Commodity Silver as an Investment

About once a week we receive some variation of the questions, "Is commodity silver a good investment?" and "Where is the price of silver headed?"

Although we track the price of commodity silver because of a general interest, we really do not have enough knowledge about the subject to offer any advice. We did discover this article on Wikipedia that gives some facts on the subject (primarily history): Silver as an Investment.

I do know that owning any precious metal can be cumbersome. If I was going to play in the commodity silver market, I would probably look at buying stock in silver mines or perhaps one of the Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) that focus on owning silver. This comment should not be considered as financial advice. Talk to experts and read everything you can about precious metal investing before jumping in.

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Is Sterling Flatware a Good Investment?

We received a question recently from a visitor who is thinking about "investing in a set of sterling flatware". They are considering two different popular patterns and wanted our advice regarding which would be the best investment.

If you are thinking of buying sterling flatware purely for financial investment purposes, my advice is, "Don't do it." There are many better investment opportunities. In today's tough economic times, we hear from many people trying to sell their sterling flatware and they are all disappointed in the price they are able to sell it for.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a set of flatware to own, use and cherish, buying now could be considered an "investment" because the purchase cost will probably continue to rise. If you are looking for the best "investment" in terms of saving yourself some money, consider selecting a pattern that has a large secondary, or "used", market. For example, patterns like Gorham Buttercup or Wallace Grande Baroque would be current choices that fit this mold. If you are considering a specific pattern, look at the number of pieces available on eBay and compare that with what you find for other patterns. You often will find hundreds of pieces available for popular patterns.

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