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 Replies: 31 / Views: 4,363 |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Hello coin collectors! Although I've got a nice collection of coins from my childhood, I don't really consider myself an avid collector. However, right now I'd like to invest some of my money into gold/silver coins. My objective is to invest in something that is essentially "buying insurance against the dollar", in case our economy crashes or something else happens and requires me to trade with coins. During my searches, I've ran across sites like http://www.apmex.com/ that sell coins. Can anyone vouch for a company like this? They sell gold/silver that is a couple dollars over spot, I think this is what I'm looking for. I'm not worried about buying coins that have additional value (other than the actual gold value), am I heading in the right direction? Any suggestions or pointers? Thanks so much!  EDIT: I guess my ultimate question is: If I want to invest $2,000 in Gold and/or Silver right now, what mix of coins/bars would you suggest to be the best diversified precious metals investment for someone who has none?*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***Edited by fitBUUL
10/04/2012 6:55 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1903 Posts |
My gut tells me that gold is the riskiest play right now when it comes to value....I think itis the most over valued of the "big four". Silver is a more volatile PM on a percentage basis but I feel it is the least over valued. Silver is also easier to "fractionalize" as there already is easy to find silver currency out there from the pre-65 era. Bags of junk silver coins can be had at or sometimes even below spot price and may be the best play based on your requirements for the investment. Not to say having some gold would be a bad idea...it is just a lot harder to "fractionalize" down to a current value of less than $200. Wouldn't you hate to have to trade off a 1/10th gold piece for something worth $100 and have no way to "make change"?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1027 Posts |
APMEX is one of several companies on the web that sell investment type coins at reasonable prices. When comparing one vendor against another for a given coin, price is course the determining factor of where to buy, just be sure to include any fees, taxes, shipping charges, etc before deciding. When deciding what to buy things get more complicated. You need to consider selling prices, buyback prices and conditions, liquidity, etc. before choosing a particular coin. As long as you are in this for the long haul and not trying to make a quick buck then it is hard to go too wrong. Look at companies like Modern Coin Mart and others that sell to small investors with low markups. Shy away from traditional PM brokers that did not even sell to people like us before the internet and still really don't like taking small commissions on lots of small sales.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1903 Posts |
If you are looking to invest in .999 silver or gold...look for my weekly matrix in the bullion forum. I publish it by Saturday morning each week and it gives a digest of premiums over spot each provider has for that week including all hidden fees.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
 Personally I am staying away from gold right now. Without a significant uptick in the price reselling it will lose you money as no one is willing to pay over spot at these prices. Provident Metals is a great site too and usually seem to have cheaper prices than APMEX |
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Valued Member
291 Posts |
Junk silver is the best bet right now.
If you want gold, buy Krugerrands - lowest markup of all one ounce coins.
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New Member
 United States
10 Posts |
Thanks for all the tips! Yup, Gold is pretty pricey right now. But I don't own any and don't want to kick myself later if it doesn't dip down again.
Maybe I'll invest mainly in Silver, but pick up 1/2 ounce or 1 ounce coin in Gold too.
Are there good places to purchase Junk Silver coins? I'd like them to be pure silver (100%, or closest). And will the difference in value, justify buying junk coins (at a slightly lower than spot value) as opposed to new silver coins (slightly above spot)?
Thanks so much for all the help, buying money gets expensive, want to make sure I'm doing it right. ;)
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Junk silver you can get 90% coins, theres 40% too and 35% if you get War Nickels. As for is it worth it over shiny new silver I dont think so unless you find a good deal by chance. Yes you can buy it cheaper, but you also resell it cheaper so it really cancels itself out. Junk silver is usually the first thing people slow down buying during spikes too making it a bit harder to sell at the highest possible price. But Provident metals does have a junk silver section. Id probably do some ASEs or Maples and stick with coins like that |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
So if getting new silver coins for a bit over spot might be worth it, if I'm only paying a few $ extra per coin. It sounds like if things get "crazy", shiny coins will be worth more in a buyer's eyes. Thanks for all the help so far! It seems like you guys don't recommend buying gold now, but think I should go with silver. I'll probably look into getting a couple new 1oz and 1/2oz coins. So, when it comes down to solid silver coins, for the price, does it matter the pressing? I see APMEX, Year of the Dragon, Sunshine Mint, Engelhard & Johnson Matthey, and a handful of other brands. If my final objective is keeping a shiny/valuable solid silver coin for emergencies, does it matter the brand? Edited by fitBUUL
10/04/2012 5:05 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1903 Posts |
Silver rounds...which may look like a coin but are made by private firms and not a government mint usually have the lowest premium over spot.
Silver coins.... made my a national mint usually have a higher premium but resell at a higher premium as well.
Let me give you my example....a few weeks ago I purchased a Monster Box of Chinese Pandas ( 600 coins ). These sell at among the highest premiums over spot of any national coin out there. So in essence for my dollars spent I got the least amount of silver for my money. However...on doing my research I found that Silver Pandas seem to have a "floor" of about $40 per coin regardless of what spot is. This in my mind afforded me a safety net should silver prices drop dramatically...so I paid a premium for what could be thought of an insurance policy. It is all in risk management and how much risk you are willing to take on.
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Very interesting info, I feel really lost now.
I guess my ultimate question is:
If I want to invest $2,000 in Gold and/or Silver right now, what mix of coins/bars would you suggest to be the best diversified precious metals investment for someone who has none?
Edited by fitBUUL
10/04/2012 6:54 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1903 Posts |
I would say 5:1 silver to gold ratio is where I feel comfortable. 5:1 in dollars that is.
So maybe a couple small gram weight PAMP bars and the rest in some shiny silver that catches your eye!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1450 Posts |
Be careful what you buy even from APMEX and other reputable dealers. I get ads every day wanting to sell you "graded coins" which have much higher premiums. For your purposes you don't need graded coins,just raw coins will do. I would stick with coins from the mints of countries such as U.S. silver Eagles,Canada Maple leaves or Austrian silver Philharmonics. Gold,I would buy Kruggerands. Krugs contain gold in the amount stated(for example,a 1 ounce Krug weighs more than a troy ounce because it is not "pure" gold,but it contains a troy ounce of gold). For that reason some folks don't like them but the premium is lower. |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
372 Posts |
I think APMEX and those sort of companies are only good if you are a kabillionaire and plan on buying many many ounces of gold. For the small time investor (me included) it isn't worth the premium and shipping costs. Before I bought strictly from Craigslist and my local "we buy gold" place (they sell all coins and bullion at spot price. Not many out there that do that) I used to shop at Provident Metals and Gainesville Coins online. Their prices over spot were very reasonable as well as the shipping costs. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1903 Posts |
FitBUUL....not sure when you are planning on pulling the trigger, but I will post my matrix sometime around 11pm tomorrow night, you can then use it to reference where your best buy should be as prices will be locked in for he weekend
Not saying the prices still hold true...but based on last weeks matrix Provident or Silvertowne would be your likely spot for best prices
Edited by unholyroller
10/04/2012 9:17 pm
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Replies: 31 / Views: 4,363 |
Posted 10/04/2012 12:10 pm
