Totally agree with the gooch's observations. PM's are probably...

Totally agree with the gooch's observations. PM's are probably best seen as an insurance policy; some protection from unforeseen, dire events. Historically, the shit often hits the fan over a weekend. Come Monday morning, banks and/or bullion merchants are off line and commodities and PM's are hugely revalued upwards. China has been accumulating PM's for years and it is suspected that they will one day align their currency with a huge gold holding. One wonders what the rest of the world's reaction might be. The US appears to have sold, lent and hypothecated a huge part of its bullion over the past decade. Will gold destitution force governments to confiscate its citizen's PM's? This seems unlikely because the major banks are also in accumulation mode. In the meantime, very smart people appear to be in control of the market to make windfall profits, riding the waves of fear and volatility. The way I see it, you either trade this volatile mad house or stick your shares and PM's in a safe place until the day comes to make a claim, just like with that insurgence policy.