Well, this is a terrifying topic to broach.
You might have heard already, but it’s 2016, and that means it’s an election year. That’s right; it’s one of those magical times that happens every 4 years where coworkers suddenly become economists and political gurus. Social issue debates cause half of your Facebook friends’ list to magically disappear.
What does that have to do with precious metals?…you might ask. The economists already know, but for everyone else, the election plays an enormous role in the future of bullion spot prices. Public perception of the nominated candidates and their fiscal policies affects the way investors purchase these age-old commodities.
I won’t get into the candidates and their political views, but I would like to know how the upcoming election is affecting the way you stack.
Has excitement or fear of the election caused a change in your purchasing? If it hasn’t yet, do you think it will? If it has, what changes are you making?
Personally, my buying habits have not seen much change…yet. However, I can see myself being persuaded to add a little bit more protection to my portfolio in the upcoming days. It can’t hurt, right? 
My go-to investment piece is the 2016 American Silver Eagle 1 oz Silver Coin. Besides having an attractive patriotic design, it is legal tender, guaranteed by the US government. It’s an efficient, classic way to hedge against inflation, and that is why I like it.
Let me know your thoughts on the election and what affect it’s had on your bullion buying.
Happy Stacking!
-J
I’m buying but it’s gold bullion rather than coins. I’m from the UK but have been following your elections by following Scott Adams blog. Interesting times. Either way I suspect gold is going up
I would agree. Good news for investors like yourself. 🙂
-J
I think that the price of silver and gold are both artificially high right now because of the uncertainty of what lies beyond November. My reasoning is that influential commodities that would ordinarily drive/ride the prices up and down are not having the expected impact – copper, platinum, dollar, oil, etc.
Meanwhile, I have stopped buying silver (can’t afford much gold) until the election is past. Like it it not, I expect the Clintons to return to the White House and cronyism to cause some serious ripples in the commodities. Call me crazy but I have taken to buying nickels. They’re a really good deal at 5 cents apiece (that never changes unless they outlaw money….a whole other story) and in 3 to 5 years when copper and nickel rebound, who knows what their intrinsic value will be. Besides, I am surprised at how many War nickels (worth about $1 each) pop up now and then.
Hey, no judgment on the nickel collection. I always save my nickels. I don’t use cash often, but I like saving them when I happen upon them.
-J
If Trump loses…Silver and Gold will skyrocket initially as many buy into the “its the end of eveything” propaganda like they unjustifiably did with President Obama’s elections and these metals love volatile times. If Trump wins , we get a multi-time expert on going bankrupt and a guy that the security experts in this country think of as a clear and present danger as President…again volatile. ..and Again people will stock up on Silver and Gold or wish they had. Either way I think previous metals will go up.
Win -Win.
Stack away.
I agree. I think either candidate will cause a lot of uncertainty in the market and increased spot prices. Should be an interesting fall!
-J
Silver Eagles are like potato chips. Can’t have just one and you never really get tired of them. Keep stacking!
Haha, I love that comparison! 🙂
-J
I do not buy when spot + premium is over $20, it is a hold time…
I did well stocking up end of 2015, begin 2016 when spot was $13.75-$15.
Wish would have bought more but it was Christmas time….
Have not bought in several months, and at current pricing not likely to.
A few ounces later in year if price stays stable for the collection series working on (hobo, silverbug, 2 oz ultra high relief) but base stack will not change till spot comes down.
Do you think spot will become more volatile as the election approaches?
-J
This is an election of the globalists backing Clinton and the nationalists backing Trump. The globalists currently hold all the positions of power while the nationalists are the little people who haven’t had any power nor a dominant voice until Trump showed up.
That being said, I do not believe the markets and government issued data of the state of the economy here in the US. I believe all of this has been cooked by the globalists to give the current globalist his legacy and to help place the next globalist in office. This farce of an economy is being propped up to promote the objective. After the objective, election of the next globalist, is achieved then the economy can recede back to where it should be.
The recessionary actions of the economy will be blamed on an external force if the globalist is elected. If Trump is elected, all the blame for any recessionary activity will be blamed directly on him.
So I am not slowing up at all because, IMHO, either way this faux economy is coming down!
Very interesting comments. I think that is why I feel safe investing in something like precious metals. Regardless of the true state of the economy (I agree; it’s hard to know with politicians what is true and what is strategy), the commodity is currency and will always be valuable and easily liquidated if necessary.
Thanks for your input, Michael!
-J
Anytime anyone says metals are old ! The people who see value in them are almost all dead.I ask if they think printing money these last few years will change the value of their printed assets?
Spot on!
Everything is very much in the air with an election year. Even though silver may seem high right now, it may be that it could go much higher. The issue I have is a few months ago I was investing at $16 per ounce and with such a sudden spike, its hard for me to swallow a spot price around $20. I feel it will go back down. So for now, with all the uncertainty, I’m simply buying coins that I feel will have lower production numbers and will still increase next year. I will sell that silver when spot has decreased but my coin value has still increased. Its a chess game. So my question, J, is once election is over, what happens to spot? What has happened in previous elections? I just don’t think America has seen this much uncertainty in an election.
This really has been an uncertain election year. And, I don’t think I can recall an election where the third party candidate received so much attention. It really has been a bizarre ride, thus far.
I think your buying habits sound prudent. Predicting spot is like predicting the weather, to me. I can see a spike happening around the election day, but I can’t imagine it will remain high for too long- at least not until Inauguration Day, when I could see some more volatility.
-J
Once Trump wins and builds the damn wall and sends all the illegals back where they came from we will be in much better shape. If Crooked Hillary wins, my stack will certainly start to grow as well as my weapons stash! I will begin to prepare for the Civil War that is coming at that point!
Keep growing that stack!
-J