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 Replies: 17 / Views: 3,805 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
There are lots of different groups in the specific area of bullion-stacking. Within Ag stackers, there are the "old pour" bar stackers, the cheapest-possible bar stackers, the generic round stackers, "junk Ag" baggers and within the sub-area of currency bullion coin stackers, there are separate camps of ASE stackers, lower-premium non-US bullion (CSEs, Mex Libs, Austrian Phils, etc) stackers, & higher-premium non-US bullion (Pandas, all the Aussie stuff, etc) stackers. Then there are the Au, Pt and Pd stackers - with lots of different sub-groups in each of those 3 main divisions. My question is this -- What kind of bullion do you think is the most value-effective or cost-effective to stack? In that question, I include "marketability" (ease of moving into/out of your favorite flavor), hoped-for level of safety from counterfeits, level of buy-in premium vs level of sell-out premium ("getting your $ back out of it"), stability of value, probable value increase, Au vs Ag vs Pt vs Pd, bars vs rounds vs coins (including what kind & size coins), big bars vs little bars, and everything else you can think of as factors to consider. Also -- I'm looking at this in the long-longer-longest-term perspective. The short-term "flip" consideration means nothing to me. I know what my favorite flavors are and why. What are yours and why? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
648 Posts |
My favorite flavors are Engelhard, JM and I try to collect .999 bullion as much as possible. I'm in this for the weight but I like "brand" bullion such as ASE's & Maples. I might as well get what I like and have some fun with it. If I really wanted to be a value bullion stacker, I would get the NTR bars as they provide the best bang for your bullion bucks. Why? From Engelhards/JM's and even NTR's, these will be easy to sell in the future and they are reputable companies. I know there will be minimal hassle/drama when needing to sell. The same can be said for any other piece of silver, 90%, generic, artbar, rare bar etc. It all depends on the flavor... As for Gold - I prefer PAMP 1 oz Gold bars as they are the "cheapest" for me and are the best (imo). And the American Gold Buffalo $50 coin. The design on that is just gorgeous. Those two brands are the ones I really like collecting the most. Let's not forget the Canadian gold maple which is certainly in the top 3. (Some might say #1). I am a long-term stacker and have zero plans on selling.  Edited by tripncoins
10/24/2012 11:34 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
862 Posts |
my favorite bullion coins are those "collectable" bullion. initial price are a little bit higher than normal bullion coin, but over the years, they gain value gradually. they usually have limited mintage, and have a theme or change graphic every year so after you get one, you start to wonder what the rest look like...
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Its kind of a hard question to answer but interesting. Theres a lot of ways you can look at it. To me the coins with high premiums even the "bullion" versions clearly have a numismatic value close to that if not more than the bullion so I consider those more numismatic coins. In terms of bullion I think the easiest to flip and the best are the mint made ones like the ASE and Maple. They carry low premiums giving you the most silver for the buck and they are very very popular. Some of the bars and such certain people love but have a more limited market |
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Valued Member
United States
456 Posts |
I think this is a great question. I can't classify myself into one specific category. I actually have a little bit of everything mentioned in the original post. I am always on the lookout for something new (to me). Having said that, I really like world one ounce silver, and I am always looking to add something that I don't have, whether that be a high premium panda or a low cost maple in a year that I don't have yet. Even though we are talking about bullion, I figure having the entire 'set' of a particular series would be more appealing to most potential buyers down the road than a roll of a given year. On the chance any of these series gather any numismatic value on top of that would just be icing on the cake.
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Valued Member
United States
376 Posts |
Tripns right with the NTR bars. They look nice and dont have a premium likr the others. But you cant go wrong with ASE and Maples. People are always buying them as they are 2 of the most popular coins out there. Silberbug also has a very valid point. For example the Lunar Serious I. I'm not sure of the prices on those the year they were minted but for 1 oz coins to sell between $60 & $150 is crazy! |
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Valued Member
Canada
491 Posts |
There is a general trend here so far towards the 1 ounce and 10 ounce varieties of silver. As an investment vehicle the 100 oz RCM bars are still workable. The premiums are low here in Canada, but have noticed in the US this is not the case. The bars are Comex deliverable, which like the JM and Englehard could demand a premium if the much heralded default by the Comex ever arrives. This would not be the case with any other sized bars lower than 100 ozs. Although this is never likely to occur since there is plenty for the Comex to source from investment vehicles such as the SLV or PSLV, I still like the size. Although the 1000 ounce bars are much easier on the pocketbook than 100 ounce bars the portability becomes an issue as well as a divestiture of a portion of the holdings. Convertibility demands to be addressed and the larger bars are more of a hassle than a blessing even with the premiums being lower. This is a long term game and with the ability of moving portions of the holdings in and out of the market the premiums really are an important consideration. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
Quote:
Although the 1000 ounce bars are much easier on the pocketbook than 100 ounce bars... Yes, on a per ounce basis, of course. As to my favorite flavors, it's a changing taste. Sometimes, I like US 90% coins and other times I like ASEs and Maples. As a 3rd flavor, I also like 5-oz. SilverTowne bars. In all cases, I want these to be in the best condition possible, so opt for the higher quality coins and bars... new if possible or at least in AU / BU condition. Good condition may not increase their bullion value but they are nicer to look at and I enjoy looking at nice coins and bars more than circulated / worn ones. Bars that are wrapped in plastic are nice too as they can be handled with minimal wear and tear, so look nice for much longer than unwrapped bars. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1200 Posts |
Ed - Your comment about wrapped vs unwrapped bars made me think of something. I bought a "been around the block" old extruded 10 oz bar a while ago that probably left the factory before they invented plastic - at least it looks like that. It doesn't have the provenance of an "old pour" classic - it's just a homely (if not ugly), cheap old extruded bar. I kind of like it because it was the first time I dared to move up into the big leagues--a whole 10 oz bar! Whoa!! Anyhow, the poor old thing really could use a little aesthetic upgrading.
The question is......Is cleaning up a cheap, nasty old extruded Ag bar as heavily debated and generally considered "verboten" as cleaning coin is - or does cleaning up a specimen like mine not get the frowns that coin-cleaning gets?
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Valued Member
United States
310 Posts |
Scottsdale stacker 10 oz bars are usually less than $2/oz over spot. They literally "stack" pretty well :)
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1411 Posts |
The only problem with cleaning a bar is that the bar wouldnt have as much silver in it as before it was cleaned... So I wouldnt clean it!
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Valued Member
United States
493 Posts |
10 oz. bar, 1/4 oz. gold for me. Still, my hoarder mentality seems to revert back to having one of everything, or whatever I don't already have, today I went for 1/4 oz. silver Norfed because I don't have any, and it was the best deal on them.
I sometimes wonder how much larger my stack would be if I'd gone strictly 90% vs. .999 Often, I chase the cheapest .999 deals I can find, and it's of course impossible to turn down 90% at sub spot flipper prices.
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Pillar of the Community
Mexico
1304 Posts |
I stack whatever junk silver I can pick up for CHEAP.
When I can, I buy 1oz Libertads because they have instant liquidity at almost any bank in Mexico. The primium on them is quite reasonable and easy to recover if you are not in a hurry.
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Valued Member
United States
151 Posts |
Good question! I think the longer you stack, the more likely your purchase habits and reasoning behind them will vary over time, not to mention your purchasing power. Right now I'm focusing on larger gold bars, but before that it was tiny (1/10oz and smaller) gold coins, before that, Platinum (all shapes sizes) before that Palladium. Silver was my "first love" and I have junk silver, eagles, maple leafs, old pour bars, cheap ugly extruded bars, etc. While I don't yet own any of the 'pretty' silver coins that carry a higher premium, I do have a growing list of ones I want to eventually get, all 2oz and larger though. Libertads, Kooks, Takus, America the Beautiful are all on my list to eventually get. I like to have as much variety as possible in all the metals but I really don't like minted bars. Even though I have a few PAMP Suisse ones, I think I'll trade them in for poured bars eventually. Liquidity and potential increase in value is important to me, but I'ved been stacking for decades, so I'm fortunate to be able to buy pretty much whatever I want, although I try to always buy on the dips.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
Quote:
The question is......Is cleaning up a cheap, nasty old extruded Ag bar as heavily debated and generally considered "verboten" as cleaning coin is - or does cleaning up a specimen like mine not get the frowns that coin-cleaning gets? There are basically two camps on this issue. One camp says to never ever clean anything for any reason. The other says that it is OK if done VERY carefully, especially with bars or coins that are bullion only and have no or very little numismatic value. I fall into the latter category because I collect bullion that is valuable for its silver content only and can do very precise work on things that I know to be delicate. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
@harrison2: You bring up a good point. They are pretty liquid in Mexico. The question sometimes depends on location.
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Replies: 17 / Views: 3,805 |
Posted 10/25/2012 12:30 am
