The stock market – it makes people millionaires or homeless and everything in between. We’ve all heard the “high risk, high reward” phrase. Conversely, there is also the “low risk, low reward” school of thought. Some people know how to play the investment game very well, while others just spin the wheel and hope for the best. Wherever one may be on this sliding scale, the odds of success or failure are tied to countless variables, many of which exist outside the control of the individuals playing the game.
The pattern is quite predictable. Uncertainty and instability, whether economic, social or political, drive up the price of precious metals. This is a historic fact. Much like an archeologist can look at ancient sedimentary strata and infer that certain things happened relative to the composition of these layers; we can look at a precious metal chart alone and verify that peaks in the graph indeed correspond to various geopolitical commotions that occurred at those points in time.
Metro Pawn & Gun deals with a wide variety of collectible coins and other rare currencies. Coins may be made of precious metals or more common materials. Their values are based on their scarcity, composition and condition.
The COVID crisis we are experiencing is unprecedented in modern times. Aside from the human toll in fatalities, it has affected nearly every aspect of life as we know it. From government mandated lock-downs to economic disruption on a global scale, it has exposed the true frailty of the engines that power our world. The prosperity of a functioning society is not simply defined by a monetary equation. Fluctuations and elasticity are an inherent part of such a system and typically weathered in stride. But when the life fabric of life is stretched beyond the breaking point, it’s wise to prepare for a potentially unfavorable outcome.
Prepping is a concept that has grown popular in recent years, even making it to mainstream television with shows like “Doomsday Preppers”, “Survivorman” and others. These illustrate the various preparations people undertake for a myriad of potentially cataclysmic scenarios, ranging from economic collapse to natural disasters to pandemics or terrorist events. While some of these narratives might seem unduly apocalyptic, such as alien invasions or asteroid impacts, recent world events have placed a far more sobering light on such endeavors.
Looking at the past year, we continue to see appreciation of precious metals across the board. Within the past 12 months, gold went from a low of $1270 per ounce to $1574 per ounce currently. Silver experienced its lowest price of the past year at $14.34 per ounce to its highest of $19.57 per ounce. Platinum soared from around $785 per ounce in January of 2019 to around $1015 per ounce in January of 2020.
The world is far from a peaceful, stable place. Geopolitical tensions seem to increase, and then subside, but most every storm has been weathered to some extent or another. Those that believe this to be as cyclical as the weather will allude to the fact that every generation has faced its own set of crises, many of which may have been worse than current events, only to have prevailed and come out stronger as a result. And although this is true, if one examines the broader story arc of where things are going, the big picture does raise some concern.
Precious metals are always on the radar at Metro Pawn & Gun. We buy, sell, pawn and provide loans for all manner of precious metals, ranging from jewelry to coins to bullion. Investors buy physical gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals as an alternative asset and to protect against inflation and financial turmoil. Owning precious metals is a great way to diversify an investment portfolio because of its historical value and viability as compared to other less tangible assets.
For those of you who follow the gold market, remember back to January of 2000? The price of gold was a mere $288 per ounce! If you happened to be investing in gold at that point in time, looking at your portfolio in October of this year will be a delightful experience. Currently at $1280 per ounce, the value of your investment has over quadrupled in 17 years! There aren’t many other investments that can compare.
Some things in the ‘general market of everything’ hold greater value and appeal than others. Technologies change, fads come and go, and styles evolve to reflect the consumers they target. There are also certain ‘fixed points’ in these markets – goods that are equally desirable, if not more so, at any given time.