Still Here, Still Silver Stacking

Sometimes "real life" can get in the way of hobbies and interests. That is basically what happened to us in the past couple of months, as work obligations cut into a lot of the free time that would otherwise go into our hobbies of coin roll hunting, making YouTube videos and interacting with the silver stacking and coin roll hunting communities on YouTube and through this blog. I won't go into the details because everyone has obligations, whether it be work, family or otherwise, but suffice it to say we spent way too long without providing an update.

Last weekend I remedied that and provided an update on YouTube, which can be viewed in the video above. Our time away has just so happen to come at a time when the silver community has been fully engaged with the drop in the silver price. During that time, however, we have still been committed to our goal of silver stacking. Further, I believe that we are now getting into a routine that will allow us to once again consistently make YouTube videos and reply to comments again.

I just want to take the time to thank everyone for sticking with us during the past few months and for your wonderfully inspiring and motivating comments on the update video above. Also, be on the look out for videos in the future showing the results of our last few (for now) nickel boxes that we coin roll hunted through and some silver that we were able to pick up in the last few months.

Thank you again and I look forward to seeing/hearing about all of your recent purchases and how you are doing on your goals as the year almost comes to a close!

Coin Roll Hunting Finds From Box #57 - Nickel Bullion Search Continues!

What do you do when you you are roughly 80 pounds away from your goal of obtaining 100 pounds of pre-1982 nickels? You get to work coin roll hunting through more boxes of course! Some quick math would reveal that we have a lot of work a head of us in terms of achieving our goal. By only acquiring close to 20 pounds of 99.9% nickel nickels in the first half of the year, that means we have to find 4x as much in the second half of the year. That will not be easy, so we will have to put in a lot of work and most likely adjust a few things a long the way in order to make it.

Fortunately, our efforts were rewarded with a pretty decent box this week. Our percentage of pre-1982 nickel bullion coins was back up around the 6% mark. If we can get that percentage each box for the rest of the year, that will make a large impact on our goal. However, we are still not doing the greatest at finding older coins, that is, Canadian nickels before 1963 or American nickels before 1960. We were only able to find 3 pre-1963 Canadian nickels, consisting of the years 1962 and 1961. While that is disappointing, we would still much rather be successful with the 99.9% nickel nickels than these older finds. With that in mind, lets take a look at the results from our 57th nickel box:

$100 Nickel Box #57
-116 99.9% nickel nickels (5.8%)
-3 pre-1963 Canadian nickels
-0 pre-1960 American nickels

The challenge of the goal is actually making coin roll hunting a lot of fun. We don't know how the year will end, particularly since we can't control the percentage that we find in each box, but we can control our effort and we are committed to working hard to hit the 100 pound mark we set out for at the beginning of the year. Thank you as always for your support and following our journey.

How are your coin roll hunting searches going? Let us know what you are finding in the comments section, as we always love hearing your successes as well!

Do Canadians Need to Stack Silver?

Whenever we make a YouTube video discussing the inflationary fiscal and monetary environment that motivates a substantial part of our silver stacking, and hopefully gold stacking one day, we inevitably turn to US statistics and Federal Reserve policy and news. This might, erroneously, give the impression that inflation is solely a US concern, something that only the American dollar holders need to worry about. In my humble opinion, this is false and as Canadians, we believe that it is prudent for us to protect our wealth from the current inflationary fiscal and monetary policies that exist in Canada.

In this video, I compare six Canadian fiscal and monetary statistics with their American equivalent to find whether there is a similar inflationary environment in Canada. These six statistics are: (i) M2 money supply, (ii) interest rate, (iii) central bank balance sheet, (iv) government spending, (v) government debt to GDP and (vi) the CPI. I won't fully spoil the video, but needless to say, inflationary fiscal and monetary policies are not solely being implemented by the US alone. Also, it needs to be mentioned that even if Canada had its fiscal and monetary house completely in order, any US repercussions would be significantly felt in Canada and in the global economy at large. This video just tries to look at the economics of the situation.

Let us know what you think of the video in the comments below, we would love to hear what you think. Also, let us know if you've made any silver purchases recently, as we are long over due for a purchase ourselves and would appreciate any suggestions. Have a great weekend everyone!

Nickel Coin Roll Hunting Finds From Box #56 - 99.9% Nickel Hoarding Continues!

Although we have not provided an update over the past few months, we are still making a concerted push toward our goal of acquiring 100 pounds of nickel bullion through coin roll hunting in 2014. While finishing up school for the semester put a damper on the number of boxes that we did between March and May, we are now back into the swing of things. We have been able to acquire a more consistent approach to coin roll hunting by gaining a coin order at our local bank, which as we have mentioned in the past, significantly assists in the coin roll hunting process. All of this couldn't come at a better time, as we are significantly behind on our 100 pound goal and will need to put in a lot of effort in the second half of the year if we are going to get close, let a lone succeed, at our goal. With this new found motivation and approach in mind, lets take a look at the results from our 56th nickel box:

$100 Nickel Box #56
-83 99.9% nickel nickels (4.15%)
-3 pre-1963 Canadian nickels
-0 pre-1960 American nickels

While our most recent results here are a little bit lower than our expectations of 100 99.9% nickel nickels per box, or 5 percent, it is still always nice to be able to add 83 nickel bullion coins into the collection and is another positive step towards 100 pounds. We are very much looking forward to jumping back into more consistent updates and trying to achieve the goal that we set out on at the beginning of the year. A lot of hard work will need to be performed, so we will be sure to keep this blog updated with our results for the second half of the year. I hope all of your searches are going very well!

How To Grow and Build Your Silver Stack Faster

We make no secret about it on this blog; we like silver and we want to build as large of a silver stack as we can. Over the years, we have not had the ability to stack that much silver. As students, limited financial means have resulted in only a few ounces of silver. But we would like to turn this ship around and try not only to gain more ounces, but to do it faster and more efficient. In the video above, I lay out three ways that we can use to build and grow our silver stack faster. These three ways are looking for the best possible price, eliminating the cost of shipping whenever we can and trying to buy coins with a view to flipping them down the road, with a reinvestment of the profits back into the silver stack. Check out the video above to see a more in-depth discussion on these three areas.

How are you trying to grow your silver stack faster? Please feel free to discuss your methods in the comment section below.

Nickel Coin Roll Hunting Finds From Box #45 (Another Great Box!)

We were back at it again with our favourite hobby, coin roll hunting! Each week we go through one $100 box of nickels, looking for pre-1982 Canadian nickels. We are looking for these particular nickels because an inflationary fiscal and monetary policy has caused their metal value to be worth more than their 5 cent face value. For example, as I write this today, with the price of nickel just over $7/pound, these pre-1982 are worth 7.1 cents in metal value. And we are only paying 5 cents for them; what a deal! This isn't a get rich keep scheme, but it certainly, in our opinion, is a positive way to protect our wealth from inflation.

We do not look for only the pre-1982 nickels. One of the reasons why coin roll hunting is so exciting to us is that there is the added benefits from finding older, rarer coins that carry a small numismatic element to them. Recently we have had amazing luck when looking for these older coins, and this most recent box continued the great streak that we have been on. Let's take a look at the results from our 44th box:

$100 Nickel Box #45
-149 99.9% nickel nickels (7.45%)
-13 pre-1963 Canadian nickels
-0 pre-1960 American nickels

We are looking forward to seeing what our next box yields, and as always, we will share the results with you on this blog. How have your finds been going this week?

Debt, Interest Rates and Silver Stacking

A lot of reactionary blame is always placed upon individuals whenever there is a news report or general conversation discussing the ever growing debt that the public is finding themselves in. Whether it is through labels such as the "need it now generation" or negatively referring to financial habits as trying to "keep up with the Joneses," it is easy for people to not feel any sympathy for those who have gotten themselves in over their heads in debt. Although it is true that individual must be held responsible for the financial situation that they find themselves in, this type of thinking erroneously focuses only on the seen actions of individuals, and not the unseen factors that impact these actions.

As this video argues, the artificially suppressed interest rate environment that individuals find themselves in has created a situation that induces individuals to not only get into debt rather than save, but to exacerbate that debt by making it easy to carry their debt balances further into the future. As Henry Hazlitt so eloquently explains in his book "Economics in One Lesson," these unseen factors should be a place of reflection for any good economist. However, these difficult to see factors go largely ignored. When someone has their house foreclosed upon them since they can no longer afford the mortgage, it is too easy to call the individual a fool, rather than comprehend how lower interest rates had the unintended consequence of discouraging saving while at the time same make it seem more desirable and simple to finance their current overindulgence's at the expense of tomorrow's wealth.

At the end of the video, I also take the time to reiterate how important it is to avoid getting into debt when the goal is to acquire a larger silver stack. It is not possible to reach our goals in relation to silver stacking if we get ourselves into debt. A large silver stack requires one to sacrifice the luxuries today, for their enjoyment in the future.

As always, we would love to hear your opinions on the topic in the comment section below. Can debt and a large silver stack co-exist?

The Most Important Factor in Building a Large Coin Collection From Coin Roll Hunting

Anyone who has been coin roll hunting for a substantial period of time will know what it can result in quite a large coin collection. However, this does not just happen over night and requires a few important qualities in order to occur. In the video above, I focus on the importance of consistency, not just for coin roll hunting in general, but also when your goal is to build a large hoard of coins from coin roll hunting. Please feel free to let us know about your opinions and what has helped you the most when coin roll hunting down in the comment section below. We always love to hear your feedback.

Nickel Coin Roll Hunting Finds From Box #44 - 1967 Centennial Rabbit Found!

Our search for Canadian 99.9% nickel nickels continues this week with our 44th $100 box of nickels. Readers of this blog know that these coins offer us a number of beneficial qualities, chiefly being a cheap way to protect ourselves from inflation within the current inflationary monetary and fiscal policies that are ongoing. In addition to this potential protection, since their metal value is higher than their 5 cent face value, there is also the potential to receive a small gain down the road. Of course, the future is unknown and there is no telling what can happen years from now. But the one thing that is constant is that I love this hobby! While the above is all just theoretical and hypothetical, the enjoyment and fun that we get from coin roll hunting is what continues to push us forward to the next box.

This week saw us find a coin that we have not come across in a very long time; a 1967 centennial rabbit. This was a very nice find as we have had difficulty in coming cross the rabbits from quite a while now. We had a lower number of the 99.9% nickel nickels this week, but still a decent haul. Let's take a look at the results from our 44th box:

$100 Nickel Box #44
-101 99.9% nickel nickels (5.05%)
-8 pre-1963 Canadian nickels
-0 pre-1960 American nickels

We look forward to sharing our nickel finds with you next week. In the meantime, let us know what you are finding in your searches. All the best in the upcoming week!

January 2014 Coin Roll Hunting Finds - Journey to 100 Pounds of Nickel Bullion

January was a great month for us in terms of trying to reach our goal of acquiring 100 pounds of nickel bullion in 2014 through our favourite hobby, coin roll hunting. We were able to acquire 4.4 pounds of nickel bullion in the four boxes we were able to search through. As I mention in the video above, we are not concerned about our current pace, which if continued, would put us far behind our 100 pound goal. This is because we are planning to increase the number of boxes for our weekly coin order to two boxes a week, which should help us out greatly.

The great thing about coin roll hunting is that it doesn't just yield us coins that have a higher metal value than face value. It also gives us the chance to find older coins that may have a nice numismatic premium on them in the future. Check out the video above to see all of our finds in the month of January.

How are your coin roll hunting searches doing? Let us know in the comments below, and as always, thank you for your support and letting us in on your finds.

January 2014 Silver Purchase - Journey to 100 Ounces

As we have mentioned in a few of our previous posts, our silver stacking goal for 2014 is to try to stack 100 ounces by year's end. We are extremely dedicated to this goal and reaching it would signal to us that we worked very hard throughout the year in order to place a portion of our wealth into this amount of silver. To help us reach this goal, we have determined that dollar cost averaging through monthly purchases is the best method for us. In light of this, we made our first purchase of the year in January.

We decided to go with six 2014 1 ounce silver Somalian Elephants. We received a very good deal on them and were able to pick them up without having to pay for shipping (we bought in person). These are not our first 2014 silver Elephants. We already have two from a purchase that we made towards the end of last year. We are big fans of these coins, so it was nice to be able to add 6 more ounces of them to the silver stack, while at the same time kicking off our 2014 silver stacking journey to 100 ounces.

Let us know in the comment section below what you have purchased in the last few weeks and what you are thinking about for your next silver purchase.

Hoarding Cupro-Nickels and 99.9% Nickel Dimes and Quarters?

Coin roll hunting is an extensive hobby, as there are many different ways to engage in the hobby and with many different coins that could be kept based on your own personal preferences and desires. For us, we look for coins that have a higher metal value than their face value currently or in the future, which generally includes compositions that include silver dimes and quarters, copper pennies and 99.9% nickel nickels. However, a question that we are asked frequently, and also discussed within the coin roll hunting community, is whether or not we hoard cupro-nickels and 99.9% nickel dimes and quarters.

The quick answer to both questions is not currently, but potentially in the future, for the cupro-nickels (i.e. nickels made from 75% copper and 25% nickel) and no for the 99.9% nickel dimes and quarters. In the video above, I go into greater detail why this is the case, but it has to do primarily whether or not we see value in these coins going forward. This is particularly true in light of the fact that we also see silver as a good place to put our money in order to protect our wealth within the current fiscal and monetary environment. Let us know in the comment section below whether or not you hoard cupro-nickels or 99.9% nickel dimes and quarters currently or could do so in the future.

Nickel Coin Roll Hunting Finds From Box #43 - Best Nickel Box of the Year!

Boxes like our past week's nickel box is what makes coin roll hunting an amazing hobby. Our 43rd nickel box ended up being our best box of the year so far, and by a pretty large margin. Not only did we find a substantial amount of 99.9% nickel nickels, but we had an amazing 22 pre-1963 Canadian and American nickel, primarily from Canada. This box will certainly help us to hit our yearly goal of 100 pounds of nickel bullion. Let's take a look at the results from our 43rd box:

$100 Nickel Box #43
-191 99.9% nickel nickels (9.55%)
-18 pre-1963 Canadian nickels
-4 pre-1960 American nickels

To see the nickels that we were able to find in this box, view the video above. I think that you will find it to be entertaining, particularly if you enjoy seeing coin roll hunting results as much as I do. As we move closer and closer towards our goal for the year, I just wanted to take the time to once again thank all of you great visitors to this blog. You certainly help us to keep going each week! Let us know how your searches are going this week in the comment section below.

Future of American Copper Penny and Nickel Hoarding Revisited

Coin roll hunters have to always be on the look out for the potential of governments to either change the composition of the coins that we value for their metal content, or even worse, eliminating a particular denomination altogether. The latter happened a year ago here in Canada in relation to the penny, and as a coin roll hunter it was pretty devastating. All of the goals and plans that my brother and I had made towards copper penny hoarding were instantly thrown out the window and there was nothing that we could do about it. Eventually, we reformulated our goals towards silver and nickel coin roll hunting, but it still is a hard truth to swallow even today.

For this reason, I have examined the topic of composition changes or discontinuations a number of times, particularly with regards to American pennies and nickels. In the video above, I look at a number of different articles and legislation that is currently on the table that affects coin roll hunting and provides a window into what could occur in the future. I always love to hear your opinions on this topic, so please feel free to leave your opinion down in the comment section.

Nickel Coin Roll Hunting Finds From Box #42 - Canadian Wartime Nickel Streak Continues!

This was a fun box to coin roll hunt through! We have been lucky to have had some great success in finding older, more rare coins in our most recent nickel boxes, namely pre-1963 Canadian and American nickels. Our streak was extended with this box, and we did great on the Canadian wartime nickels from the years 1944 and 1945. Although they are not made of silver like the American war nickels, these coins were actually made from chrome-plated steel rather than nickel and they standout from the other years. Additionally, their age gives them a nice premium, which while not exceptionally large, is still an exciting reward for coin roll hunters. Let's take a look at the results from our 42nd nickel box:

$100 Nickel Box #42
-109 99.9% nickel nickels (5.45%)
-10 pre-1963 Canadian nickels
-1 pre-1960 American nickels

Although we would have liked to have found a few more of the 99.9% nickel nickels in this box, we are fully accepting of the fact that it will not be often that we get close to our older average of 10%. If we can continue to stay above 5% each box, we will be well on our way to our 100 pound goal for 2014.

How are your coin roll hunting searches going? Let us now what you are finding and any exciting finds down in the comment section below.