Hi everyone,

I'm new here and find this thread very lively and informative. Great to learn that so many are aware of the need to own physical silver. Having read every post from the beginning, I summarise that there are concerns about authenticity of some silver products, high premiums, import duties, dangers of "paper silver" (ETFs, etc), liquidity of the bullion assets, and a general lack of choice of reputable dealers and silver bullion products.

I started accumulating silver (and gold) several years ago and have found that besides holding coins in my personal custody, another more cost effective and convenient means of owning and holding physical silver (and gold) is through an Allocated Bullion Account with various Dealers of international repute. Since this option has not been discussed here, I'll share a few key points:-

(1) Safety - You own professional grade London Good Delivery Bars (Assayed, audited and stored in LBMA accredited vaults)
(2) Outright Ownership through a Bailment arrangement - Not a pooled account, bullion certificate program, ETF, etc.
(3) Extremely liquid - able to buy and sell online 24x7
(4) Cost effective - Very low spread and much lower premium compared to coins.
(5) Able to take personal custody of your metals if or when you wish.
(6) No minimums - You can start with 1 ounce!

The only "disadvantage" is that you'll have to pay a monthly storage and insurance fee. However, you'll be surprised to know that the premiums we pay some of these local dealers is more than sufficient to pay storage & insurance for several years!

My personal strategy is to hold just sufficient coins for emergencies (like bank run, sudden monetary crisis, currency debasement, etc). So this is like a "Savings Account". The balance is kept as "Fixed Deposit" at these internationally credited vaults. I've done a review on three of the companies I personally have been using for years. Do check them out.

(a) BullionVault
(b) GoldMoney
(3) Anglo Far East (AFE)

Here's the Comparison Chart, Fees Summary, and Basics of Allocated Bullion Accounts.

Hope this helps, and stay prepared!

"Be prepared for a financial catastrophe - Not because we’re 100% sure it will happen, but because we can’t be a 100% sure it won’t happen" Chris Martenson.

This post has been edited by PoliticalMetals: Apr 1 2011, 04:02 PM

Hi, Just a little clarification, so that there are no misunderstandings

I strongly advocate owning physical gold & silver only, NO paper gold. The options I listed in my earlier post have nothing to do with "Storage Programs" or paper gold in the COMEX futures or Options market or any gold certificate program offered by Perth Mint. By the way, Perth Mint just announce that they are terminating their Unallocated Silver Program (Storage Program).

I agree with GoldChan that Comex is for speculative trading only. Unless you're a professional trader, stay away from Comex. You're fighting against professionals and bullion banks engaging in market manipulation activities. See CFTC & Market Manipulation at COMEX

Just for the sake of discussion, I offer a few reasons why I prefer to hold my gold & silver in professional vaults like VIA MAT INTERNATIONAL (used by all 3 companies I listed earlier)

1. The bullion bars that I buy do not leave the LBMA accredited storage facilities, hence I can be sure they are Good delivery Bars. Even if I buy one LBMA Good Delivery Bar today, take it home, and tomorrow I bring it to a bank or bullion dealer to sell, it will NOT be considered a Good Delivery Bar anymore. It will have to go through a costly assaying and certification process again.
2. Between a Bank Safe Deposit Box and a VIA MAT International VAULT (specially designed for storing precious metals), I certainly think the later is much safer. How may times have we heard of break-ins at our local bank's safe deposit boxes?
3. Its not practical. If you want to invest RM100K in silver bars, it's about 28Kg at today's prices. Do you realize how heavy and how big it is. You can imagine the difficulty when the amount gets larger.
4. The main reason why we invest in gold and silver is because we do not trust the banking system, fiat money and the global financial health. It is in danger of collapse or another 2008 type crisis. So, why trust your life's savings at the bank's safe deposit box? What if they suddenly announce a bank holiday? I always make sure that I do not keep any assets (except some small amount for day to day transactions) in the banking system.
5. And most important of all, gold & silver held at international vaults do not have any counter-party risks. You have 100% legal ownership. Read about the concept of Allocated Accounts & Bailment here. Bailment Explained

Cheers!

PM

Yes! and I'm glad to know you're also following They recently launched the SLA website http://silverliberationarmy.com/

For readers not aware of this, Max Keiser launched "Buy Silver, Crash JPMorgan" campaign last Nov/Dec, and together with the Alex Jones of Infowars.com, that effort went viral. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCM7rMIqxmk

They minted special 5 oz Silver Keiser coins that was sold out quickly. Now they are planning to remove 1 million ounces of silver from the physical market by minting a new lot of coins currently available for pre-orders at http://www.silverkeiser.net/

This is exciting. With PLENTY of paper silver being sold by JPMorgan & gang everyday at the COMEX, but with Physical silver supply getting tighter by the day, any effort by these guys to remove more physical silver from the market (one ounce at a time), is good for everyone already holding silver and have exited the fiat money system.

Today, over at the COMEX, silver closed at another 31-year high of $39.54. We now have ONLY 5 days when silver was traded above the current spot price. When this 31-year high of $49.45 is taken out, many expect the price to explode upwards.

18 JAN 1980: $49.45
21 JAN 1980: $49.00
22 JAN 1980: $41.55
24 JAN 1980: $41.50
11 FEB 1980: $40.25

It's interesting to note that everything is happening around the number "47"
(1) It's the atomic number of silver
(2) It's near the all time high
(3) It's near the JPMorgan's share price now ($47.40)

So, if readers here have not converted your paper money into silver money, maybe you should consider doing so. I know many are thinking that it's risky to "invest" in silver now "because the price is high". But, I don't think of holding silver as "Investing" at all. Just think of converting my Ringgit to a stronger currency - like the Canadian, Aussie or Swiss franc, except that gold and silver is the strongest and is the ultimate currency. If I want to invest, I'll invest in gold or silver mining stocks and other assets, but physical gold & silver has to be considered as money and not an investment.

For more reasons to convert paper money to silver (and gold), visit http://politicalmetals.com/why-silver/
For more info on why you should NOT "invest" in gold or silver, visit http://politicalmetals.com/2011/01/19/1/#Gold2010 and http://politicalmetals.com/2011/01/20/inve...or-holding-pms/

This post has been edited by PoliticalMetals: Apr 8 2011, 07:23 AM

Via Mat is one of the largest vault operators and secure transportation businesses on Earth. They operate widely in North and South America, Europe and the Far East. In their home country of Switzerland they dominate the business of physical assets custody and transportation. They are the trusted carrier of Swiss banknotes, as they travel between the central bank and the various branches of the Swiss banking industry. VIA MAT is part of Mat Securitas Express AG, of Switzerland, one of Europe's largest and oldest armoured transport and storage companies, and is a privately held Swiss company.

This is their website VIA MAT INETRNATIONAL

They are purely a secure transportation and storage company. They do not trade silver as a business. However, many, in fact most of the major companies trading and providing storage of gold and silver for corporate & retail customers use VIA MAT as their storage partner. Examples include some of these companies I have reviewed:- GoldMoney, BullionVault and AFE.

Ya, I was fortunate to be in the loop rather early, when silver was just over $10. Check out the list of dealers here: http://politicalmetals.com/coins/
I prefer to keep a small amount close at hand in the form of coins and small bars, but the balance is better bought and stored overseas in professional vaults. There are no minimums & the prices are way better. You'll be surprised to learn that just the savings from the premiums alone is enough to pay for storage for over 10 years!