I’ve been watching the gold, silver, platinum, and palladium markets, Ampex shows the charts so that’s where I’ve been looking, I’ve been surprised that they aren’t moving upward steadily but they’ve been bouncing back and forth, it just seems very surprising given the world situation and the inflation here, so any thoughts on why would be appreciated.

No need 4 me to follow those prices as I dont have any.

But, Ive always wondered how someone would barter gold or silver if times got really rough. Coins I can understand, but bars or other forms not so much.

I assume buying up these metals and then depending on their value hinges on a stable banking sytem and a stable government.

Bad times and people will just kill you and take it all.

Buy common ammo that the militaries of the world uses... .223, .308, 5.56, 7.62, 9mm. That way you can take it off dead soldiers amd use it.

Fun to collect maybe, but a poor investment.

I don’t own any either but I watch them somewhat for fun, sometimes as an indicator, which very puzzling now, and if the market drops enough I may buy some as an investment, however for awhile I’m just a spectator in this ride.

Bob_Iowa, I'm with you, confused. Why would the U.S. build a big vault smack dab in the middle of the country and surround it with an army just to keep a poor investment in? And why would the largest chunk of it be held by some bank in New York, what's their name... oh yea, the Federal Reserve Bank. Straight up confusing. I think the gov. should just sell it and pay off some of the debt my great, great, great grandchildren will owe.
Case.

At the rate they're printing dollars I disagree....

I don't follow gold's movement because I don't have any but silver is a different situation. I think that the current silver price is being manipulated (probably gold as well) vis-a-vis its value against fiat currency. Just like the fake calculation of what the true inflation rate is, etc. etc.

To quote Led Zepplin, "If it keeps on rainin', the levee's goin' to break"...

I love Zepplin !

I think it is good to have silver and/or gold coins in hand at the home.....good hedge for the just in case scenario...as well as some cash.

Physical gold is not a good investment imo; it is a good hedge against inflation though.

If you want to invest in gold, buy quality gold mining stocks. By that I mean in good, low cost producing gold miners.

Let's say it costs a mining company $1000 to produce an ounce of gold (all in sustaining costs), and gold is selling for $1200 per ounce. they are making a profit of $200 per ounce, that's okay. But what is even better is if, for example, gold goes to $1400 per ounce they have just increased their profits by 100%.

If you had just bought an ounce of gold for $1200 you would have only made a profit 17%; and that is only if you had sold it.

Most big miners are producing gold for around $1000 per ounce; typical ranges are $700-$1200. Imagine their profits in todays gold markets.
However, most big open pit mines costs are directly related to fuel costs which are skyrocketing. I would focus on the lowest cost, high grade underground gold mines right now.

Here's an interesting little twisted factoid for ya, with my specific employer, we can't own 100% mining stock, if we own any, it has to be diluted out within a mutual fund mix. Can't own any 100% precious metals or oil mutual funds as well. Then again, we can be bribed with meals or other gifts starting at $25 (dam, I know we are way too cheap!!!).

Meanwhile, in DC...

People just love the feeling of satisfaction when we beat something. The excitement of investing only becomes a negative when it becomes gambling. As some of the new (investments as in crypto) have emerged in recent years and the fact the public has immerged ourselves in them shows that man will gamble on just about anything, even whether a cat can make it across a busy highway, lol. With metals they atleast have a value for manufacturing from spoons, jewelry, electrical contacts etc. The Hunt brothers would be an example of loving it just a little to much and to the point that owning it all and the interest and storage would cause us to fall under our own weight by depressing the market ourselves when we try to liquidate. I think we might all have a little Silas Marner in us, in that in our loneliness we like to just hold the gold in our hands and count it, and perhaps hopefully due to uncontrolled circumstances learn bigger and better life lessons.

Bought gold in Thailand in 1968 on R&R at about $32 an ounce looking back if I would have invested the same money in the S&P 500 index I would have been way ahead based on todays price even with the stock market down. Do the math precious metals are not a good investment and having gone through the covid scare and now Ukraine let the math do the thinking. Also bought silver in 1978 and lost out on that too as an investment.

^^^^^
You mention gambling? How about "non fungible tokens" (NFT's)? Pure Ponzi schemes imo.

Someone mentioned silver as an investment; not in my way of thinking. Silver is primarily an industrial metal; it makes almost as much sense to buy iron or copper, except that silver is a little more portable.

Tangible precious metals are insurance.
Precious metal investments are ETF's, mutual funds, mining company stocks, royalty stocks, ect. Can be traded with a click of a mouse.

Tangible brass and lead is also just insurance, everyone needs some, but poor investment.

I agree with most of what’s been posted, I think metals have value in a crisis, and that what doesn’t make sense with just the inflation you would think at least physical metals would be through the roof but they are not I know the funds moved into the grains because of inflation and then other countries began buying because of the war and I’m really surprised that they haven’t moved into metals also.

Gold is more on the luxury end on commodites. There is some industrial use for gold but everyone needs grains/food/bullets/alchohol

Foreign central Banks aren't buying because of the war itself per say. They are buying because of US retaliation kicking Russia out of SWIFT.

IMHO of course

Gold and Silver have great value throughout the world, throughout history. If the US collapses the dollar is worthless. Your gold and silver will still be highly valued…anywhere in the world, at any time. Take a time machine back a thousand years, take a time machine forward a thousand years, gold and silver will have high value. The yen, dollar, ruble etc. not so much.