How is Soviet jewellery being destroyed? The first and the most obvious way is through direct destruction of private property, caused by open civil war in the Eastern Ukraine. Simply put, as buildings collapse under artillery fire, property is lost. Then there is looting and outright theft of valuables which is now widespread through out the country. Finally, many people are fleeing Ukraine to Russia as refugees, and gold as well as silver jewellery is something that few leave behind, especially in such emergencies. Here it's important to mention that Eastern Ukraine, because of its historic ties and friendliness with Russia, until the start of this civil war, had one of the largest concentrations of Soviet jewelry in the entire country. Now with this conflict reaching ever larger scale, this is likely no longer the case.
As disturbing as all of this sounds, this is not how most of Soviet gold and silver jewelry is being destroyed. The number one "killer" of these valuables is the collapsing economy of Ukraine. As people become poorer they need more and more "hard cash" to survive. Because Ukraine is overwhelmingly a cash based (not digital currency or credit) country, this cash is ever harder to come by. With the civil war at full swing, with the massive unemployment nationwide, with gas shortages and tough austerity measures implemented by the government, a lot of people simply do not have the money to live. What do they do in this situation - they sell their gold and silver! But how - eBay, internet, auction houses? Not at all, all those options take time and require not only English language but stability in the region, all of which are lacking in Ukraine. That is why, to date, after more than 6 months into this crisis we still see very little Soviet gold and silver from Ukraine for sale on eBay. So how do they sell their valuables? We're sure most of you guessed by now that they sell them to local "Cash for Gold' buyers, pawnshops and refineries. In fact they are one of the few business that are prospering in Ukraine, however they too are pressed to make quick turnaround on their constant stream of purchases, so very few of such establishments resell Soviet gold and silver jewellery as collectibles - most of these items are simply melted down.
Lastly, it needs to be said that Ukraine, now more than ever, is very ideologically divided. Although most of Ukraine is neutral towards Russia and Europe, there are many Ukrainians that do not like Russia and everything that is associated with it - this includes Soviet jewellery. If we combine these two factors, the greatest economic crisis and the higher dislike for everything Russian, in modern Ukrainian history - we see the largest incentive to get rid of Soviet gold and silver jewelry that this country ever seen. And even if the civil war will miraculously end tomorrow, the economic crisis and the dislike for Russia will last for a long time to come. This means a guaranteed continuous loss of Soviet gold and silver in the region.
What does this mean to the global Soviet jewelry market? The answer is simple - less Soviet gold and silver jewelry. Yes, while this crisis is taking place, there will be a slight drop in prices on local level, however this will eventually stop, and then the global market will realize that approximately 1/10 of all Soviet gold and silver that existed in the world is forever lost. You do not need to be an economist to see that; because of this loss - prices on what is left will drastically go up.
So what should you do? Right now, this is a buyers market so follow advice of Warren Buffett - buy when everyone is selling, and sell when everyone is buying. There has never been a better time to buy Soviet gold and silver jewelry so don't miss this opportunity and take advantage of the situation! You will not only support the people of Ukraine but will make a great investment that is bound to provide high returns in the near future.
As always, we do not throw around empty words - we lead by example. Yes we are buying Soviet gold and silver jewelry right now, so make sure to stay tuned as we will be revealing what we bought in our next reports!
Disclaimer: All statements in this report are an opinion. Act at your own risk.
Report by
Soviet Jewelry News
www.SovietJewelry.com