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Silver coins/ingots


Chief Rick

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Anybody collect, or know about collecting, silver?

 

Was kinda thinking of "investing" in some.

 

Got to looking at a few sites and see you can buy silver ingots from 1 oz and up, with prices (depending on designs) to just a couple dollars over the spot price.

 

Then I started looking at coins: Silver Eagles, Canadian silver coins and other silver coins of various designs (which may or may not be tenderable currency). These typically are going for quite a bit more than the spot price of the 1 - 1 1/4 oz of silver they are made of. And then there's the graded/proofed coins, which cost even more.

 

Would the graded coins hold their value more in the long run than say just a 1 oz ingot of silver?

 

I don't plan, at this time, to invest heavily. But I'd like something that's going to look nice and gain value.

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Howdy,

Coins are an investment all unto themselves.

There are whole books about coins grades and how to buy/sell coins.

Metals are another whole type of investment. You guessed it, more books.

And you can invest in mine stock.

If you decide to have hard metal in hand you must secure it.

I had a friend ripped off for a good size jar full of silver coins.

A roommate and the jar of silver coins disappeared the same day.

I think its good to invest in a variety of directions.

Lots of plus and minus to consider.

Best

CR

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Silver rounds and bars are good investments. They can be traded for other stuff. One can usually purchase silver for around 10% over spot price. Silver eagles do have collector value, they tend to go up in value if too many were not produced in a year, I doubt 2015's will become very valuable since the mint produced so many. Silver is down right now, a good time to buy if you can find any. Most SASS members are old enough to remember silver coins, we know what silver looks like and how it feels. I no longer have any faith in retirement programs; 401k, IRA, etc. at least with silver I can hold it in my hand and touch it, unlike numbers on paper that continue to dwindle every 8 years when we have a recession. Guess what, we are due for another recession and another hit to our retirement accounts in another year.

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Howdy,

And don't fergit silver bullets. You can make em just like Tonto. Right?

Whip em up over a campfire in the middle of the desert.

Is that desert or dessert ??

Could tonto whip up lemon merange pie?

Now that would be my kind of sidekick....

Best

CR

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Coins typically hold their value well. Collecting is fun; I have some chopped trade dollars from the mid-1870's that are downright interesting. Then there's the Morgan dollar, probably the most beautiful coin we ever made. And they're almost pure silver! Bullion silver is another thing. Metals go up and down just like the stock market. In the short term, if you time it right I suppose you can make money buying at 500/oz and selling at 1000/oz. Over the long term, Hmmm. Way back when I was buying silver rounds for 3.50. Thought I got a deal selling off at 7.00 to pay a lawyer. Fast forward 15 years, silver was up to almost $40. Now its back to 14/15 an oz. Long term, it's a good investment if you bought at 7 and sold for 14. The t'other way around, not so much.

 

Eagles and Maples hold their value but you'll pay a premium. rounds and bars from reputable mints like Englehard or Johnson-Mathey aren't as pricey. I recently bought some generic stuff which was really nice. I prefer 1oz rounds to bars, easier to part out. But that 1000 oz bar shore is purty! Buy from a reputable dealer.

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Bullion coins or ingots are just that; bullion. Paying a premium for "collector" bullion coins is false economy. As a whole, you will rarely be able to sell or trade them for more than "spot" or market value of the silver or gold content at the time they are sold. Attractive maybe, but you will NOT get a premium for them when you sell. Don't look at them for their "collector" value; there is none...that's the old "Franklin Mint" scam/myth.

 

American-minted silver and gold currency coins do have collector value above their precious metal content, but any more it's a business, and buying low and selling high is an iffy endeavor. This is not for the novice as an investment, so beware. For the most part "foreign" coins aren't in the same league as US collector coins.

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Do not buy the stuff that is advertised on TV that is clad or plated, it's not an investment, it's a scam. One of the local guys cashed in a bunch of silver he purchased in the late 80's. His wife wanted a new car. She now has a new Lexus and he told me the silver cost him $7000.00. Yeah, I know he waited a long time for the return, at least it kept pace with the economy. Most states do not tax gold or silver transactions. Other investments we are charged on the front end and the back end when we cash out. Find a good local dealer, if they are moving large quantities of silver it can be purchased for 10% over spot value. Then, sit on it for 20 years and see what happens.

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Coin collecting -- i.e. numismatics -- carries a vastly different value than just the metal they are made from (speaking of actual currency, not collector's coins or "silver rounds" here). It is something one spends decades learning, and most people specialize in one particular field within numismatics.

 

Hoarding silver or other precious metals is easier to learn -- buy low, sell high. You'll get the best value buying bullion bars instead of those collector's "rounds." There are also producers of varying quality and purity. For most investors, a company called SilverTowne is widely respected, as are a few others. Google their site, and you can buy either rounds or bullion bars in varying weights (I recommend the latter!).

 

Precious metal prices are down and probably going to fall some more in the near term. If you're going to get into precious medal "stacking," as they call it in the business, now is the time. Buy low, sell high!

 

I'm not a stacker; I'm a numismatist as you may have gathered from my posts on this forum.

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?..buy silver ingots from 1 oz and up, with prices (depending on designs) to just a couple dollars over the spot price....

Just be careful who you buy from. Ingots are easier to counterfeit then coins.

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EBay has unfortunately become quite the market for counterfeit Morgan Silver Dollars. The only place I will buy silver dollars is either from an estate sale or a trusted local coin shop. Even then, as soon as I get the chance I always give the coins a ring test, a magnet test and a weight test on a small digital scale. If needed I even use a digital caliper to measure rim width and overall diameter.

 

So far I've been lucky and not spent my money on any counterfeit silver dollars. I have seen some from people unfortunate enough to have done this however.

 

From what I have read and researched the bulk of these silver counterfeit Morgan Dollars seem to originate from China. Go figure.

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