Today, Saturday I just bought a couple grand worth of Silver

[hiwall]

I see on ebay rolls of Eagles are $725 to $730 with free shipping and no up-charge for using a credit card. We get 1-1/2% back on our credit card which brings the price down another $10 to $11.

 

[angie_nrs]

However, I have bought online from Apmex, Provident Metals, and JM Bullion. I now buy exclusively from my local coin store, but if I were to buy online again, it would likely be from one of those 3.

I was going to say the same thing. I think those are all quality suppliers of PM's.

I wish I had a local place to buy silver, but I don't. So, I buy in a large enough quantities to get the free shipping to my door. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to what the spot price is. I just look at how much I'm willing to pay and go with that.

 

[Supervisor42]

I was going to say the same thing. I think those are all quality suppliers of PM's.

I wish I had a local place to buy silver, but I don't. So, I buy in a large enough quantities to get the free shipping to my door. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to what the spot price is. I just look at how much I'm willing to pay and go with that.

This is good info.
I'm sure there were plenty of people years ago that were kicking themselves for paying $12 per oz instead of getting it months earlier for $11.50 . So, how are they doing today?
PM's are a long term investment and are not the 'trending stock of the day'.
The guy that is crying is the one that says: "I was all set to buy several $K of PM years ago, and I didn't.

 

[Sourdough]

Good time to buy? It was just at $25.70

Currently $24.98 and headed down. All or most markets are under heavy pressure today. Securities markets are dropping fast. Will be interesting to see if the "PPT" can turn it around.

 

[zoomzoom]

The markup over spot price is way too high for my blood. A few years ago, you could buy silver bars or rounds for 49-cents/oz over spot price. Now it's closer to $4 per ounce.

 

[Tacitus]

I dropped by my local LCS today, and their premiums are as shown below:

• Gold
  • Full AGE: 5%
  • Full Krugerrand: 4%
  • Half AGE: 13%
  • Quarter AGE: 19%
  • Tenth AGE: 26%
• Silver
  • Full ASE: 35%

So, gold is always better when it comes to premiums. You can get a Tenth AGE now for around $230 (same as about 7 ounces of silver).

And, ask yourself what your premium is on your groceries, or on a meal at a restaurant. These premiums are probably better in many cases. It is just that you know what the premiums are with metals, so it hurts more when you do the exchange.

Legend:

AGE = American Gold Eagle​

ASE = American Silver Eagle​

"Full" = 1 ounce troy (not 1 ounce avoirdupois/imperial)​

 

[Supervisor42]

The markup over spot price is way too high for my blood. A few years ago, you could buy silver bars or rounds for 49-cents/oz over spot price. Now it's closer to $4 per ounce.

The problem with silver metal is they turn most of it into coins and call them "collectable" to get people to add them to their 'set'.
It is much more efficient to make coins with metal worth $1800 per ounce than $25 per ounce.
How many of these Silver Eagles do you see up for sale?

1 ounce of.999 fine silver!
Your cost- $20.
https://www.propertyroom.com/l/1993-bill-clinton-presidential-inaugural-1-oz-999-silver-coin/11224706

 

[Tacitus]

Update on premiums. I've added the premium for "junk silver" (pre-1965 US half dollars which are 90% silver).

• Gold
  • Full AGE: 5%
  • Full Krugerrand: 4%
  • Half AGE: 13%
  • Quarter AGE: 19%
  • Tenth AGE: 26%
• Silver
  • Full ASE: 35%
  • pre-1965 Half-Dollars: 18%

So, you can get a better premium than the smaller gold coins with silver if you stick with the pre-1965 US government coins...but still not better than the larger gold coins. Even better, some coin shops will give a slightly better premium for quarters and dimes instead of half dollars (mine will...I just haven't done the calculations). Obviously, different coin shops will have different premiums, so you need to do your own calculations. But, I figure having an idea of what one seller does will give you an idea (albeit an imperfect idea) of what is happening at other sellers.

Apologies for non-US members, but this info likely only applies inside the US.

 

[Peanut]

I was going to say the same thing. I think those are all quality suppliers of PM's.

I wish I had a local place to buy silver, but I don't. So, I buy in a large enough quantities to get the free shipping to my door. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to what the spot price is. I just look at how much I'm willing to pay and go with that.

Several years ago a couple of friends and I were fairly active buying and selling PM's. We usually dealt with "southern coin" in NOLA (scpm). It was about 700 miles round trip. It was a long and nerve racking drive. I'd usually have more than 50K in cash or coin with me in the truck...

However, doing a face to face business has it's advantages, especially when you dealt with the same person for many years. I always got the best rates whether buying or selling.

I have no idea what the current rates are.

 

[Tacitus]

Several years ago a couple of friends and I were fairly active buying and selling PM's. ... It was about 700 miles round trip. It was a long and nerve racking drive. I'd usually have more than 50K in cash or coin with me in the truck...

Risky. If you got pulled over and searched, the police would likely just steal your money ("asset forfeiture"...so, yeah, stealing), and you would be out of luck.

 

[Supervisor42]

Risky. If you got pulled over and searched, the police would likely just steal your money ("asset forfeiture"...so, yeah, stealing), and you would be out of luck.

Especially down here. ☹
They call it 'seizure of evidence'.
How much of it actually makes it back to headquarters, that's anybody's guess.

 

[Tacitus]

Gold on its way down...and hopefully that will continue.

But, the downswing can't last, can it?...with all the money printing / sovereign debt creation?

I have to think currency will inflate, which means gold must rise...unless people find something else to go into, like cryptocurrency. I've always disdained cryptocurrency, but a buddy of mine is big into it. We had a long talk, and I have to say, he got me thinking that it might be a non-apocalyptic hedge, like gold...another way to diversify one's wealth media with some insurance against an inflating dollar. Seems better than storing wealth in Euro or Pounds, and still much more liquid than wheat or land. So, maybe a little....

 

[Supervisor42]

Gold on its way down...and hopefully that will continue.

But, the downswing can't last, can it?...with all the money printing / sovereign debt creation?

I have to think currency will inflate, which means gold must rise...unless people find something else to go into, like cryptocurrency. I've always disdained cryptocurrency, but a buddy of mine is big into it. We had a long talk, and I have to say, he got me thinking that it might be a non-apocalyptic hedge, like gold...another way to diversify one's wealth media with some insurance against an inflating dollar. Seems better than storing wealth in Euro or Pounds, and still much more liquid than wheat or land. So, maybe a little....

There are 100 shades of grey between yes and no.
You don't have to decide: "buy or don't buy".
If you are half-sure, get 50% of what you would normally buy.
If you are 10% sure, buy 10%.
You are right though, when everybody is going nuts and buying it because it is up over $2,000 , that is crazy.
When it is down nearly $300 is the time to be looking at it.

 

[Neb]

There are 100 shades of grey between yes and no.
You don't have to decide: "buy or don't buy".
If you are half-sure, get 50% of what you would normally buy.
If you are 10% sure, buy 10%.
You are right though, when everybody is going nuts and buying it because it is up over $2,000 , that is crazy.
When it is down nearly $300 is the time to be looking at it.

$300



I remember those days but was too poor to get in. I jumped in at about $1230.

We have been putting something into Glint monthly. Dollar cost averaging and all.

Ben

 

[Neb]

Gold on its way down...and hopefully that will continue.

But, the downswing can't last, can it?...with all the money printing / sovereign debt creation?

I have to think currency will inflate, which means gold must rise...unless people find something else to go into, like cryptocurrency. I've always disdained cryptocurrency, but a buddy of mine is big into it. We had a long talk, and I have to say, he got me thinking that it might be a non-apocalyptic hedge, like gold...another way to diversify one's wealth media with some insurance against an inflating dollar. Seems better than storing wealth in Euro or Pounds, and still much more liquid than wheat or land. So, maybe a little....

Crrypto is just ones and zeroes spread out all over the world. One good CME burst and bitcoin becomes crispy bit (along with Glint by the way).

Ben

 

[Tacitus]

Crrypto is just ones and zeroes spread out all over the world. One good CME burst and bitcoin becomes crispy bit (along with Glint by the way).

I agree 100%.

And yet, I have my retirement money in the form of digital ones and zeros which represent US dollars. I was thinking that a CME/EMP would destroy that, as well. In that respect, what is the difference between a digital dollar and a digital bitcoin? A gold ETF would be wiped out as well. How many people have physical stock certificates anymore?

Only the physical cash and the gold and silver in your hand would survive.

But, absent CME/EMP, and in the case of a mere super-inflationary dollar, bitcoin and gold would both do well.

 

[Supervisor42]

. How many people have physical stock certificates anymore?

Both me and my wife do (in different companies) but we're old.
Her Hershey's one is beautiful! (~1992)
A print from a huge engraving like a giant banknote.
(Whoever said I couldn't get her a Christmas present that would last?)
The one thing they can't do, is make you transfer or sell it.
Edit: Also bulletproof when it comes to CME/EMP .

 

[Supervisor42]

...
Her Hershey's one is beautiful! (~1992)
A print from a huge engraving like a giant banknote.

Looks like this one* except without the holes punched in it (they do that when it's been paid):

Lemme see now, at $179.00 per share at today's close... hmm.

(Edit: *oh, and it doesn't have that "100 Shares" thing on it )

 

[joel]

 

[Neb]

Looks like this one* except without the holes punched in it (they do that when it's been paid):
View attachment 70786
Lemme see now, at $179.00 per share at today's close... hmm.

(Edit: *oh, and it doesn't have that "100 Shares" thing on it )

I used to service computer based alarm systems in my youth. Occationally I would work in the vaults of the Union Trust building. I can still see the image in my head from when I passed a shelf that held an inch high stack that was AT&T stock.

Ben

 

[Neb]

Things are so crazy with over priced stocks.

Physical gold is now a part of our portfolio.

Ben

 

[Cascadian]

We thought about silver lately. We had some money for our grandkids education in the bank. We had 2 thoughts. 1. It will always be worth something. 2. They eat a little too much paste.

 

[Tootsie]

Ouch! I just placed an order with JMB. Better late than never. Wish I had know that orders below $1,000 aren’t taxed, or that it’s nice to have a delivery place outside of New York....

 

[Neb]

Ouch! I just placed an order with JMB. Better late than never. Wish I had know that orders below $1,000 aren’t taxed, or that it’s nice to have a delivery place outside of New York....

Nice move buying in the dip. With the news out of China today gold went up.

Ben

 

[hiwall]

I wonder if this is the last sale prices on PMs that we will see.

 

[Neb]

I wonder if this is the last sale prices on PMs that we will see.

For a while maybe. But sales are relative.

The question in my mind is to what extent the rehypothecation in China will ripple out like the housing bubble and Leyman brothers.

China does not seem to do the "too big to fail" thing. On that note they are more capitalistic than the US.



Ben

 

[Tacitus]

I currently have 3.3% of my retirement savings (e.g., my 401k, IRA held in a brokerage account) in metal-based funds (investments tied to gold, silver, platinum...basically, the Sprott Physical Bullion Funds).

That is up from 0% at the beginning of this year, so, obviously, I really wish I did this a few years ago. By tomorrow, I will have bumped my metals holding up to 5%.

If my virtual metals investments go down, that will likely mean the rest of my portfolio (the 95%) is going up, so I am not worrying about losing money as a result of this small allocation to metal.

Obviously, this is not physical metal which I can hold in my hand. But, that is the case with all of my 401k/IRA wealth, regardless of whether it is in "metals," or bonds, or stocks...it is all out there in the ether, and I cannot hold it until after I retire. But, at least it is in a form which provides a little insurance for the rest of the portfolio.

 

[SheepDog]

metal funds are typically "over sold". Like futures they have some value but that value can disappear if the mining company goes bust.

 

[zoomzoom]

If my virtual metals investments go down, that will likely mean the rest of my portfolio (the 95%) is going up, so I am not worrying about losing money as a result of this small allocation to metal.

I too keep a small portion of my portfolio in metals and was thinking the same as you in what I'm quoting.

But sometimes it doesn't work like that. When stocks crashed when COVID started, so did precious metals. Also look at the last week or 2 when the market took a strong downturn. Precious metals did the same.

 

[angie_nrs]

Obviously, this is not physical metal which I can hold in my hand.

I get why you have paper PM's, but nothing (for me) is more satisfying than having that shiny stuff in hand. It is more expensive and cumbersome to hold, but it has the advantage that it won't disappear either.....unless someone steals it. There are pros and cons to both for sure. I told the kids not to bother with physical PM's since the one's I have will likely outlive me and they are not trying to protect wealth but instead trying to get PM's as an investment. I don't consider them an investment per se. I consider them to be some protection from complete loss.

The FED is supposed to make an announcement soon. I wonder if that will have any effect on current PM prices. I still think PM's are set to go up. I don't see how they won't, considering the dollar is losing value by the day now.