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If you're looking for a safe place to put your
investments, Chad Venzke has a suggestion: Dig a
hole in the ground four feet deep, pack gold and silver in a piece of plastic
PVC pipe, seal it, and bury it.
The 30-year-old central Wisconsin resident trusts no
one but himself to store and protect his gold and
silver—not banks, not investment funds, and certainly not the
government. It's precisely because of this suspicion of institutions that he
invests in those metals to begin with. In case of emergency, "you always
want to have your precious metals within arms reach,"
he says.
Venzke is
hardly the only investor who wants his precious metals nearby at all times. A
pound of gold worth about $24,000 can easily fit in a pocket; how to protect
it is a decision that carries expensive consequences. Do-it-yourself
investors who don't trust banks must find creative storage options, whether
burying gold in the yard, submerging it in a koi pond, stashing it behind
air-conditioning ducts, or placing it under carpets. All these options are
debated in online gold and silver investor forums. They're also debated and
demonstrated in youtube videos, including one by Venzke that has been viewed more than 7,000 times.
While there's no way of knowing how many
investors take Venzke's advice, there are growing
piles of precious metals in, under, or near American homes. From mid-2010 to
mid-2011, U.S. investors bought up more than 100 tonnes
of physical gold coins and bars, up from 15.2 tonnes
in 2007, according to the World Gold Council. (A tonne,
or metric ton, is 1,000 kilograms.) Worldwide bar and coin demand rose 37
percent during the mid-2010 to mid-2011 period, according to the Council,
even as demand from exchange-traded funds backed by physical gold, and
similar products, fell 84 percent.
The notion of keeping one's gold in a safety deposit
box -- inside the banks many gold aficionados find so untrustworthy -- is
anathema to many gold bugs. Venzke, who predicts
"runaway inflation" and a crisis leading to a "new form of
currency within this decade," worries that the boxes won't be accessible
if banks shut down in a crisis. "How are you supposed to get your stuff
out of there?" he asks.
For those storing gold and silver in or around their
home, the most immediate danger isn't a crisis or a dip in metal prices. It's
theft. The FBI, which tallies the theft of precious metals and jewelry in one
category, says $1.6 billion was stolen in 2010, up 51 percent from 2005. Just
4.2 percent of the lost loot was recovered last year.
Metal detectors are a big worry. Basic detectors can
find metal on the surface or in the first 12 inches to 14 inches below
ground, depending on soil conditions, says Louis Mahnken
Jr., a sales representative for Kellyco Metal
Detectors in Winter Springs, Fla. That's why Venzke
advises burying it at least four feet deep. There are online debates about
the best way to frustrate such thieves, including using scrap metal as decoys
or hiding metal by covering it underground with asbestos or mirrors.
Ben Steverman,
Bloomberg News. You
can read the rest of the article here
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