Littleton Coin Special -- 2013 Silver American Eagle

You can get em on ebay for eleven bucks cheaper, free ship.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-1-Amer...em485c455fbd

37.50? Holy cow that's expensive I pay Spot + $5 on ebay...

Uncirculated is the same as Burnished,have a W mint mark and are available from the mint and NOT the same as the bullion ( no mint mark) coin. I paid $26 for mine from Provident.

However $37.50 for an uncirculated would be a great deal.

You can't unless you buy a slabbed coin or a whole sealed 500 coin monster box. Then the band that seals the box will have the mint's seal on it. The majority are minted at West Point, but there is an overfliw that are minted at San Francisco.

Here is the way it works. The mint does not sell bullion coins to the public. In order to buy bullion coins from the mint, you have to be an Authorized Purchaser(there are only 11). In order to become an A.P. you must submit a litany of financial stability info as well as being a member of a major commodities exchange. They are required to show a distribution network as well as set up a two way network and price system to buy back as well as sell. And the ability to " hold " sufficient quantities so as too stabilize prices during periods of interrupted supplies.

The minimum purchase is 25,000 coins, 50 monster boxes minimum. These A.P.'s pay $2.00 over spot per coin to the mint. They in turn, have their own secondary retail network of national and local coin dealers and shops. This secondary distribution is also done at a profit , per coin, to the A.P. The secondary retailer, most likely a local coin shop must then sell at an additional profit to stay in business.

This of course is all complicated by the changes in spot prices, which luckily has hovered +/- around $21 for the last 6 months. If an A.P. buys 50,000 coins @ $25 spot , they are paying $27.00 per coin. Your local shop, for example, pays the A.P. $29 per coin and sells to you for $31 per coin. If all of a sudden spot goes down to $20, your local dealer cannot back of his $31 per coin.

So it definitely pays to shop around . When different dealers buy different boxes or tubes at different spot prices, they have more leeway in pricing. Also remember , when an online dealer offers an ASE at $25 + $5 shipping, it is the same as buying at your LCS for $30. But my LCS lays out the whole tube and lets me pick the one I want.

But always remember, the network is in place to allow the Gov. to distribute Silver Bullion to the masses, but also to make a profit. The bottom line is, bullion is bullion and unless you find someone who additionally values it, it is only worth spot silver price.
I buy mine from my LCS at spot + 5 and don't mind that.

I got the same e-mail the other day. I deleted it as soon as I found the price. Heck, I responded to one of their promos last year and paid, I think, $29 when spot was higher.