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 Replies: 23 / Views: 3,752 |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
I started with 1oz silver coins (1oz ASE's mainly) as a way to get some silver. The things grew on me, though, and pretty soon I was dropping air-tites on just about every one I bought. It doesn't take long for that to get out of control. So, I switched to buying 10oz silver bars. My thought was that I'd hold some and trade some. Each time I had 6 'extra,' I could trade toward a gold coin. But, I guess these things have grown on me too because I can't bring myself to sell any. With my silver-to-gold layaway program out the window, I started buying fractionals (1/4oz ASE's). These have such a high premium, though, that there's no logical way to 'trade them up.' So, now, I'm eyeing 5g and 10g Pamp Suisse bars thinking there's no way these things will glamour me into holding them. My goal would be to gather up tiny piles and trade them in for 1oz Maples over time. So, long story short, I'm looking for some advice. What do you hold on to, what do you 'upgrade' and what are you working toward? Thanks in advance. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3049 Posts |
I read this post 3 times over... and I'm still confused... I think you're losing money on the premiums by buying smaller increments..
When it comes to silver.. my advice would be, buy what you're comfortable with and hold onto it... the difference between 1 oz or 10 oz rounds is evident when you're trying to sell .... I personally like 1oz rounds... they're much easier to liquidate..
If you're trading your silver up to gold my best advice is to watch the GSR and take advantage of the ratio's when they're in your favour to trade..
Personally I try to pay as small a premium as possible as very little will be recouped on the sale side so you have to wait for silver to go up before you even have a shot of turning some sort of profit.
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New Member
 United States
10 Posts |
I'm trying to find a painless way to accrue silver / gold, but I guess I'm still getting over the sticker shock of 1oz gold coins. So, rather than walk into the shop and spend ~ $1,400 for each coin, I'm wondering if anyone has discovered a solid plan for buying in increments. I know this will be unique to each buyer/collector/investor, but I'm looking for ideas.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
I mean you can buy in small amounts and eventually it will add up to a large amount, but with the premiums on fractionals youd be better off just saving the money you would have spent on them until you can afford the 1 ounce ones.
The only other real option is to wait and hop gold goes down more but with the price of gold right now theres not going to be a cheap way to but it right now.
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
It's not so much an issue of being able to afford the coins as being able to justify them. If I'm being honest, my approach to all this is a lot more like a hobby than an investment.
Right now, I don't worry too much about the math of it all. I buy a bit more when the prices are right and less when they aren't, but I do try to pick up something each month without diverting from savings or more traditional investments.
My thought on the 10g gold bars is that they carry a much lower premium than fractionals.
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Thank you both, by the way. Obviously, I'm running in the dark here.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
I personally have been avoiding all gold for the reason I cant justify the price to myself with the potential for it to fall. As a hobby approach just buy what you like that you can afford. If your plan was to trade up youll get more bang for your buck buying the 1 oz off the bat. As long as you arent dipping into any other investments or savings and arent sacrificing them in the process just go with what you like
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Valued Member
Australia
208 Posts |
The logical choice for you would be bars, or possibly rounds. Those are cheaper, and not as attractive, so they would be easier to not grow attached to. If silver takes off, you will be in great shape. Or if you decide to trade to gold, you could do that without having paid large premiums for your silver.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1528 Posts |
Quote:
So, now, I'm eyeing 5g and 10g Pamp Suisse bars thinking there's no way these things will glamour me into holding them. My goal would be to gather up tiny piles and trade them in for 1oz Maples over time. um, I hope you mean you sell them and use that cash to buy one oz And not trying to trade your 10g pamps for 1oz. You will find it is very very difficult to do that as folks that collect 1oz gold coin have lil to no interest in paying high premium for the 1/10, 1/20, 1/25 or smaller weight. |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Hey, Lostwords. Trade, meaning I'd sell and buy from the same vendor. LCS or APMEX. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Sounds to me like you're all over the place with a different game plan and objectives far too frequently -- or maybe none at all. I think getting and staying
organized would be good for you and sticking with a specific game plan and objectives would be better still.
I prefer a diversified and balanced stack. Part low-premium govt-issued coins, part generic bars/rounds and part higher-premium "semi-numis" govt-issued
coins. Keeping those 3 components of my stack in balance lets me change my buying focus (when one area falls behind the others or market changes/prices
make a buying focus change prudent) and still be within the overall game plan.
I always found that trading and upgrading cost me money and that the less I did those things, the more of my $ ended up in PMs in my hands. I wish I was one
of those guys who makes a 30% profit every time I did a swap or upgrade (ha,ha!), but that just never happened. These days, I know what I want and I buy only
what I intend to keep. I'm done upgrading and changing my direction with every new impulse that hits me. My experience is that impulses and frequent direction
changes are unacceptably expensive. But--"To each his own." Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
When I get fractionals I always look for the most beaten up and unloved coin I can and haggle it down. As long as it weighs out what it should I don't see the difference. I don't care about gold premiums because I buy it to alloy and manufacture, not to hoard it. An object isn't "worth" anything if it's collecting dust. This method can get me between $5-10 off the normal plastic-sealed coins. I can assay it myself without caring about the packaging. Usually I'll give it a bend test with my fingers only. If it gives easily and then if my teeth leave their mark then it's fine gold. $5-10 is nothing when compared to $40-100. Yes, it adds up a tiny bit but I'm also selling it for 2-4X afterwards so it's negligible.
So my point is, if one is buying bullion, why would one pay premiums? A metal is a metal and can be melted into any form. It's the form that people crave. I do get Maples and other officially issued rounds as opposed to generic rounds because I care about the next person who wants to own them. I don't want my liquidity to come into question and prolong a transaction, so I do pay a tiny bit more for those, but that's all.
Maybe the OP should collect some .900 fine silver (US) to trade away. Let me know how that goes. I like 5g and 10g gold, just be aware of fake bars. They are scary. (Credit Suisse). When you said Airtites I knew you are hooked. I find they're hard to store and let go of when they're covetted so much. Buy the gold, not the calf.
I suppose I'm doing things backwards by flipping gold and stacking silver, but not everyone does it how I do. I'm not losing money this way. Silver has the bigger potential here. The silver is dollar cost averaged and the gold is alloyed, custom reformed, and flipped. Not everyone knows how.
Edited by Libertad
08/23/2013 12:28 pm
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Quote:
I always found that trading and upgrading cost me money and that the less I did those things, the more of my $ ended up in PMs in my hands. This is maybe what I needed to see. I haven't done any trading yet, but I had it in my head that the 10g bars to 1oz coins plan would keep me consistent. FTR, I still buy 1oz silver coins and 10oz bars. The reason I switched focus was to try to balance it out a bit. I haven't caught the semi numi bug yet, though. |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
I haven't done any trading yet, but I had it in my head that the 10g bars to 1oz coins plan would keep me consistent. Like I already said if you want one 1 oz buy one ounce. If your trade up youre losing the money on the fractional premiums down the drain. 1400 isn't fun to pay but if you do it trading fractionals youll end up putt close to 2k into that single ounce |
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Valued Member
Canada
281 Posts |
Quote:
I'm eyeing 5g and 10g Pamp Suisse bars thinking there's no way these things will glamour me into holding them As I started my collection, not thinking about reselling or trading, I researched which coins and bars I would like to own and cherish but also looking for the ones that would be easy to liquidate if the need would arise. I quickly realized everything from the US Mint is desirable and easy to resell. That was a no-brainer. My 2nd choice were these Swiss PAMP's hands down. They are the most recognized PM's in the world right after the British sovereign (and US). They are beautiful, have guaranteed purity, they're sealed and numbered. To me that is glamor. But as they say; beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'd trade these for my Maples ANYDAY but I guess I have to wait until I grow to 250 posts lol. Finally if you're really into trading, gold to silver is the way to go and not the other way around. In my humble opinion silver is undervalued and a much better buy and bang for your buck. Time will tell  |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Thanks for the thoughts, miggs. That doesn't make it any easier. I can't imagine ever dumping (gold) Maples. As the thread shows, I'm devising elaborate plans just to sneak a few more of them into the safes. I just can't get excited about stashing a whole lot more silver, though.
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Replies: 23 / Views: 3,752 |
Posted 08/22/2013 10:50 pm
