All that glitters... the PM thread

[WhiteWolf]

Gold, silver: junk & otherwise, paper "gold & silver", strategies for buying in, ideas for storage... etc.

Starting off, let's list some important sources of info.

Spot price: kitco.com

Super-reliable online source - apmex.com (so far; there are others!)

Scuttlebutt, rumor, tinfoil theories: silverdoctors.com

 

[Grevlin]

Excellent thread title. Cheers.

 

[Catapult]

The only advice I give people that are NOT numismatic collectors is -

1) Take those Fine, extremely Fine and Uncirculated silvers and golds to a quality coin shop and barter them for Good quality silver or gold. In essence you convert prettiness into weight, and weight is what you want if the economy goes to poop.

2) Don't take that to an extreme. Some coin shops give terrific deals on badly worn 19th century coins. That could backfire as many times it takes a collector to understand what the coin actually is and Joe Shmoe with the gizmo you want, likely won't take your word for it. The coin needs to be readable.

3) Don't pay a premium for weight. Early Eisenhower dimes contain the exact same silver as Mercury, despite the glaring aesthetic difference.

2 cents. (pun intended)

 

[Bud]

I use Coinflation.com and have their free app on my phone so I always know instantly the exact value of a coin or an amount of go;d or silver

I sometimes advertise on FB Marketplace for junk silver or pieces of silver or gold. You would be amazed at how much junk silver (pre 65 American coins) will be turned up when you offer ten times the face value.

And I often buy a $500 bag of half dollars from my banks just to see how many pre 65 half dollars turn up. My personal record is seven but a buddy once got 21 out of a $500 bag

 

[Back40]

I like apmex. They're solid and ship ridiculously fast. I've received a shipping notification within 30 minutes after order placement, and typically have the order on hand next day. Of course, they're in Oklahoma and I'm in Texas, so that could be the reason for the speed.

My advice would be to avoid anything in mint condition. Circulated is just as good for hedging or for post shtf use. Buying for mint or uncirculated is just paying more for a little more shine.

Also, I would only buy easily recognizable coins that are known to be silver. You don't want issues using them later.

 

[WhiteWolf]

The recognition factor is big, post SHTF. Junk silver... Eagles... and yes, even some numismatic stuff, 99% "fine". All certified, sealed & marked.

 

[Mattsn]

Could someone please define junk silver for me?

 

[WhiteWolf]

Pre-1964 circulated, silver US currency - dimes, quarters & half dollars.

 

[Mel's Cookin']

Could someone please define junk silver for me?

Actual silver coins that are in fair condition, can be recognized as those coins but are not in good enough shape to have any value to coin collectors. (Liberty dimes and pre-1965 quarters and half-dollars are the ones people are talking about.)

 

[Mattsn]

Ok thanks. I have a small collection of silver coins that my grandfher bought for me when I was a kid. But theyre the collector type. Thanks for the definition

 

[Bud]

There are "collectors" and there are "stackers". Collectors are looking for coins valuable for their scarcity or for their uniqueness. The value of those is not based on the content of silver (or gold).

A stacker could care less about the collectible value of a coin. A stacker is only concerned about the weight and purity of silver (or gold) in the coin.

The correct term is pre1965. 1964 coins still have 90% silver content.

 

[WhiteWolf]

S'OK Matt. Starting with vocabulary, in some new to me topic, is always where I have to start. There's a lot of confusing things in PMs as it is; we don't have to assume everyone knows everything - or should by now - on top of it.

Thanks Bud; when I was typing that it didn't look right at the time. Not enough coffee yet. I stand corrected.

 

[Mattsn]

I think these are collector coins because they're in individual cases. PMs are something i need to start learning more about.

 

[WhiteWolf]

When you get a chance Matt, look on the cases for a number. It'll be MS-xx something. That's the "grade" of the fineness of the coin - ie, it's wear & tear. It may say "uncirculated" or "mint" too. These are some of the ways the pros judge the quality & value of the coin.

I packed up all my "shiny" when I moved two years ago; stashed them in a deep closet behind a bunch of games & toys in the kid's room... and haven't spared a thought for it since. I'm more of a stacker; look for 95-99% silver/gold in the coin. Mike was more into the collector side; he'd been collecting since his Dad got him into it as a kid. LOTS of stuff in those boxes, that I'll need to revalue some winter when I'm bored. (I used to collect stamps, so I know a bit about collecting/values... but my focus is the on the ability of a good quality coin to be used or exchanged for the currency of the day. That gets into the different theories about whether buying silver or gold will give you a better ROI, post SHTF. We'll get there later.)

BTW, since I didn't want the movers to know what was in the boxes, I marked them personal and numbered them. They probably guessed from the weight of those little boxes though. LOL.

 

[240Geezer]

Anyone have a source for a refiner or smelter?
I have about 40oz of scrap silver electrical contacts. Mostly from very heavy duty breakers. That I’ve collected over the past few years.
I actually bought a crucible and things to smelt them but it’s time consuming and at the end of the day you end up with a round of silver of unknown purity and certainty.

 

[WhiteWolf]

More terminology: a "round" is simply a chunk of metal. As compared to "commemorative coins" (which aren't accepted as currency), and actual coins from a mint, that contain more silver and are officially recognized by a gov't. Eagles - US/Canadian - are recognized even though they aren't exactly circulated and commonly in use.

 

[Mattsn]

Ill get some pics of them tonight.

This may be my next chapter in prepping. Learning and gathering PMS

 

[HandLoad]

Buy Pawnshop Jewelry! Just for Gold content. Rings, Bracelets, Chains, etc. Bought at or below Value of the Gold. Remember, the Pawnshop bought it at 10-20% value. They often amass too much, and need cash out to pay rent, etc. You can sometimes buy the Gold/Silver well below Present Weight Value rates. Always check London or New York Markets' "Second Close" Gold/Silver Prices before You go shopping That Day or the Next Day!

Small, thus portable. Small amounts, so You are not forced to offer $1500 coin in a necessary $200 transaction. You can clip or cut chains for exact value transactions.

Further, Folks will often pay (even in the worst of times) above Gold Value for Jewelry for their Sig Other.

Brother was a Goldsmith/Custom Jeweler. He taught me this.

 

[WhiteWolf]

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/0...ove-income-taxation-from-gold-and-silver.html

One of WV's Reps wants to stop taxing precious metals as a "collectible", saying it's grossly unfair since the US Mint is constantly producing coins, with a value amount assigned to it - as if it was actually MONEY. There are some pretty good points made by Mooney, in this article; and well worth thinking about if your retirement plans are heavily weighted in stocks/bonds.

 

[Bud]

Time to bring this sub forum back to the front. Gold right now (2:30 PM CST 6Apr20) is $1,700.40 and silver is $15.35. That makes the gold silver ratio (GSR) at 113 to 1. That's the highest it has ever been since 1915.
Historic GSR 1915>

The bullion companies (I use Apmex) are charging almost $12 premium for a Silver Eagle (A silver Eagle is produced by the US Mint, weighs one troy ounce and is .999 fine)

That's because silver is fast becoming really hard to find. Silver mined in North America (Silver Eagles are required to contain only American mined silver) are often a by product of copper and lead mining. Silver turns up in about 30% of that mining. But, because the manufacturing of copper and lead is greatly reduced, a lot of those mines are dormant right now.

My personal belief is that Federal Reserve Note (FRN) is freaking doomed. The CCP Virus economic impact is making that more of a probability than ever before.

If you have savings I urge you to consider by either one troy ounce silver or gold coins or buy huge amounts of pre-1965 silver coins which contain 90% silver. Don't wait too long because it is my sincere belief is that the price of gold and silver will soon erupt and silver will gain in value to the point that the GSR goes down to a closer to 60-1 ratio.