Stacking silver for a small timer....

[Grimster]

So I just started acquiring some silver as an investment. The past few years I have slowly been adding to my lead stack (ammo) and I feel I am at a point where I have enough of that so I am changing my focus to silver. Well that and the current ammo "crisis" has made it difficult to add to that stash at an affordable price

I started about a month ago by buying a tube of ASE's from Chris off these forums (thanks again!) and Im looking to add more. Im not sure how much I want to add at this time, but obviously adding larger amounts at a time seems to be more advantageous because of the savings involved around shipping.

Should I continue to just stack ASE's as I can afford them? Should I wait and just buy a complete tube at a time....buying less frequently....or should I grab like 4-5 ASE's per paycheck kind of thing?

Should I diversify into other forms of silver? 90%....generic 1oz rounds....5-10oz bars...etc?

In my mind Im thinking of stacking now when silver is around $20....and sometime in the future I will be cashing out portions of it if it climbs back to $40+. Not looking to make "quick money" off this by any means, but looking at it from a point of view of "hey that was a nice return...let's move that over into my IRA account where it is less volatile (hopefully)." If there is a total system crash and FRN's are worthless or through hyperinflation makes it essentially worthless...that's where my lead stash becomes worth more haha.

When I do decide to sell...is there an easier form of silver to move? Or as long as the silver came from a reputable refiner (US government...Canadian government....sunshine mint....etc..etc..) they will be easy to move with their various "premiums" over spot price. I would hate to buy a 5oz or 10oz bar or random 1oz rounds at $1 over spot only to be able to sell them later AT spot or less in order to move them.

Realistically I can see myself accumulating a couple hundred ounces of silver and then moving to something else. Maybe grab a few ounces of gold (I really like the look of the American Gold Eagles coins...) After that I will probably be happy with my precious metal stash and then diversify elsewhere.

Wow I started to ramble....anyway....thoughts?

[Engineer]

Premiums help to level out the volatility, so don't get too hung up on them. If you pay $21/oz for .999, and sell later for $39/oz, does it really matter that spot was at 20 and 40?

For starting out, it's hard to go wrong with 90% coins, ASEs, and gold eagles. Maples are a good choice as well.

[galenrog]

I regard silver, and to a lesser extent gold, to be barter currency in hard times rather than an investment. Before putting a lot into metals and other barter currencies, I would first get out of debt. Next I would do my level best to put away enough food and cash adequate for two years of joblessness. Parallel to that I would start stacking small amounts of silver and gold, primary silver. Once most goals are met regarding hard times, serious stacking should ensue. Granted that metals go up and down a lot, but regarding metals stacking as part of a preparedness for possible hard times, the volatility becomes less important.

Other members are good at reading markets and make better investors than I. Please consider their advice before my own if you want to invest. I simply want to be as ready as possible should personal or political disaster ensue.