Swap Your Silver...For Silver!

Why US Minted Silver Coins are So Much Better Than Silver Bars or Rounds

Over the years my "investment of choice" when it comes to precious metals have changed. In the early 2000's I was all about gold coins and mining stocks. If you've followed me long enough you know why I advised everyone to get out of mining stocks about 5 years ago. Basically - they are too valuable and will be nationalized after the crash. Gold coins on the other hand were a "no brainer" so that's what I bought. I would buy the cheapest ones I could find per oz and I figured that was the best way to invest. Save a buck or two per oz and I could end up with more metal in the end. Then I found out that some gold coins were harder to sell than others and sometimes saving on the premium I'd have to pay for the more popular coins might hurt me when I go to sell. So then I got into Krugerrands as at the time they were the most recognizable with the lowest premium.

Then in the mid 2000's, after years of research, I figured out the silver story and it was so compelling that I swapped all my gold for silver. I also figured out that there is MASSIVELY more gold in the world than what was being told to the people.

Golden Secrets
//www.roadtoroota.com/public/181.cfm

When I switched to silver I again went after the most metal I could get without caring about the shape, size or quality of what I was buying. It was all about getting the most ounces for my buck. I bought a lot of 100 oz bars from random mints as they were the cheapest. Although I bought some pre-1965 coins it was more just to have some than any other reasoning.

In the last year I have changed once again. Now I'm all about silver coins minted by the US Mint. Why? A few reasons at first but now it is clear that it was a good choice. My original reason was that the counterfeiting laws of legal tender in the US are much stronger than the fraud laws. Faking a silver bar or coin and selling it in the US as .999 silver is illegal but it falls into the laws against commercial fraud. Doing the same with US Minted Silver Eagles and pre-1965 coins falls under the counterfeiting laws as well as fraud so I thought it was a better buy as there will be less fakes. Now it turns out that the Good Guys are planning to REMOVE any capital gains taxation from gold and silver coins minted by the US Mint!

Seth Lipsky: The Gold Standard Goes Mainstream
http://www.gata.org/node/11703

"In the Senate, Jim DeMint, Mike Lee and Rand Paul are offering the Sound Money Promotion Act, which would remove the tax on the appreciation in the value of gold and silver coins that have been declared legal tender by the federal or a state government. Utah has already made gold and silver coins legal tender in the state."

This is a VERY big deal because there is no doubt in my mind that the US will go after gold and silver investors windfall profits when the metals finally cut loose from the manipulation. Currently gains on physical gold and silver are taxed at 28% but they are not actively pursued by the taxing authorities because there are so few of us who hold real metal. That will change very soon.

So the next time you buy silver and skip over silver Eagles because of the higher premiums just think about how much you will save on your taxes when you sell. Better yet, pre-1965 "junk silver" have very low premiums and are harder to fake so that's your best bet.

Too bad it only took me 15 year to figure that one out!

So I guess what I'm saying now is...SWAP YOUR PHYSICAL SILVER FOR US MINTED SILVER COINS before silver goes through the roof and you will likely make more money.

May the Road you choose be the Right Road.

Bix Weir
www.RoadtoRoota.com