Just Starting - Advise On What To Buy

Bigfredd gave sage advice - buy what you like. For bullion I like Maple Leafs and ASE's. Check out Goldmart too. They sell Maple Leafs for 2.19 over spot and ASE for a bit more over spot. Here are 20 Maple Leafs in my cart for $648 (silver is up tonight). Good luck.

http://www.goldmart.com/checkout/cart/

Indeed it is... and advice like this is all the more valuable because the people in here are not trying to sell you anything... unless you are in the buy-sell area, of course.

If you are trying to decide between Canadian Maples and Silver Eagles I would favor the Maples. The Maple is a $5 face coin while the Silver Eagle is a $1 coin.

the face value don't really matter because banks and stores have the right to refuse to accept NCLT (non-circulating legal tender)>>>>


where does this right come from?

Big-Byte:

I don't have answers to all of your questions but I will says a few things to which others on here can add their thoughts.



Yes, Morgans are nice coins and make good additions to almost any collectors' stash. Any number of Morgans are considered collector coins, though, and can be price WELL above the spot price of their silver content. The Carson City mint versions, for example. Also, their condition will affect their price. BU grade coins will sell for more money than cull grade coins. There are maybe 4-5 intermediate grades as well. There are also graded coins that have a specific quality rating on them that can sell for quite a lot more than their silver value. None of this is intended to discourage you from investing in Morgans but to help you become aware of the possibilities that they offer.

As to ebay... some people do well at buying and selling there but I don't really care for it myself. I buy from APMEX, Provident Metals, and SilverTowne. All 3 of these are good places to do business and I have had good experiences with all of them. When I shop for silver, I most often do it based on price and availability. Shipping costs matter, so include them in with the prices of the coins you buy. I also have a couple of local coin / pawn shops where I buy coins from time to time. Most of the time, these are either ASEs or US 90% silver coins in various denominations. I have not tried to sell any silver locally but would try the same local shops where I buy to see what they would offer. After that, I would check with the on-line vendors to see what they would pay for what I was selling. Once we know what is offered we can make an informed choice as to where to sell our silver.

Yes, you can buy bars as well as rounds and coins of various types. Bars usually come in various sizes, such as 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 ounces each. There are also a few odd sizes, such as 2, 3, and 20 ounce bars. I prefer to buy bars that are wrapped in air-tight plastic so they stay nice looking for many years. Oxidation does not do much harm to the silver but it does detract from their appearance. A private collector might not pay as much for a bar that doesn't look nice. Businesses tend not to care about that as much but there are always exceptions. I also prefer bars that have the silver purity and weight stamped into the bar. A serial number is also nice in that it could be useful for identifying any bars recovered after a theft. For all of the above reasons, I prefer the SilverTowne 5 and 10 oz. bars although there are quite a few other bars available that are very nice too.

ASEs are terrific for silver collectors. They are guaranteed as to weight and purity by the US Mint. They contain a solid ounce of 99.9% silver metal and have a great design. You can get them in tubes of 20 coins or in monster boxes of 25 tubes / 500 coins. They are widely recognized by anyone who buys and sells silver bullion. Yes, there is a $3-5 premium attached to each coin but this is part of the cost to manufacture, transport, store, and sell these coins.
We might or might not be able to recover all or part of this premium when selling.

I have not dealt with the US Mint so cannot comment on that.

Great, so if the silver market drops below $5, you can lose $4 more on ASE, but are protected with the CML.

Then again, if you think silver may drop below $5, are you buying it at $30?

Thanks a lot, Ed_B. I am going to shop those three stores that you mentioned. I am now better armed to understand the Morgans.

Fellow big-

There are a number of factors that go into pricing at any given moment, and no guarantees for the future. For example, for awhile it was illegal to import krands, and they sold for $10-20 less than other ounce gold bullion coins, because people were afraid they were illegal to own. Today, they don't have that stigma, and folks who bought them during the scare days made an extra $10-20 per coin.

Speaking of "circumstances". Most fractional gold sells for a premium, but the argument is that you'll get back the premium when you sell. Not always true:

GOLD KRUGERRAND	    BID	    ASK
1 OZ	        1671.50	1748.75
1/2 OZ		 820.00	 883.50
1/4 OZ		 410.00	 452.00
1/10 OZ		 164.00	 195.75

Note that the bid price is 31.50 per oz lower, but there is a premium for fractionals when buying.