"Something is worth what people will pay for it." This is the sage advice given me by my grandfather when I was a child. I always was curious about the dollar value of an antique or an old coin. So, what happens when the government starts tampering with prices? To a good businessman, this is an opportunity. There is a website that I really enjoy. Each day, it is updated with the price of silver. It gives you a breakdown of the current melt value of U.S. coins based on the price of the metal. This is available both for modern (post 1964) and silver coins (pre-1965). The website is at http://www.coinflation.com. In the not too distant past I would go to this site, find out the melt value of silver, then hop over to Ebay and bid on U.S. 90% silver coins 1964 or earlier. Though I was not always successful, I could often times buy coins at their melt value (even with shipping considered!). I wish I had done that more than I did at the time. In recent months the "price" of silver has fallen. I quote "price" because that's the dollar figure that I see on coinflation.com or any other site that gives you the spot value of silver. The markets haven't opened yet as I bang out this blog entry. But as of last Friday, the "price" of silver was quoted at $9.68/oz. So...I pop over to Ebay all ready to buy some silver dimes close to the 67 cents I see that they are worth at coinflation. But today, that's not happening. You see, as my grandpa always said, things are worth what people are willing to pay. I'm looking at an auction right now with a "buy it now" price of $50 for a roll of silver dimes shipping included, and I think that's a pretty good deal. I read an idea online that I will pass on to you to do with as you see fit. (standard disclaimer applies that I am not a financial advisor, blah, blah, blah...act at your own risk, etc.) It seems as though you could make a lot of money with the following plan.
Play the commodities market by taking out a "mini" contract on silver. This is 1000 oz. With silver hovering just under the $10 mark "on paper" this should cost you approximately $10000 when the delivery occurs. When you take delivery of these 1000 oz of silver, divide them into 1 oz sections. (I'm not sure how delivery is made...it would be nice if they were delivered in 1 oz bars already...but that may just be wishful thinking.) Set up an Ebay store and sell these 1 oz portions for about $18 each. In my book that's about an 80% gross profit. Granted, they'll be other costs involved, especially if you have to melt the silver and get it into smaller forms, but to get $18000 for your investment of $10000, I think it may be worth it. I don't have the $10000 to play with, or I think I'd give it a shot.
Then again, if you can get this mini contract, you may just want to hang on to all that silver. When the government finally realizes that they can't keep artifically holding down the price of silver, it's likely to explode in value. That $10/oz silver that you just purchased could very well skyrocket to $50/oz or more. Everything I'm reading is forecasting silver to go through the roof. I don't doubt it for a second.
