Silver

[Idiocracy]

Okay, Im looking to start buying a small amount of silver (1-2oz per month) and I'd like a "Silver 101" type course if someone can help out.

Some questions I have...

What is "spot"?
why is everything somewhat over "spot"?
why is there a big variation in price on 1oz bars (all .999 fine)?
Are commemorative coins worth more in a currency crashed type situation, or should I just be buying plain, no frills silver?
are there web based retailers that are better / more reliable than others?

[nymet100]

Spot is the price that contracts to buy silver are currently trading at (it's sold on exchanges just like stocks). You can buy a contract to get silver at spot in theory but you'd have to buy a tremendous quantity and arrange shipping yourself. Dealers use the spot price to track price fluctuations and add a premium for each type of coin/bar.

Everything is above spot because spot is the cost of the silver itself not packaging, shipping, minting, etc. In other words stamping "1oz" and ".999 pure" cost something.

Cost above spot is a function of the popularity of a particular coin/bar. If you're purchasing for silver content then look for the cheapest price per ounce. The others have some alleged collectible value.

I don't see a difference in commemorative vs non commemorative coins as most are stamped 1oz and with purity anyway. In a true currency collapse, I doubt collectibility will mean much. I have heard of people buying old US Currency coins for silver content basically as a way to make change for the value of a 1 oz coin which in theory will be a lot more valuable in a currency collapse. I don't think that's a bad idea, but if you just want to store inflation protected value, I don't think it matters.

[Idiocracy]

thanks nymet. Great info man. Exactly what I was looking for. My thought is to purchase as inflation protected currency with the thought that it would be the go to in the event of currency collapse. In that case, I will look to non commemorative bars.

[nymet100]

I just realized you only want to buy 1-2oz per month. I'm not sure you can buy in such small quantities from a large scale dealer. If you can, you'll probably be killed in shipping. Check your local pawn shop. I've purchased from Kwaks Trading Post in Bellmore at spot, but it's hit and miss on availability. If you go that route know the spot price and ask for 'non-numismatic' or 'silver bullion'. That means no collector value.

[Paté]

We should have a group buy on silver coming up soon.

[bigbore44]

In as well.

[HowardRoark]

I'm looking for my next metals purchase soon. So I'll probably go in too.

[DOUBBLE TAP]

I would prob be in too

[Karpteach]

I'm in.

[MSA77]

Something else to look out for. The US mint releases State Park silver coins in 5 ounce coins. The come sealed in a sleeve of 10, so you have a 50 ounce sealed pack. They are released from the mint directly, but sell out fast. You can sign up for mailing lists, and grab some reasonably. Also spot was explained properly above, but something else to consider. When you buy from a dealer, they want spot plus a premium. As said above, that is flexible, but sort of set based on the type of coin. In gold, most coins have a $30 premium, more or less, but an American Eagle will be $50, but when you go to sell them you get spot, you don't get the premium. This is how it is supposed to work, but dealers will try to give you less then spot if you are selling, and charge you more then a fair premium when buying. There is a website called onlygold.com. You can check spot on everything, gold, silver and even platinum (which can be $100 over for premium per ounce!) Platinum has been lousy over the last few years, as has been both gold and silver. Like they say on the commercials, they never will be worth nothing. I had a good friend beg me to get in Puerto Rican bonds. He is going to end up losing 80%, if not everything. Some were insured, but then he just paid more. Coins are a great what to diversify and everyone should have some. If the SHTF, silver and gold might be the only thing worth anything. The guy with the website above sells, and is legit, but has minimums, like 10 gold ounces, so unless you have $13,000 to drop, his website is great for just checking prices. Good luck.

[HowardRoark]

Great idea on the 5oz coins. Thanks!

[class3]

"Platinum has been lousy over the last few years, as has been both gold and silver. Like they say on the commercials, they never will be worth nothing."

Platinum and gold has their best returns ever over the last six months. For those that bought in November they have done very very well.

[MSA77]

Yes, over the last few months, but over the last few years, gold was around $2,000 per ounce and silver was in the $20's.

[HowardRoark]

Does anyone have an opinion on gold vs silver? In an inflationary environment, silver may be better. But in a SHTF scenario, I'd rather have gold. A pocket full of gold is worth in excess of $25K. You can't move comfortably with $1K of silver in your pocket.

[Dank27]

Im in

[Malaka]

Does anyone have an opinion on gold vs silver? In an inflationary environment, silver may be better. But in a SHTF scenario, I'd rather have gold. A pocket full of gold is worth in excess of $25K. You can't move comfortably with $1K of silver in your pocket.

You can mix it. Buying from a reputable/dealer mint you can get 1/10 gold round for about 139-145 bucks at current prices

[HowardRoark]

You can mix it. Buying from a reputable/dealer mint you can 1/10 gold round for about 139-145 bucks at current prices

But if you buy in small denominations, are you getting clipped more on the premium vs saving up & just getting a 1 ounce coin?

[Finicky Fat Guy]

Maybe, but in a SHTF scenario where you may be using the gold as currency, it's easier to use smaller denominations.

[HowardRoark]

IMO - If we get to that point, the only real currency will be bullets

[Malaka]

But if you buy in small denominations, are you getting clipped more on the premium vs saving up & just getting a 1 ounce coin?

Pretty much, it's like buy an item at Costco bigger size=saves you money cuz it's bulk. When u buy a smaller denomination there's more processes that drives up the price. A 100 oz bar is cheaper to buy than 100 1 oz individual rounds.

[MSA77]

But if you buy in small denominations, are you getting clipped more on the premium vs saving up & just getting a 1 ounce coin?

You are completely right, but keep in mind that gold has been at $2,000 an ounce not too long ago. If you are prepping for a real SHTF, do you want to have to ask for change for $2,000? And that is assuming if paper currencies collapse, it could be a lot more. Silver is great to diversify with, but just having to carry 200 ounces would be a real pain. Not in a car, but if there was no gas... Personally, IMHO, you want to have both, and if you can afford to do so, at least have 10 .10 oz gold, maybe 4 ¼ oz. just so you have "small change." You can even get 1/20th ounce on Panda's and maybe Canadian Maple Leafs.

[Gunwhore]

Something else to look out for. The US mint releases State Park silver coins in 5 ounce coins. The come sealed in a sleeve of 10, so you have a 50 ounce sealed pack. They are released from the mint directly, but sell out fast. You can sign up for mailing lists, and grab some reasonably. Also spot was explained properly above, but something else to consider. When you buy from a dealer, they want spot plus a premium. As said above, that is flexible, but sort of set based on the type of coin. In gold, most coins have a $30 premium, more or less, but an American Eagle will be $50, but when you go to sell them you get spot, you don't get the premium. This is how it is supposed to work, but dealers will try to give you less then spot if you are selling, and charge you more then a fair premium when buying. There is a website called onlygold.com. You can check spot on everything, gold, silver and even platinum (which can be $100 over for premium per ounce!) Platinum has been lousy over the last few years, as has been both gold and silver. Like they say on the commercials, they never will be worth nothing. I had a good friend beg me to get in Puerto Rican bonds. He is going to end up losing 80%, if not everything. Some were insured, but then he just paid more. Coins are a great what to diversify and everyone should have some. If the SHTF, silver and gold might be the only thing worth anything. The guy with the website above sells, and is legit, but has minimums, like 10 gold ounces, so unless you have $13,000 to drop, his website is great for just checking prices. Good luck.

I've seen the Cumberland ones on the JMB site. They seem to be priced significantly less than the Mints price. Is there a difference?

[HowardRoark]

I just did some quick pricing. It seems the 5oz coins carry a higher premium than the 1oz eagles. So, in some cases, I guess it doesn't pay to buy in bulk if you're looking to make a play just on silver & not on the 'collector' aspect.

[MSA77]

The 5 oz are higher from dealers, but they are a steal direct from the mint, but sell out quickly. Get on their mailing list, or better keep checking for new releases.

[MSA77]

The premium is by the ounce, not by the coin, so a 5 oz should be 5 times as much as a 1 ounce, but you can get discounts for volume.

[HowardRoark]

But the ones on the Mint are higher priced than JMB which Gunwhore mentioned. I guess I don't understand the difference in price unless the Mint is offering 'Proof' coins instead of 'Uncirculated'

[MSA77]

I've seen the Cumberland ones on the JMB site. They seem to be priced significantly less than the Mints price. Is there a difference?

When you buy gold coins, just bullion, not numismatic value (which unless you are a serious collector, you will get robbed), the government issued are recognized as legit, but can be tested simply enough. So the US Eagles, Buffalos, the Canadian Maple Leafs, Australian Lunar Series, etc. are all .999 pure, some even .9999. You can get square ingots from companies like Pamp Suisse, but they actually come with an Assay certificate. So paying a few dollars more for something that is absolutely real is worth it to me. There are legit places that sell Silver for $1 or $2 over spot for a large quantity, but you want to be careful (I pay $5 over). I had some gold oz coins that I was sure I got scammed, and they were real. I also had silver coins that looked like they were minted by the person I got them from. Both times I got very lucky, and they were real. If it is a legit site, check reviews, and check Better Bus Bureau, etc., and you should be OK, but be careful, plenty of thieves out there, like with everything else.

[Gunwhore]

I did the same. 4 state park coins are cheaper than 20 silver Eagles. On JMBuillion.

[HowardRoark]

which State Park Coin?