Precious Metals Storage Options

For individuals interested in purchasing gold, silver, and other metals, Independent Living Bullion can be a good resource. Independent Living Bullion helps individuals incorporate precious metal investments into their retirement and savings plans, thereby becoming more financially stable and independent.

When purchasing physical quantities of precious metals, such as gold and silver, one of the challenges is determining how to store it. Individuals have a number of options, depending on their preferences and desired ease of access.

For some individuals, storing gold and silver in a safe deposit box at a bank is a good option. While this provides a high degree of security, investors should keep in mind that the FDIC does not insure the contents of safe deposit boxes. Access to the gold and silver is also limited to the bank’s hours of operation and policies. However, many people find that this type of storage meets their needs.

Other individuals store precious metals in safes and secure areas of their homes. This allows the easiest access to the gold and silver, something that some investors value highly. Finally, another option is to store the precious metals at a bullion vaulting facility. The fees and characteristics of these services vary, so be sure to perform thorough research.

Minting – How Coins are Created in the United States

Independent Living Bullion is a dealer in various precious metals, including palladium, platinum, silver, and gold. Offering a large range of quality and limited-edition products such as bullion rounds, coins, junk silver coin bags, and bars, Independent Living Bullion caters to the full range of investors.

Before coins are produced in their common form, the raw metal is purchased by a mint, melted down, and extruded into long strips. Blanking presses then punch out round discs that will be formed into coins, known as blanks. Excess material is melted back down. Since different coins come in different sizes and use varying combinations of metals, manufacturers soften these blanks by a heating process known as annealing.

The rim around the edge of each blank is produced through a process known as upsetting. The blanks are fed through a coining press which strikes the characteristic image, number, and words onto each side of every coin. In case of anomalies, the coins are inspected, spot-checked, and sized to make sure they fulfill all the requirements. Counting, packing, and storage then complete the minting process.

Three Coins for First-Time Precious Metals Buyers

As a direct source for gold and silver coins, bars, and rounds, Independent Living Bullion has experienced rapid growth. Independent Living Bullion customers may choose from an array of precious metals, including pre-1965 U.S. silver coins, American Eagles, and other silver and gold bullion products.

Accumulating gold and silver need not cause anxiety for first-time buyers. After all, precious metals are a form of financial insurance that also offers profit potential. Many view holding onto dollars as higher risk, especially given the atmosphere of spiraling debt and inflation we see today.

New investors in metals can invest in three items that will provide a good base on which to build over time.

With a design inspired by an iconic coin, the gold American Eagle was produced by the U.S. Mint and represents the best features of coin desirability. Traded more than any bullion coin in the world, the American Eagle offers investment in a beautiful and recognizable coin with its weight and purity guaranteed by the United States. Investors wanting to get the most silver for their money may want to consider purchasing uncirculated one-troy-ounce silver rounds minted in the U.S. or pre-1965 U.S. dimes, quarters, and half dollars.

Precious Metals Market Alert

Independent Living Bullion employs knowledgeable investors in gold and silver bullion. The firm provides investors with coins, bars, and rounds with low mark-up above melt value.

A trusted resource for buying and selling precious metals, Independent Living Bullion helps its readers and customers stay abreast of U.S. and global economic news.

After Congress reached a short-term agreement to increase the federal debt ceiling and reopened the government after a two-week shutdown in October 2013, retail investors stepped up their purchases of precious metals. However, with banks sitting on excess cash reserves in the trillions of dollars, some investors in precious metals feel frustrated that metals prices have not risen as expected.

Even though the Federal Reserve uses banks to push money into the economy, banks have ceased much of their lending activities. But analysts believe that banks cannot maintain their current hold on cash reserves. As banks put their cash hoards to work in the economy, investors expect to see metals prices rise dramatically as part of a new leg up in the current bull market for precious metals.

Palladium Scarcity Raises Price Forecast

Although there are a variety of methods for acquiring precious metals, safe and easy online services have sprung up to facilitate metals investing for small, retail, and amateur investors. One of the fastest growing and highest respected dealers, Independent Living Bullion, offers palladium in the form of a $50 Canadian coin known as the Palladium Maple Leaf. Independent Living Bullion offers free expert consultations on investing in precious earth metals like palladium.

As far as precious metals go, palladium has grabbed headlines this year. A new report out by the Wall Street Journal notes that some investors are taking up long positions in the resource due to limited supply that is expected to drive up prices.

This year, palladium, primarily used in automotive exhaust components known as catalytic converters, has only fallen 2%. Meanwhile, silver has dropped 27% and gold has fallen more than 15%. While its specialized industrial use may make palladium seem an impractical investment, it’s important to consider that 80% of palladium is used for industrial purposes. Furthermore, 80% of the world’s palladium is produced by two nations, South Africa and Russia. So the sources of supply for palladium are not diverse and, at the same time, production is declining. One can expect palladium to perform well as an investment in the coming years.

Analysts Lift Prospects on Platinum and Palladium

Recent global developments have caused commodities experts to raise their price expectations for platinum and palladium, two relatively new options in earth-metals investing.

Used in the automotive manufacturing process and the electronics industry, platinum and palladium demand is increasing due to recent growth in both of these sectors. Added to this are supply issues with the rare metals, which results in a textbook price jump from increased demand and scarcity. The supply problems stem from South Africa, where almost 75 percent of the world’s platinum is produced. Resistance from labor unions plus rising costs has combined to slow production, with palladium production facing similar problems.

Together, these supply and demand conditions have resulted in a price jump for both metals, with platinum jumping to $1,520 per ounce and palladium making a step up to $724. Investors looking to shore up their portfolio with either palladium or platinum should contact Independent Living Bullion for a free consultation at 1-800-800-1865. Independent Living Bullion is a trusted online retailer of platinum and palladium coins, as well as other precious metals.

Monthly Plans as a Precious Metals Investment Option

Independent Living Bullion, a national dealer of physical precious metals for investment, provides additional options for those saving money for retirement. A common dilemma when it comes to this type of saving is deciding where to put your money. After performing research, some people decide to invest in history’s monetary metals, i.e. silver and gold. However, even after deciding to pursue this investment route, these individuals still face many choices.

One significant challenge when investing in precious metals is deciding when to buy. Some individuals try to time the market and deploy large amounts of their investment money at the wrong time. As a result, they don’t get as much return on their investment as they had hoped. Others hold on to their cash in the face of price uncertainty but miss out on good investment opportunities as a result.

By offering monthly savings plans that allow individuals to set up automatic monthly investment transactions, Independent Living Bullion simplifies this process. Rather than purchasing large amounts of precious metals at one time, individuals can make regular, smaller purchases. This diminishes the risk of buying too much at the wrong time.

This disciplined approach to investing is also known as dollar-cost averaging, and it ensures that an investment position is built over time — evening up out the ups and downs of the market.

Gold Prices Begin to Rise Again

Last winter, as gold prices fell and pundits warned against the dangers of investing in an “uncertain” commodities market such as precious metals, many in the gold community began to worry that the decades-long run of gold was indeed at an end.

Then, this summer, the NASDAQ stock exchange experienced another of its now-notorious glitches, halting trading for an entire afternoon, and sending waves of doubt throughout global financial markets.

In a world of rickety financial markets, high leverage, and overwhelming debt burdens, the time for tangible assets, chiefly gold, has come — which is good news for national gold dealers such as Independent Living Bullion.

As the speculative nature and inherent instability of the stock market has shown, precious metals like gold are a great long-term investment because of their endless utility. In 2011, gold futures hit a record high price of $1,910 an ounce on the COMEX, and many experts are predicting gold will rise above $3,000 per ounce in the not-too-distant future.

Gold is also an effective hedge against inflation, to which investments in asset classes like bonds and stocks are deeply vulnerable.

To find out more about how gold can enhance your investment portfolio, contact Independent Living Bullion, a premier online retailer of gold coins. For a free consultation today, call (800) 800-1865.

Investing in Gold: Myths Debunked, with Independent Living Bullion

Independent Living Bullion sells bullion bars, rounds, and coins in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Here, Independent Living Bullion helps answer questions and debunk myths about investing in gold.

– Is buying gold jewelry considered an investment?
Buying gold jewelry isn’t traditionally considered a form of investment — the markup over the melt value of the metal is very high, and that extra cost will generally not be recovered. Instead, gold investors sell and trade in coins and bullion bars. It’s generally better to buy physical metal rather than shares of gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Gold ETFs are similar to mutual funds and invest solely in gold bullion.

– Why is gold identified as a hedge against inflation and market volatility?
Gold maintains its investment strength when compared with volatile shares, and gold bullion can prove significant when the market is performing poorly. Independent Living Bullion also says that investments in gold can be used to gain capital appreciation in real terms/

– Is gold a high-risk investment?
Gold is not a high-risk investment because it cannot go to zero like stocks and bonds can. Gold has been recognized as money for thousands of years — it can be considered a better form of cash than currencies created by governments that are not backed by anything with tangible value. Gold has preserved its value in periods inflation or deflation. Even as markets fluctuate, gold’s purchasing power remains relatively constant.