Recently I found out that I am going to be a first time Grandma, to a little baby girl. Her parents are professionals, and the child will want for nothing. For that matter, it is almost impossible to buy gifts for them, so I have gotten stuck just giving them gift cards which seem so impersonal and just promotes consumerism.
What do you give a child that has everything they need and most of what they want? I’ve thought about this and decided that a troy ounce of silver in the form of a coin on birthdays and appropriate holidays will probably be the best thing that I can give both my children and my soon to be grandchild.
- Inflationary Hedge Savings: Back when my kids were born, silver could be bought for $4-$5 an ounce. When they graduated from high school it was going for around $20 an ounce – not a bad inflationary hedge. Imagine the start they would have had moving out and going to college with a collection of 2 to 3 silver coins a year collected for 18 years.
- Savings that are Hard to Spend: When I was young I had a silver coin collection that I just loved and added to regularly. Guess what, one of my sisters took to stealing from my silver coin collection and spending it at the local burger stand for ice cream. I was devastated by the loss of years of collecting. She just brushed it off as if it were just dimes and quarters. A troy ounce of silver is not too spendable. Most, maybe not all, retailers will question an uncirculated silver coin.
- Presents with a Learning Experience: Because I collected coins as a young person, I do understand some of the research and fascination that can go into coin collecting. There is a living history with many coins. Who knows if I don’t come up with silver coins from other countries that the child can turn over and over, not only look at, but perhaps even learn something.
- Prepping the Family: Lastly it is an effort to prep the family. The parents will not take those coins. BUT, what if something horrible does happen – We pray not, but we all know it could happen. My son and daughter-in-law do not believe that anything can ever happen to our current society – end of conversation. Those “dumb coins that Grandma sends…” could someday put food in the belly of their family.
The best you can give them is a unique you engaged in their lives sharing what makes you tick. Instill in them hope to go beyond their mistakes and keep going.
Well with your first granddaughter on the way, we will not be seeing as much of you as we would want. Congratulations.
Your talk of silver brings back memory of my first born. 1971. In those days you could get lucky and still fine some silver coins in circulation. I also had a large collection of silver coins, so I got a large piggy bank. I put the 8 pounds or so of silver in “his” bank. We would weigh him, then put in the bank the same weight in silver to match his. It was all great until at 21 lbs, the bank was stolen. So sad. The only thing stolen from the house was the bank and the only people that knew of it was our close friends.
When you are the papa, you want your first to be male. When you are grandpapa, you want the first to be female. Enjoy your female dear Bev.
Thank you GrammaMary and Randy!
I hear you on something that goes missing when only family and the closest of friends know about it. Sometimes I wonder if we really ever know someone…
Congratulations, Bev! And what a wonderful way to ‘prepare’ the little one, and hopefully instill a love of learning too!
I think silver is a fine idea. Too bad you can’t store it for them until they’re of age. Too many things can happen to it. Maybe a silver ETF? But that’s not something you can hold in your hand.
Your comment about your sister reminds me of something my brother did when he was about 8 or 9. My mother had given us each a silver dollar handed down by my grandparents, probably dated between 1900 and 1910. I hid mine away, but my brother, at the first opportunity, grabbed his when he heard the neighborhood popsicle truck coming. The truck driver, when paid for a 10 cent popsicle with a 1910 silver dollar said, ‘Hmmm, you don’t see many of these anymore”, and put it in his pocket. My brother’s still a little like that after 50 years.
And, an endorsement of JM Bullion, on your sidebar. I find them wonderful to deal with and heartily recommend them.