The jubilant feeling of a new year pairs well with a roaring start to equities as plenty of investors are feeling extra good about their portfolios less than two weeks into 2026. The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq have shown off to start the year with major indices flirting with ATHs and the 7,000 mark for the S&P in sight. Commodities have so far shaken off the BCOM Index rebalancing concerns that seem to have been overblown while crypto continues its unenthusiastic sideways movement. There are plenty of external factors that can strike at any moment—geopolitical tensions, the tariff decision, job reports, etc.—but at least for this week, investors were spared and get to enjoy green on their screen. On Monday, I went to my local bullion shop to buy some physical silver, so part of this recap will be going into some details of that experience. Here is the fifty-fourth week of recapping the investments I made in both Conventional and Unconventional strategies. The main investing highlight of this week was buying physical silver for the first time. It was more so for fun than maximizing capital returns, but also an opportunity to talk to the people who work at the shop to get a sense of how the precious metals market looks from their vantage point. I coupled the physical silver purchase with some accumulation of stock and call options in my most bullish positions. Conventional Strategy (Long Term, ETFs): I further trimmed $GOOG and $SOFI. Not too much other than that for Conventional positions. Watching for next week: None ——————————— Unconventional Strategy (Sector Rotation, Small Cap, Crypto): I had a great time buying the physical silver seen in the attached picture. The picture only includes my favorite pieces I bought, with the Engelhard 1 oz bar being the top for me. They didn’t initially have any Engelhard on display, but when I asked them about the no-longer operating, legacy producer, they said this 1 oz bar was all they had at the time. The Engelhard bar is more worn down than what the picture shows. I bought enough silver ounces to exempt the sales tax California has in place for any physical precious metal transactions under $2000 (Thanks California), though that limit is higher than other states with this type of fee. One of the points I was most intrigued of asking them about was how they determined their spot price for a precious metal. When I asked the question, the employee simply whipped out her phone and searched for the Kitco website, which had $75.80/oz for silver at the time. It was interesting to see them using a source whose prices are largely based on COMEX paper futures while the physical silver price in China was fairly higher at the time. Its obviously not feasible for me to sell my silver in Asia right this moment at the higher price, but fascinating nonetheless. I asked them whether they have had more buyers or sellers recently to which they responded that there have been much more buyers as of late. While perusing their display, I also had a conversation with an older fellow who was there to sell a gold ring he had. He mentioned how he had bought a lot of gold back when it was $1300/oz and sold when it reached $3000/oz; he said he regretted it a little but he was leaving the country for a long vacation in Thailand at the time so he needed the money. Before leaving, he murmured to the employees and I: “Only a matter of time before gold hits $5000”. Physical Silver Buying Experience Summary: - Paid around $75.80 spot + $3 premium for 1 oz and 10 oz silver bars - Paid a premium price of $82 for the 1 oz American Silver Eagles - Shop uses Kitco https://www.kitco.com/price/precious-metals for spot price Along with the physical silver, I have been building up my cash position while accumulating positions in copper, agriculture, and oil equipment services. Today, I also finally sold out of some $NGD calls alongside Beskar for my personal highest single investment return of +1700%. Can't thank you enough @beskar_capital! Looking forward to making more plays like that this year onward! Watching for next week: $OIS$TROX ——————————— Summary: Physical Silver Buying experience along with loading up on copper, agriculture, and oil-related plays. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jobs-report-us-economy-adds-50000-jobs-in-december-to-cap-worst-year-of-hiring-since-2020-135246067.html Let me know what you think and have a great weekend!
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34 Comments
Tyler Invests@taipo · 8mo
Tyler vs. Buddies Stock Pick Duel Update! Why not have another update this week against the Buddies after $SLB and $XOM 's strong week. The start prices can be viewed in the first post pinned on my profile. Since 11/19/25 Start: Bumber's Picks: $AMD | -9.12% Decrease (-9.08% Decrease in the Past Week) $VRT | -4.11% Decrease (-6.85% Decrease in the Past Week) BTC Bud's Picks: $BTC | +0.99% Increase $ETH | -1.37% Decrease Tyler's Picks: $XOM | +6.19% Increase (+1.60% Increase in the Past Week) $SLB | +27.04% Increase (+12.44% Increase in the Past Week)
Rudy Nusta@rnusta · 8moEdited
Nice choice getting some physical silver. I happen to have a bunch of silver coins gathered over the years (there is a religious festival in my community where everyone gifts silver ) and I never thought it would be valuable some day.
Doug Gerin@edwardtangofalcon · 8mo
I live in Washington state and they just put a %10 tax on buying and selling precious metals, so along with the premium the tax would eat away any profits at $90/oz I’m just going to buy the ETF AGQ
Carlos Stephen@lordinosuke · 8mo
I bought a couple silver coins back when it was at $31 an ounce about 2 years ago. I thought I made the wrong investment due to silver not moving for a while but now im glad I held onto those coins
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