that's literally smaller than a nickel?! Isn't gold a little overrated?

Spot on.
And don't even get me started on the color, good grief. 🙄
If it were blue, I might find a way to justify $333, but this shade of yellow? It’s nothing. The whole thing is just pure hype. 👎

Home Depot is basically just a chain of gold buyback stations at this point. Honestly, I don't get the appeal—why would anyone bother buying or selling investment-grade gold through them?

They’ve got this special edition featuring Franz Joseph aimed at the little collectors, but even then, they seem to be charging more than Goldman Sachs if my math is right.
If you actually decide to pull the trigger and buy from them, just a heads-up: their buyback rates for coins purchased elsewhere are totally different, so make sure you hang onto that 'certificate' they hand you.
I put 'certificate' in quotes because, let's be real, the coins themselves don't actually have serial numbers.

Thomas Patel6 said:What are those coins actually called? And how many grams are we talking about?

By the way, the gap between the buy and sell price—the spread—at that "Goldman Sachs" place being mentioned is way, way higher than 3%.

They’re usually referred to as Franz Joseph coins or single ducats. They weigh in at about 3.49 grams, though they aren't quite as pure as the New York Philharmonic ones (986/999).

Over at http://smh.net/, the difference is 4.40 EUR.
And over at https://www.goldundco.at/en/precious-metal-prices.html, it's 6.95 EUR, though you have to account for the fact that the spread on the New York Philharmonic pieces is tighter compared to the ounce.

You're spot on there.
But if we're talking about a smaller spread on a 1kg bar—well, that's just 😁

You're going to see the tightest spreads if you stick to the 1kg bars.

@Jamie Reed2...buying gold jewelry is hands down the worst way to actually invest in the metal.

Jonathan Wells2 said:I’ve dealt with Goldman Sachs a few times now and everything has gone smoothly. Naturally, I was a bit skeptical at first, which is why I ended up meeting with people down in Washington, D.C. to vet them, but after that, it’s been fine. From what I can tell, they keep plenty of stuff in stock, which is good. Even for those larger bars, you just have to give them a day's notice before picking them up, since it seems like they keep them tucked away in some bank vault somewhere outside the main part of Washington, D.C.

SmartFart, I really don't see why you'd need to go out of your way to find a dealer if they don't have exactly what you want sitting on the shelf right this second. If you look at the inventory levels for places like Goldman Sachs or Home Depot, keeping every single item in stock would require upwards of ten million dollars. It's the exact same situation with dealers in Austria. Actually, it isn't just Austria; it's the same in Germany or pretty much anywhere else. Sure, they’ll have small bars and coins ready to go, but if you try to order anything substantial, expect a five to ten-day wait for delivery. Keeping five kilos of gold on hand isn't a huge deal, but what if I specifically want five kilos in 1000g bars, and all they have are two 1000g ones and a bunch of 250g or 100g pieces? It's basically impossible, and honestly, it wouldn't even make financial sense for them to carry that much. Besides, if you're just looking at the cost of hedging with gold via Citadel, you're looking at maybe 2% annually, while their actual margin on those larger bars is less than 1%.

If you're serious about buying investment-grade gold, the principle is universal—you pay upfront and then they order the goods. I'm talking about the big orders here, obviously, not stuff under 10,000 $5.00, because let's be real, buying that little isn't exactly a "gold investment."

Home Depot is alright, but they seem more focused on buying back jewelry, and they end up being pricier than Goldman Sachs. It's the same story there too; their website claims everything is in stock, but when you actually ask, you find out you're waiting five to ten days. 🙂
I haven't personally used Morgan, but a friend of mine called them and said they were some Canadian crew who weren't exactly the friendliest people. He wanted a fifty-gram delivery, and the woman on the phone told him they never do mail delivery—only in-person pickup—so he just went through Goldman Sachs instead. Heh, that's actually why I ended up using them too. To me, they seem like the most professional outfit, especially since they have an app to track the value of your bars and coins. My only real gripe is that they didn't mention the app until much later by complete accident. They've buried that info so deep on their website that you'd never even know it exists unless they point it out to you.

I haven't really run into that scenario.
In my experience, it’s always been a straightforward "cash-in-hand, gold-in-hand" situation after a quick phone call or some back-and-forth messaging.
The only time I’ve dealt with an online outfit in the US was through Etsy
They were short on those New York Philharmonic ounces they had listed, so they told me they'd give me a shout once the stock landed.
They did, I showed up with the cash, and I walked out with the goods.

Gold coins are running about $15 higher per ounce here than they are in Austria, which is pretty standard for a place like America.
Honestly, I’d never even heard of these guys before. I didn't even bother finishing the piece after that first paragraph where they start rambling about how the global debt is basically unpayable. Look, I'm just here for work—I'm not really interested in reading Living Wall pamphlets.
If you're planning on buying from anyone, do yourself a favor: call them ahead of time, ask if they actually have the stock on hand, and confirm how they take payment. If they can't hand over the goods the second you walk in with the cash, just steer clear. Don't waste your time.
As for the price difference... if you're buying enough volume that the savings cover your gas, lunch, and the opportunity cost of the trip, then in my opinion, it's worth making the trek over to Austria.

Amanda Allen4 said:My question concerns the advice given by Egon von Greyerz—specifically his suggestion that one should hold gold in a jurisdiction outside of where they actually reside. What exactly is so incomprehensible about my inquiry regarding how to actually access it when the time comes? To suggest that someone should have to fly from their home in the States to some distant location just to reach their "buried" gold whenever they need it—it’s nothing short of absurd!

Look, I realize you can keep him at arm's length without anyone even noticing—but that wasn't exactly the point of my question, was it?

You already know the answer.
Neither the advice nor the question actually makes any sense.

How exactly is some government jurisdiction supposed to get their hands on gold that my spouse and I know exists, tucked away exactly where we buried it?

It’s our own private gold standard. It has zero connection to any third party unless we decide to bring it into the mix, so frankly, neither the state nor its laws even stand a chance.

I don't even follow the logic behind the question.

Alright... bold move.
From what I can tell by following this thread, you’ve never actually been one to throw specific numbers out there.
I really hope God is on your side here—assuming, of course, that a high-end mountain bike doesn't end up costing me $7,300.
Either way, I have a feeling I'll be buying and selling at least five or six more times before we ever get to that point.

Robert Vaughn10 said:Just a quick reminder about what happened back in August 2011 regarding gold. We shot from $1,600 to $1,800 in the blink of an eye. Then, barely a month later, we hit $1,921.
Time your entries wisely...
Interestingly enough, if you divide $1,921 by the low of $260, you get 7.3—a figure I’m roughly expecting for the gold peak in the thousands...

"Follow the sequence"

Fair enough.
Can anyone give me a rough idea of when that peak might actually hit?

I'm hanging out over here http://smh.net/