My Latest Stack

After a couple of weeks of considering adding to my precious metal stack, I finally decided to pull the trigger and go to my local coin dealer and pick up some metals. I immediately fell in love with the 1 ounce platinum assay bar which was the last piece of platinum they had. While not one of the most requested items, he told me that more collectors had started to pick some up platinum as the price has lagged behind gold in the recent months. My thought, is that it is somewhat under represented in my portfolio of precious metals in addition to the fact that it seems undervalued by the market.

Another reason why potential collectors probably shy away from platinum is that the premium over the spot price that is charged is a little heavier than what it is for gold despite being cheaper price. I really don’t mind paying these margins over spot price as these purchases are made more as a long-term hedge to store value in case of unforeseen events. Going into the store always reminds me of when I used to go to the candy store has a child as I love to look at history before my eyes in addition to wanting them all! History of money is quite interesting although it can sometimes be intimidating given some of the events of the past. This makes me more happy that I am able to build a stack of precious metals for the long term. The worst case scenario is that I need something beautiful behind from my daughter.

I was surprised by the lack of excitement that the store owners and the customers had while I was there. I would have thought that given the way prices have been moving this year, there would be more excitement around the seeming rally that precious metals have had. However, in talking a bit with those there it felt as though they have been used to these ups and downs over the many years being involved in the business. However, as we started to check out the items I had purchased, I think we all got reminded why I making these purchases is a good idea.

I had remembered from my previous purchases from the store that credit cards were generally not excepted as the fees they need to pay in order to accept that form of payment ate directly into their margins as they are just trading or exchanging commodities. Therefore, most customers either pay with cash or debit cards. I had my trusty debit card with me but was embarrassed when the charge was declined in the first attempt. I immediately called my financial institution and inquired as to why it was declined. I was surprised to find out that it was not because of suspicion of fraudulent activity, but instead, due to a limit I have to purchase on a daily basis with my debit card. If I would have wanted the transaction to go through, I would have needed to ask the merchant to pass it as a credit card transaction in order for it to be approved. Truly incredible to see the large institutions at work to make more money off of a business.

While I understand that most of these limitations are done for security reasons, the fact that this exists is just an example of how we truly don’t have monetary sovereignty with most of our assets. Not only is this opening my eyes more so I need to scale the control of my own assets, but also disappointed me in our own financial system which these days should allow more broader access to our assets in real time. Also, it is amazing that with the advances in technology, institutions continue to lag behind in the timing of settlements. I am evermore encouraged by the amount of flexibility and liberty that cryptocurrencies can bring to our management of assets.

This experience has made me think about holding more assets myself. Security is always a concern, but I believe that there are ways to mitigate risk overtime. However, the risk of an event limiting our access to bear essentials to prepare our families for is not acceptable. Therefore, I almost immediately wanted to also buy some more silver. Unfortunately, I did not have the means necessary to buy much more as I was limited given the traditional financial system. I will surely become better prepared for this as I feel we will need it more in the future. in the meantime, I will enjoy adding these stacks to my others as I continue to accumulate more.