# Why Is JP Morgan Accumulating The Biggest Stockpile Of Physical Silver In History?



## LastOutlaw

http://alt-market.com/articles/2576...ggest-stockpile-of-physical-silver-in-history

This article was written by Michael Snyder and originally published at The Economic Collapse

Why in the world has JP Morgan accumulated more than 55 million ounces of physical silver? Since early 2012, JP Morgan's stockpile has grown from less than 5 million ounces of physical silver to more than 55 million ounces of physical silver. Clearly, someone over at JP Morgan is convinced that physical silver is a great investment.

But in recent times, the price of silver has actually fallen quite a bit. As I write this, it is sitting at the ridiculously low price of $15.66 an ounce. So up to this point, JP Morgan's investment in silver has definitely not paid off. But it will pay off in a big way if we will soon be entering a time of great financial turmoil.

During a time of crisis, investors tend to flood into physical gold and silver. And as I mentioned just recently, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon recently stated that "there will be another crisis" in a letter to shareholders&#8230;

Some things never change - there will be another crisis, and its impact will be felt by the financial market.

The trigger to the next crisis will not be the same as the trigger to the last one - but there will be another crisis. Triggering events could be geopolitical (the 1973 Middle East crisis), a recession where the Fed rapidly increases interest rates (the 1980-1982 recession), a commodities price collapse (oil in the late 1980s), the commercial real estate crisis (in the early 1990s), the Asian crisis (in 1997), so-called "bubbles" (the 2000 Internet bubble and the 2008 mortgage/housing bubble), etc. While the past crises had different roots (you could spend a lot of time arguing the degree to which geopolitical, economic or purely financial factors caused each crisis), they generally had a strong effect across the financial markets.

And Dimon is apparently putting his money where his mouth is.

If Dimon believes that another great crisis is coming, then it would make logical sense to stockpile huge amounts of precious metals. And in particular, silver is a tremendous bargain for a variety of reasons. Personally, I like gold, but I absolutely love silver - especially at the price it is at right now.

Over the past few years, JP Morgan has been voraciously buying up physical silver. Nobody has ever seen anything quite like this ever before. In fact, JP Morgan has added more than 8 million ounces of physical silver during the past couple of weeks alone&#8230;

According to a detailed report from The Wealth Watchman JP Morgan Chase has been amassing a huge stockpile of physical silver, presumably in anticipation of a major liquidity event.

They're baaaaack. Yes, "old faithful" is back at it again!

Of course, they never really left silver, and have been rigging it non-stop in the futures market, but for awhile there, there were at least no admissions of newly-stacked silver being made in their Comex warehousing facilities.

Yet, after a 16 month period of "dormancy" within their Comex warehouse vaults, these guys have returned with a vengeance.

In fact, our old buddies at JP Morgan Chase, not only see value in silver here, but they're currently standing for delivery in their own house account in such strong numbers, that it commands our attention. Let me show you what I mean.

Here's a breakdown of the Comex's most recent silver deliveries to JP Morgan:

April 7th: 1,110,000 ounces
April 8th: 1,280,000 ounces
April 9th: 893,037 ounces
April 10th: 1,200,224 ounces
April 14th: 1,073,000 ounces
April 15th: 1,191,275 ounces
April 16th: 1,183,777.295 ounces

This is a huge bout of deliveries in such a short space of time. In fact, within the realm of Comex world, it's such an exceptionally large amount, that it even creates quite a spike on the long-term chart of JP Morgan's vault stockpile:JP Morgan Silver
All in all, JP Morgan has added over 8.3 million ounces of additional silver in just the past 2 weeks alone.

Full report at The Wealth Watchman (via Steve Quayle and Realist News)

So why is JP Morgan doing this?

Do they know something that the rest of us do not?

Meanwhile, JP Morgan Chase has made another very curious move as well. It is being reported that the bank is "restricting the use of cash" in some markets, and has even gone so far as to "prohibit the storage of cash in safe deposit boxes"&#8230;

What is a surprise is how little notice the rollout of Chase's new policy has received. As of March, Chase began restricting the use of cash in selected markets, including Greater Cleveland. The new policy restricts borrowers from using cash to make payments on credit cards, mortgages, equity lines, and auto loans. Chase even goes as far as to prohibit the storage of cash in its safe deposit boxes . In a letter to its customers dated April 1, 2015 pertaining to its "Updated Safe Deposit Box Lease Agreement," one of the highlighted items reads: "You agree not to store any cash or coins other than those found to have a collectible value." Whether or not this pertains to gold and silver coins with no numismatic value is not explained.

What in the world is that all about?

Why is JP Morgan suddenly so negative about cash?

I think that there is a whole lot more going on behind the scenes than we are being told.

JP Morgan Chase is the largest of the six "too big to fail" banks in the United States. The total amount of assets that JP Morgan Chase controls is roughly equal to the GDP of the entire British economy. This is an institution that is immensely powerful and that has very deep ties to the U.S. government.

Could it be possible that JP Morgan Chase is anticipating another great economic crisis?

We are definitely due for one. Just consider the following chart from Zero Hedge. It postulates that our financial system is ready for another "7.5 year itch"&#8230;
7.5 Year Itch

JP Morgan certainly seems to be preparing for a worst-case scenario.

What about you?

Are you getting ready for what is coming?


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## hiwall

With total assets of 2.6 trillion dollars, the less than one billion dollars in silver is not really all that surprising (though it is more than I have).


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## Woody

My thought is they are trying to cover their paper asses for the folks wanting physical, even at a loss. Like the FED placating countries by returning 'some' of their physical, they avoid real trouble. They give back some while they scramble to buy more to return to them to replace all the physical they "leased" out.

Another thing to ponder is exactly where all this physical gold and silver comes from. We hear of countries buying massive quantities, but never of any country or bank selling any. Everyone is holding on to theirs, but at the same time everyone is buying. You can't tell me mining alone provides for investment buying as well as industrial demand.


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## LastOutlaw

And the part that says they are no longer taking cash payments and you are no longer allowed to store cash in the safety deposit boxes?
If you put those two things together it doesn't sound like it is a good idea to hold US dollars


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## Caribou

Woody said:


> Another thing to ponder is exactly where all this physical gold and silver comes from. We hear of countries buying massive quantities, but never of any country or bank selling any. Everyone is holding on to theirs, but at the same time everyone is buying. You can't tell me mining alone provides for investment buying as well as industrial demand.


Someone is certainly selling. The country/bank that is buying seems stronger so they want the public to know. A country that is selling, particularly when PM's are down, does not want that information out. Anyone that is buying will not name their source because if they did chances of being cut off. Even if you only named one source it would scare the bejuses out of the rest.


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## Balls004

I'm going to be honest here, I've never been able to wrap my head around the value that PM's, diamonds, or any other form of money really have in a SHTF situation. 

I've got the things that I consider most important to the survival of my family and me, and if it really does get that bad, I'm not willing to trade those things for maybe being able to profit off of PM's, etc., assuming that things eventually get better, and not worse.

I'm not saying that others aren't right, I'm just saying that I don't understand the concept. Yeah, I know my wife likes shiny things like gold and diamonds (Women are like crows in that respect, lol), but she doesn't place much value on them either if things go really bad. 

If I need to be schooled in why I'm wrong, have at it. I'm just not getting the why I should.


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## Gians

Balls004 said:


> I'm going to be honest here, I've never been able to wrap my head around the value that PM's, diamonds, or any other form of money really have in a SHTF situation.
> 
> I've got the things that I consider most important to the survival of my family and me, and if it really does get that bad, I'm not willing to trade those things for maybe being able to profit off of PM's, etc., assuming that things eventually get better, and not worse.
> 
> I'm not saying that others aren't right, I'm just saying that I don't understand the concept. Yeah, I know my wife likes shiny things like gold and diamonds (Women are like crows in that respect, lol), but she doesn't place much value on them either if things go really bad.
> 
> If I need to be schooled in why I'm wrong, have at it. I'm just not getting the why I should.


I guess cause looking back at SHTF situations in history, there's always a certain amount of people that will still like bright and shiny stones, and will trade goods for them. Not sure why, guess it's just a need to have some type of currency. Might also depend on how severe the situation is and how soon people think society will recover.


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## hiwall

The real value of PM's comes when a fiat currency collapses. If or when the dollar collapses it will likely still be worth something but if it loses half its value then the dollars in your pocket are worth half but your $100 worth of silver is now worth $200 in the devalued currency. By having the silver you have lost nothing but have retained all your value.


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## Marcus

Balls004 said:


> I'm going to be honest here, I've never been able to wrap my head around the value that PM's, diamonds, or any other form of money really have in a SHTF situation.


It's a relatively portable store of wealth whose value can't be destroyed by inflation. As I see it, and your opinion may differ, there are two uses for PMs.

Depending on how widespread of an area is affected by the crisis, PMs can be used outside of the affected area to access needed goods or services.

In a large-scale crisis, PMs can be used *afterwards* as a way to establish an economy. Coinage with known silver or gold value can be used *during* a crisis as a means of exchange or to facilitate an exchange.


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## Caribou

Balls004 said:


> I'm going to be honest here, I've never been able to wrap my head around the value that PM's, diamonds, or any other form of money really have in a SHTF situation.
> 
> If I need to be schooled in why I'm wrong, have at it. I'm just not getting the why I should.


Okay, since you asked, let me give it a shot.

Money is a store of wealth and it makes commerce possible. Barter is your other option. Let us say that you grow produce. You barter your produce to a mechanic for his labor. How many mechanics will you be able to sell to without money. Will you be able to find a doctor that needs your produce since every other farmer is trying to trade off their produce to doctors as well. You can only hold onto that lettuce for so long and it is gone.

Money has been used for thousands of years. Up until recently money has always been something of intrinsic value. In Japan rice was used as money. In most societies gold, silver, and copper were used though you can find other examples. The advantage to PM's is that they don't rot when they get wet and rodents don't eat them. PM's are real money.

If you look into your pocket you will see some pieces of paper with numerical designations on them. This paper is issued by the bank and is a promise to pay. It is fiat money which means there is nothing behind that note. You may hear money called a bank note because that is what it is. Just as you may take out a note (loan) to buy a car you take notes in exchange for your products or services. At one time the paper money was a representation of gold. You could take it into any bank and demand gold. Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard which, by the way, is where that term comes from.

"Well, I'm not going to sell my last sack of rice for gold!" Duh! Of course not. But if you have a warehouse full of rice or a field full of tomatoes then, yes, PM's sound pretty good. You wouldn't sell your last food today for a stack of one hundred dollar bills so of course you wouldn't sell you last food tomorrow either, for any amount of money. It is not that you won't sell food for money it is that you won't sell your life for money.

PM's are real money. Time, effort, and materials have been expended to put them in the form that you find them in today. PM's are precious because they are not readily available. This mean that they hold your wealth in a relatively small package. You can use grey rocks as money. I know people that have payed off debts with grey rock but they delivered truck loads of rock where a coin or two of gold would have paid the same debt.

Today you accept fiat in exchange for your time and your assets yet you hesitate to accept real money. Please excuse my humor but, that is like turning down sex because you've been dating that inflatable doll for so long that you're not sure what you are getting yourself into. (pun intended)


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## tsrwivey

004, the idea behind precious metals is to maintain wealth. So if you're prepping for another depression or the collapse of the dollar, you'll have your beans, bullets, & Bandaids to provide for your basic & immediate needs while precious metals will provide for longer term needs, kinda like investment accounts & retirement accounts do now. That's about all I know, we haven't gotten into PMs yet.


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## Tweto

There has been articles that physical gold is not as available as it been reported by the COMEX and other holding companies. So if a bank wants to acquire PM's, silver maybe all they can get.

The next point is that a bank wants to collect silver because the banks planners maybe seeing something coming and silver would provide a smoother transition in a future turmoil.


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## Caribou

Tweto said:


> There has been articles that physical gold is not as available as it been reported by the COMEX and other holding companies. So if a bank wants to acquire PM's, silver maybe all they can get.
> 
> The next point as that a bank wants to collect silver because the banks planners maybe seeing something coming and silver would provide a smoother transition in a future turmoil.


Also the ratio of silver to gold today is far better than normal.


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## BillS

Balls004 said:


> I'm going to be honest here, I've never been able to wrap my head around the value that PM's, diamonds, or any other form of money really have in a SHTF situation.


The purpose of buying precious metals is to:
1. preserve your wealth from hyperinflation before the collapse 
2. for possible use in trade after the collapse
3. to still have wealth after things get back to normal.

Not only that, the prices of silver and gold are being artificially suppressed. According to Jim Willie and some other people, prices of gold and silver could go up as much as 500% once price suppression ends.

Right now you could sell 2 1964 or earlier dimes and get approximately enough money to buy a gallon of gas. Most likely that will remain true as the dollar dies. So if you have silver, when a gallon of gas costs $10, you'll still be able to buy it because the value of your silver will have gone up in proportion to the gas price in dollars.

I don't know how long stores will remain open after hyperinflation begins or after the banks take all of our money. My goal is to have enough money invested in precious metals to buy food and gasoline for one year based on current prices of precious metals. $10,000 in gold and silver would be enough to do that. I'm not there yet.


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## LastOutlaw

BillS said:


> $10,000 in gold and silver would be enough to do that. I'm not there yet.


If the value of the dollar crashed and silver and gold jumped to 50 times their present value as some have predicted your $10,000.00 worth of silver and gold would end up worth $500,000.00
I think you should be able to live quite well on that.

When Iceland defaulted on their debt and started with fresh currency you supposedly could buy a $300,000.00 home with $300.00 worth of silver.


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## hiwall

> If the value of the dollar crashed and silver and gold jumped to 50 times their present value as some have predicted your $10,000.00 worth of silver and gold would end up worth $500,000.00


No he would still only have $10,000 in value.


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## LastOutlaw

hiwall said:


> No he would still only have $10,000 in value.


No, he would have value of $500,000.00
Problem is that a gallon of gas would cost him $300.00 instead of $3.00


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## Balls004

And anyone wonders why I'm confused?

I understand the underlying theories of money. Of why different forms of payment for goods or services are valued.

What I don't get, is that in a SHTF environment, how does the dynamic of what value is placed upon different "monies" change? What will be the new "gold standard"? Will bullets, beans, shelter, or something else be more valuable than gold or silver? Will people adjust their value placed on something that is difficult to transport and has little practical value in everyday life (circular argument here) or will they decide, I have bullets, beans and shelter, and I don't need gold and silver? Could water somehow become the new gold standard?

I don't measure my wealth in dollars, or any other currency. Currency to me is an ephemeral sort of thing and subject to the whims of others. My wealth is in the hard things that I actually possess, and actually have control over. I'm not arguing against having PM's, I'm just trying to understand why if the SHTF, why I should have more than I do now, which is minimal.


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## Woody

I do not feel I will need them for when it happens, I will want to have them after. During a situation, goods and sundries will have value, PM's not so much. Depending on the area you live in that is. In my area someone is going to want to trade eggs for carrots, not eggs for little pieces of silver.

After a situation, TPTB will need to establish a new monetary system. Gold and Silver have traditionally been the basis for these. That pretty piece of paper with a one and two zero's on it will be worth nothing. That PM you paid $100 for might be worth $1,000, $100, $10 or $1 but will still have some value. That axe you paid $20 for might be worth $1,000, $100, $10, or $1, but will also still have value. Any 'Dollars' you have in a bank account are most likely to be worth pretty much nothing when they convert them all to the new system. They will need to base the new system on something of value. I think the whole folly of Fiat currency (How much do we owe you? Let me go print that right up for you!) is over. Look where it has gotten us!

So, rather than buy 100 axes as a store of value, we buy PM's. Might axes turn out to be a better investment for after? You betcha! Might axes value slip to nothing if all the trees disappeared? Yup. Might PM's value slip to nothing also? Yup. Maybe Coke Zero will become the new monetary base! There is no way to know for certain. What we do know is that PM's have traditionally been the basis for value and currently, many major players are buying the crap out of them.


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## Marcus

Balls004 said:


> What I don't get, is that in a SHTF environment, how does the dynamic of what value is placed upon different "monies" change? What will be the new "gold standard"? Will bullets, beans, shelter, or something else be more valuable than gold or silver? Will people adjust their value placed on something that is difficult to transport and has little practical value in everyday life (circular argument here) or will they decide, I have bullets, beans and shelter, and I don't need gold and silver? Could water somehow become the new gold standard?


*During the SHTF time frame,* food, bullets, weapons, clothing, fuel, water, shelter, and almost anything else will be more valuable than PMs *if* the affected area is large enough that a person couldn't flee outside the zone.

But in a more localized area such as an area where a hurricane or earthquake hits, taking your PMs with you as you flee is more important since it will allow you to survive in an unaffected area.

Most of us here believe PMs will be the premiere currency after things have stabilized and a new normal is established after a widespread SHTF. Fiat will have little or no value as the *trust* in its value will not be there.

I guess that's probably the best reason to own PMs: Trust. I trust $100 in pre-65 silver coinage will contain 70.7 oz of silver except for some of the WW2 era coinage. I trust that the market for PMs will survive better than the market for fiat. I trust that there are numerous uses for PMs while I only trust that fiat will be useful for TP or perhaps clothing. The value of fiat is set by the Federal Reserve and international markets while the value of PMs is set by supply and demand. Which do you trust more?

What good is it to survive a SHTF event if your prospects slowly decline in the aftermath as equipment breaks or your stores are depleted? Why not spend a little now to help your prospects with the added bonus that the PMs can be handed down to future generations to provide them with some security?


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## hiwall

> is that in a SHTF environment


No one knows about this because it has not happened yet. Woody as the best answer.


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## GrinnanBarrett

They are doing it for the same reason a lot of bankers and former investment bankers are doing it. I know two Senior VP level bankers who have dropped out and gone totally prepper in the last four years. When the price is down they buy. Precious metals are a great buy if you get in at the low price.


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## Woody

Marcus said:


> The value of fiat is set by the Federal Reserve and international markets while the value of PMs is set by supply and demand. Which do you trust more?


For PM's now I do not believe this is true. Remember not that long ago, there was a rush to buy physical silver? What happened? There was no physical to be had, long waits for delivery. And what happened to the price of silver? It kept falling!!! Then, all of a sudden, there was silver available to buy. The price started going up!

Maybe the paper market filled the gap? To me they are two completely different markets. A manufacturer cannot make anything with a piece of paper and folks like myself want physical to stack.

The last good example of supply and demand driving price was the PT Cruiser. Folks who wanted one were paying $10,000 over sticker to have one right then. A year later prices dropped as Chrysler increased production.


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## Balls004

Thanks Woody and Marcus, y'all finally answered the question for me in a way that I see why now. I've always had a little, and I am going to increase my holdings by a couple of hundred percent or so, but then again, I'm not going to go overboard on PM's, because like everything else, unless it's real portable, it's really hard to defend from those that will just want to take it from you. I'm going to consider it my SHTF 401K. LOL


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## Marcus

Woody said:


> Maybe the paper market filled the gap? To me they are two completely different markets. A manufacturer cannot make anything with a piece of paper and folks like myself want physical to stack.


Paper silver sets or at a minimum affects the spot price of silver. I do think JPM has manipulated silver prices to their own benefit over the last 4 or 5 years. But any kind of manipulation (ie. the Hunt brothers) can only be perpetrated relatively short-term since people will buy at artificially depressed prices and sell at artificially inflated prices. The way to beat JPM at their own game is to buy physical and take delivery. The change COMEX made to allow settling in cash instead of forcing delivery is a big tip off that games are or were being played with PM contracts.

I do agree that paper silver is a totally different market. In my mind, it's full of speculators who want short term profits rather than folks who want a store of wealth.

Getting back to the OP, JPM may well have decided that now is a good time to buy physical at current prices since the price may not go lower anytime soon. My silver guru even said a couple of months ago to buy at *any point below $17.* Is silver about to liftoff? I don't know because my tea leaves got all wet. 

But I will point out that the industrial usage of silver continues to grow while known reserves are not huge.

Interestingly enough, APMEX is buying back silver bars at above spot prices which makes me think there is a strong demand for physical at current prices.



Balls004 said:


> I'm going to consider it my SHTF 401K. LOL


There ya go. That's what we're talking about.


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## Zeev_Zwaard

Because they know where we’re headed.
Paper is just that.
Metallic gold, silver and a few other things will always retain their value.
I can’t fail to think of the phrase “inertial frame of reference” although I know that a few will probably and uselessly jump at the chance to tell me why I’m wrong on this.
You can say “monetary frame of reference” if you wish.
Gold and silver are anchored on their nature so they’re useful to hang on to when the fiat currency suffers the natural fate of all things collectivists can touch with their dirty paws.
The simple answer is that gold and silver can’t be printed by government.
hussein can destroy America but he can’t destroy gold and silver.


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## hiwall

> Ray Dalio: "If You Don't Own Gold, You Know Neither History Nor Economics"


I just thought this quote was pertinent to this thread.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-...old-you-either-dont-know-history-or-economics

I can hardly believe all the very bad economic news of the last couple weeks. I wonder if it will all hold together until the end of the year. Obviously history says nothing bad will happen but everything I see and hear says bad times are coming. Can PM's help? I certainly think they can't hurt as long as you have the regular preps taken care of first.


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## bkt

Balls004 said:


> And anyone wonders why I'm confused?
> 
> I understand the underlying theories of money. Of why different forms of payment for goods or services are valued.
> 
> What I don't get, is that in a SHTF environment, how does the dynamic of what value is placed upon different "monies" change?


First, we are in the middle of a SHTF situation right now. Granted, it's not super quick with zombies and Mad Max scenarios. But the monetary/commodity price/debt situation is a disaster and eventually this will hit home in a way more significant than we have seen thus far.

Second, lots of things affect the value of money. In the case of precious metals, which are the most commonly-accepted definition of money, governments, banks, and businesses manipulate values to their own benefit. If you mean currency and not money, this is a little different but not much. Values are manipulated through political and banking shenanigans.



Balls004 said:


> What will be the new "gold standard"? Will bullets, beans, shelter, or something else be more valuable than gold or silver? Will people adjust their value placed on something that is difficult to transport and has little practical value in everyday life (circular argument here) or will they decide, I have bullets, beans and shelter, and I don't need gold and silver? Could water somehow become the new gold standard?


If you're asking about a time when the standard of living is WELL below what we have now (think Mad Max) then currency, gold and silver won't matter much. Good barter items would be cigarettes, booze, tampons, condoms, fish hooks, lighters and ammo.



Balls004 said:


> I don't measure my wealth in dollars, or any other currency. Currency to me is an ephemeral sort of thing and subject to the whims of others.


Hence the difference between money and currency. 



Balls004 said:


> My wealth is in the hard things that I actually possess, and actually have control over. I'm not arguing against having PM's, I'm just trying to understand why if the SHTF, why I should have more than I do now, which is minimal.


I own PM as a store of wealth for the time AFTER the S has HTF and the dust has settled. What's the point living through a tumultuous time if you have nothing on the other side? There's no guarantee I'd live through it or that I'd have my PM afterward, but if I don't buy it now while it's cheap and I can afford it, that's kinda short-sighted.

Bear in mind my other prepping stuff is largely seen to. Buying and storing PM is relatively low on my prepper list. But I've been at this a few years.


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## Balls004

bkt said:


> What's the point living through a tumultuous time if you have nothing on the other side? There's no guarantee I'd live through it or that I'd have my PM afterward, but if I don't buy it now while it's cheap and I can afford it, that's kinda short-sighted.
> 
> Bear in mind my other prepping stuff is largely seen to. Buying and storing PM is relatively low on my prepper list. But I've been at this a few years.


The point is that my family and I are still alive afterwards, that's what I really value. Like you said, there's no guarantee that you make it, or that you still possess any PM's afterward. Like you, I've got my basic preps pretty well taken care of.

There doesn't have to be any riches on the other side, and I see the argument for having some amount of PM's. Personally, and that's because I don't really have any affinity for PM's, I'm still leery of spending too much on them.

That's my personal opinion, not an educated one.


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## hiwall

> I don't really have any affinity for PM's, I'm still leery of spending too much on them.


I basically agree. But in the last few months I have turned some cash into PM's. I still don't view PM's as being of much value if SHTF. But I don't trust the banks or our government. Having some cash on hand seems like a very good idea but there is a limit as to how much would really be useful (I think). So what to do if you don't trust the banks? I decided to get a little metal to have on hand. The old argument that PM's will always be worth something seems to ring true. If I had more storage I would load up on much more food. And a little more ammo


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## bkt

Balls004 said:


> The point is that my family and I are still alive afterwards, that's what I really value. Like you said, there's no guarantee that you make it, or that you still possess any PM's afterward. Like you, I've got my basic preps pretty well taken care of.
> 
> There doesn't have to be any riches on the other side, and I see the argument for having some amount of PM's. Personally, and that's because I don't really have any affinity for PM's, I'm still leery of spending too much on them.
> 
> That's my personal opinion, not an educated one.


As with everything, do what works best for you. I'm not exactly wealthy but I have built up some assets over time. It's quite possible the value of those which are based in stocks or cash could lose value quickly. PM tends to hold value pretty well so I have some of them, too as a hedge.


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## Balls004

bkt said:


> As with everything, do what works best for you. I'm not exactly wealthy but I have built up some assets over time. It's quite possible the value of those which are based in stocks or cash could lose value quickly. PM tends to hold value pretty well so I have some of them, too as a hedge.


While PM's are not valued by me, I do understand that they are by a majority of people. So I'm not against having some, but have no idea on what is a reasonable percentage of liquid assets? How much PM's are worth carrying if I can't stay home any more and have to bug out?

I can see the new rumors of buried treasure after TSHF event is over and things start settling down. 150 years after the Civil War, there are still stories of buried treasure all around our area. Maybe I have more PM's than I know I do, lol.


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## fteter

I'm thinking that JP Morgan is buying silver as a hedge against a possible liquidity crisis. If you watch the bond market, you probably know that there has been a low-key exit of buyers out of that market over the past few years. That exit has accelerated into a full-bore flight from bonds around the world over the past few months. In relative terms, and in comparison to historical gold/silver price ratios, silver has been and continues to be pretty inexpensive. And, as others have pointed out, it's a good store of value. So I think JP Morgan is simply increasing a hedge position over time. When the price of silver goes up, they'll likely start selling and laugh all the way to the bank. We've seen these economic cycles before and we'll see them again. JP Morgan just saw it coming and is taking advantage to maximize earnings.

So far as a prep, I don't really put much faith in PM. It may hold some value as a means of exchange after currencies fail. But you can't drink it, you can't eat it, and you can't shoot it unless you melt it down - and then you're left with some pretty expensive projectiles  I see it as a nice to have but not a got to have. Just my two cents...your opinion may differ (probably because you're smarter than me).


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## HardCider

I agree with most people saying PM's are a good hedge to preserve wealth. 

If I had wealth stored up in today's paper and computerized world, I would be shifting that wealth.

But I'm just a poor old, small town, dumb @$$ country boy and the way I figure it, those fat boys at JP Morgan will not care a whip stitch about how much silver is stored out back if they were starving and dehydrating to death. 

Or when every thug in town sets fire to the city, loots the stores, shuts down everyone from getting out or in and because they live in some uber liberal city or state that doesn't even allow for them to conceal carry and they end up having their butts handed to 'em. Wait until things are bad enough, for long enough, and the "have nots" start eyeing up the people they perceive to "have"

If the world were to go upside down, those financial gurus will be jumping out the windows inside of a week

As for me and my family, I'll depend on the Almighty, old timey knowledge, an 870, and a "payed for" small piece of land out in podunk. I think I'll keep the gardens, well, livestock, and peaceful rural way of life. If things never go south, I think I'll still be happier and healthier in the long run.


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## hiwall

> a "payed for" small piece of land out in podunk


You are rich indeed already HardCider and the envy of many.


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## LincTex

hiwall said:


> You are rich indeed already HardCider and the envy of many.


I never thought anybody would really envy my lil' 5.7 acres . . it's not prime farmland, but it *IS* paid for!


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## bkt

Balls004 said:


> While PM's are not valued by me, I do understand that they are by a majority of people. So I'm not against having some, but have no idea on what is a reasonable percentage of liquid assets?


Only you can decide how much to dump into PMs. For me, it's about 10% or maybe a little more in relation to retirement accounts.



Balls004 said:


> How much PM's are worth carrying if I can't stay home any more and have to bug out?


If you believe the risk is high that you will need to bug out (i.e. if you live in an urban center) then you need to plan your bug out locations now and stock them up. Keep your PM (and food, water, medicines, consumables, firearms, etc.) secure at your bug out location.



Balls004 said:


> I can see the new rumors of buried treasure after TSHF event is over and things start settling down. 150 years after the Civil War, there are still stories of buried treasure all around our area. Maybe I have more PM's than I know I do, lol.


Sounds like a metal detector might be a good investment on your part.


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## BillS

Balls004 said:


> While PM's are not valued by me, I do understand that they are by a majority of people. So I'm not against having some, but have no idea on what is a reasonable percentage of liquid assets? How much PM's are worth carrying if I can't stay home any more and have to bug out?


I try to have half of my savings and investments in precious metals. As long as you have silver or gold, it's portable if you have to bug out. Gold is worth about $20,000 a pound. Silver is worth about $275 a pound. Copper is only worth about $2.75 a pound. It's not worth taking with you. Neither are nickels.

You have to balance the fact that junk silver coins are good for small purchases but gold is extremely valuable for its weight. Part of it depends on how much money you have. It amazes me that you could have $100,000 in gold and it would only weigh about 5 lbs.


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## LastOutlaw

Balls004 said:


> I can see the new rumors of buried treasure after TSHF event is over and things start settling down. 150 years after the Civil War, there are still stories of buried treasure all around our area. .


You know years ago before there were banks people buried their money near landmarks that made it easy for them to find again at a later date. In the south many people buried near large oak trees on their property.

Metal detector might be fun


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## Balls004

LastOutlaw said:


> You know years ago before there were banks people buried their money near landmarks that made it easy for them to find again at a later date. In the south many people buried near large oak trees on their property.
> 
> Metal detector might be fun


I would love to have one, as we live in a part of Mississippi where there were battles all around our area. Potts Camp, nearby, is rumored to have a large amount of silver buried around.

Fathers day is coming up, so maybe if I'm good... lol


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