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 Replies: 16 / Views: 2,503 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3546 Posts |
Hello,
For the benefit of newbies jumping onto the gold and silver purchasing bandwagon keep the following in mind:
As a result of the reduced size of these type of coins (1964 and older US Silver Dimes, Quarters, & Half Dollars) the risk of encountering a counterfeit is significantly reduced but never totally eliminated.
Counterfeiting outfits often deal with larger sized bars or coins demanding higher premiums that contain larger amounts of silver.
Many buyers classify these safest type of precious metal coins(pre-1965 10% Copper and 90% Silver dimes, quarters, halves) as 'junk silver' but the net unit value after melting is exactly the same as the larger coins (ASE, silver dollars, & silver bars etc).
In conclusion if one wants to drastically minimize their exposure to fake silver-containing units, strive to purchase 'junk silver' as described above.
IMHO,
mdpmedia
PS: I never advocate melting any federally issued coin but instead use the term 'after melting' to assist in better illustrating the suggestion.
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New Member
United States
12 Posts |
I notice that a lot of the PM dealers sell bags of pre '64 silver coins. Seventy pound bags of coins aren't easy to store safely, but I think they represent the best chance of have "spending money" if the dollar were to collapse under the weight of our $16 Trillion debt.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
That would be a LARGE bag, alright. Fortunately, many dealers also sell smaller $100, $250, and $500 face bags of pre-1965 US silver coins. The $100 size is quite handy, actually, and usually cheaper per oz. of silver than the same number of coins in rolls. I have a few of the $100 face bags and they store nicely.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1796 Posts |
This is one of the reasons I've been toying with developing HARDcash. However, even buying smaller denominations still doesn't fully remove the problem. Counterfeits can happen anywhere on any date, on any denomination. Even common dates. One of the local cash-for-gold operations over here was recently hit with someone who sold him a bag of silver quarters. He noticed after the sale that there were a few State Quarters thrown into the mix, too, but their edges looked silver... ... too silvery actually... ... and no S mint mark. You can guess what had happened to the tune of 25% of the bag. :-) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2168 Posts |
Yes I too am concerned. I guess crime will find a way everywhere. I have some 'junk' silver from back in the say. Hopefully what I have is silver.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5856 Posts |
I feel pretty confident about the monster box of ASEs I bought with the mint seal intact, but I suppose you never really can be sure...
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1177 Posts |
i bought a 2oz JM bar, scary because I wont buy anything more than 1oz but it was a great price for a rare bar
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Valued Member
United States
200 Posts |
I mostly buy from well known dealers to make sure I am getting genuine silver. When I buy from CL, I buy either junk silver or uncommon coins which will not be economical for the forger to counterfeit.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
863 Posts |
I just buy the ugly silver. normally the stuff that is faked is shiny, especially the bars
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Would you feel uncomfortably exposed to the possibility of counterfeits if you were buying 1 oz ASEs, CSMs, Austrian Phils & Mex Libertads or bars (minted by nationally known mints and no larger than 10 oz) from established, nationally known internet dealers or established, respected local dealers who've had local stores for many years?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
Quote:
Would you feel uncomfortably exposed to the possibility of counterfeits if you were buying... I wouldn't but others might. For me, it is more a matter of from WHOM I am buying and not WHAT I am buying. With private mint bars, I like to buy from the source and not from a middle man, if at all possible; although I did buy some 5-oz. SilverTowne bars from Provident when they were on sale and S-T was out of stock. I have dealt with both of these vendors before and always had good results, so was not concerned. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
I've tried to use the SilverTowne website with the intent of buying but when I try to move from one area to another, that website just stops dead in its tracks and sits there for all eternity. I've got a >1 yr-old high-end laptop with a high-speed internet connection, and I always fly through all the other major internet dealers websites at warp speed. When I try to navigate through ST, time itself screeches to a full stop. VERY frustrating. Sent them an email describing my frustration; got an answer that pretty much said "Yeah, yeah, yeah... thanks - this will be referred to somebody..." Hard to believe & definitely not much of a confidence-building experience. I'm sure they have a good rep, but they make themselves unacceptably hard to deal with and they're definitely NOT the only fish in the large sea of PM dealers.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
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I'm sure they have a good rep, but they make themselves unacceptably hard to deal with and they're definitely NOT the only fish in the large sea of PM dealers. Yes, they do have a good rep as a dealer. I have ordered from them several times and have been completely satisfied each time. Only once was there a problem and they corrected that while keeping in continuous email touch about what was happening. Whatever this lack of speed problem is, it seems quite unusual to me. I have not had this problem and have not seen any messages from anyone who has until this most recent thread. It's hard to say why this is happening but it is not their web site or I would be experiencing the same thing and I'm not. Be that as it may, however, if the S-T site is not working for you then that's the bottom line. If other vendor web sites are working fine for you, then by all means use them and not S-T. |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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Yes, they do have a good rep as a dealer. I have ordered from them several times and have been completely satisfied each time.  Them and provident metals are my two favorites. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
667 Posts |
The best way to buy any PM is from a reputable source. Nothing is 100% fool proof but this is the best advice that I can give.
Personally I feel you are at more risk buying items such as bars over silver bullion from the mint.
Junk silver is not foolproof either. One of the more recent m events of fakes was the amount of Morgans being sold on the east coast to coin dealers that were fakes. You would thing that even seasoned coin dealers would have been wise at the time of purchase.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
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Them and provident metals are my two favorites. Agreed. Provident is one of the best, IMHO. I have bought from them several times as well and have had good results. Have an order of 75 silver maples coming now, in fact. Should be in a week or so. |
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Replies: 16 / Views: 2,503 |
Posted 10/05/2012 4:52 pm
