Investing in gold?

[LKLive13]

Just thought I would get opinions on this topic... I have a good amount of silver and now would like to go the gold route gradually. Whats the best way to invest to get the most bang for your buck (i.e.. bars/ or foreign coin)? In my little experience with silver you seem to get more for you money when buying junk coin. I just bought a 1945 2 peso coin for $68 so the premium on that was only like $4 or so I think... What are your thoughts?

[seal006]

I have had luck in buying gold rings. Solid gold not plated of course. Like coins, they come in a range of purity. With online gold and silver calculators like http://dendritics.com/metal-calc/ it makes it easy to see what each piece is worth. I have been picking up rings at resale shops for anywhere between 75% to 90% of spot, and reselling them for anywhere between 5% and 30% above. This might not work for everyone, but for me has worked like a champ.

[liveandievarieties]

One word Larry:

DENTAL!

We were at a local live auction tonight and one of the items I hadn't even noticed on display was 21 grams of dental gold. We bid without restraint and were the winning bidders at $90! Came home, crushed the crowns to remove impurities and dental glue. They weighed out at 18.90 grams, tested (acid test) at 18K. Total melt value, what I'll be receiving for them on Monday is $567.00

Just buy Dental Larry.

[LKLive13]

WOW! That's awesome Chris! Where else d you think one could come across dental gold?

[Antiquity]

You could head out to the "hood" and run around with a pair of pliers trying to pull out everyone's "grill". Warning: this might be hazardous to your health.

[liveandievarieties]

Indeed Thomas, that's what you'd call a "High-Risk" Investment.

You know Larry, treasure is like a set of lost keys.... it's only where you find it.

Seriously- you might try an ad on Craigslist. But it's really the stuff that you've gotta get out and hunt down. Not many people are going to call you and say they have $500 in gold they'd like $100 for. Really a matter of knowing what things are worth and being in the right place at the right time. Charity and I probably hit 25 or more yard sales a week. We never find this kind of stuff, but once in a blue moon...

[seal006]

Small local auction houses are a decent place to find stuff as well. Not only have I found some nice coins at them, but also rings, necklaces, and sterling silver flatware.

[liveandievarieties]

That's a good idea, local auctions could prove lucrative.

[seal006]

Larry, I think the bottom line is there are countless places for one to find things to purchase as an investment and or quick turnaround. You have to be willing to do the footwork. As none of it will just walk up to you. I find the hunt very satisfying.

[copperlover]

Now is the time for local auctions. You do find good stuff when some people are busy enjoying their holidays.

Lucien

[liveandievarieties]

I agree with Sean completely. Charity and I literally consider ourselves "treasure hunters" and most of what we do is the grunt work that occasionally leads up to a big score- sometimes more often than occasionally. But it really doesn't matter what it is you're searching through- we hit paydirt with clothes more often than precious metals- you can go to many yard sales and get an entire bag of clothes for a couple of bucks, usually no more than $5. We routinely pick up BRAND NEW brand name clothes. They literally cost a few pennies, we flip them on eBay and BUY GOLD!

Here's an example: We recently hit a rummage sale fundraiser. We bought a single bag of clothes for $5. From this bag came a nearly new pair of kid sized Nike LeBrons- $65, and sold in less than a week. A brand new pair of Levis brought $33. A new pair of Carhart pants brought $29. A new brand name large backpack that our oldest will use for school next year, a brand new warm up suit for me and clothes for all 3 kids, many new with the tags still on! This represented over a $250 value, $125 of it in pure cash for a $5 investment.

Anywhere you go Larry, whatever you're doing, there's piles of stuff that's nearly useless to the owner and worth considerably more to someone else. Simply be prepared and think outside of the box. Pretty soon you won't be thinking about gold, you'll be buying like-new Nikes, and a lady will say "you don't want any broken gold jewelry do you?"... it's the most random thing. Treasure is literally where you find it.

Now if you just want to invest in gold, buy US Bullion from your local coin dealer. We chose to take the unbeaten path.

[LKLive13]

Cool... Thanks for the tips... the wife and I just hit some sales today and picked up some baby clothes for the one on the way(its a girl) and I almost had a nice chunk of 10K scrap jewelry bought from a girl when her husband came out and told her she shouldn't sell it to me... I was soooo close to a great score but on the bright side we did get about $75 worth of onesies and little outfits for the baby for about $5.

[liveandievarieties]

That's awesome Larry! We try to integrate that kind of thought into all things we do.

Did you know that buying in bulk will save you hundreds and hundreds? Not in cost savings. But in not having to run to the store every day for one or two items, where you inevitably fall prey to the impulse buys too. Cutting 3 trips to the store every week will save you several thousand dollars a year, it's a proven fact!