The stock market has been a lot like a roller coaster ride lately. With all the uncertainty with the world in general, it is obvious why. Covid19 has shuttered businesses world wide and the media has scared many people to the point of relieving themselves of their own natural rights. Many people have had to dip into their investments when it is a bad time to do so. This only compounds things for a person's personal wealth. Investing in the stock market has been, and always will come with some risk. There are certain investments though that are virtually guaranteed to never lose their value.
If you've been paying attention to precious metal prices, you know exactly what I am talking about. In March of 2020 gold was below $1,500 an ounce. Today, they peaked at $2,064 a record as of this post. Silver, also known as the poor man's gold, went from about $13 to $29 over the same period.
You see, precious metals tend to actually increase in value during times of uncertainty. This makes them a good hedge against a crashing economy. Although at over $2,000 per ounce for gold it may be out of reach for some investors but silver can be purchased by just about any level of investor quite regularly.
There are several different ways you can invest in silver. You can purchase shares of a mutual or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that replicates the price of the metals, or you can trade futures and options in the commodities market.
Another, and better way to invest in gold, in my opinion is to have the hard asset in hand. Think of it this way. If the doo doo hits the fan, and the exchanges are closed down and the money backing them disappears, you are no better off than if the stock market crashes. And, if money loses all value, what would you have for currency to continue to pay for goods and services?
Okay, you say, "How do I get my hands on gold or silver to hoard?" There are a few different ways. You can purchase it from people in the form of unwanted jewelry or coin collections. They can be found at estate sales, Facebook Marketplace, or just from friends and family.
There is one more, and in my opinion, a couple much better and cheaper ways to find precious metal to put in your collection. There are two activities you can do in your spare time that are relatively easy to get started, and provide you with a fun, adventuresome, and physical activity.
The first and easiest to get started finding precious metals is metal detecting. Not to mention the fact that you can and will find modern coins that are worth immediate cash, if you metal detect long enough, you will most certainly find some silver. Take it from a guy that does it as part of his profession, there are plenty of lost rings to be found out there. Gold rings, necklaces, earrings, watches and more can be found with a little patience and persistence. Silver coins can be found in almost any yard that has been occupied since the 50's and 60's.
A good quality metal detector like the Fisher F22 can be purchased for around $200. It will provide you a good start with what you need to successfully find precious metals, and trust me, with time, you will.
Gold prospecting offers a very inexpensive way to find free gold and other precious metals. For about $8 you can buy a gold pan, like the Garrett Super Sluice gold pan and start finding naturally occurring gold. The only drawback is that you have to be living in gold bearing regions of the world. Fortunately there are many gold bearing regions in the United States.
Gold panning is relatively slow going and usually used mostly to prospect for gold. Once you find a place where you can find gold, you can step up to other methods of processing more gold bearing material. This allows you get more gold quicker.
If you live somewhere like Arizona where there are gold nuggets to be found, you can metal detect to find them. You will, however, most likely need a metal detector that is more suitable for gold like the Fisher Gold Bug 2.
There are quite a few books out there that can teach you to find and extract gold from the earth. There are ample Youtube videos on how to find and locate gold, coins, and treasure using various methods. Another way is to find someone who is already into the sport of treasure hunting. You would be surprised how the many of the metal detecting and gold prospecting are so willing to help others get in on the action.
There are clubs like the GPAA (Gold Prospectors Association of America) that you can join that will actually allow you access to their claims to hunt for gold - and at a relatively affordable price.
One of the other ways to learn how to use gold prospecting equipment effectively is to purchase a small bag of gold. You can use the same gold bearing material over and over again on different machines. Since you can extract all of the gold and know exactly how much it contains, you can use it on other various machines to learn how well they work and how to most effectively use them.
Once you get your knowledge and equipment in line, the only thing you gotta do is get out side and find some gold!
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