Looking for some help in buying precious metals

[COharbinger]

and no im not talking about lead and brass. I recently started online schooling through the GI Bill and not only does the government pay for the classes, they also give me $894 a month to compensate me for my time i guess. out of that amount $800 will be going towards paying off my debt, shoring up my savings, and some towards the patriot fund. each month I would like to invest the $94 into precious metals such as gold or silver. I know its not a lot but I figure if I do this each month of my four month classes, It could certainly add up. My intent with this would be for barter/currency if SHTF but also as a financial back up if bad times hit the wallet.

I have no experience buying metal, ive done some research and it seems like with the amount I have to spend I should be looking more towards silver. SHould I be buying junk silver (old coins) or looking more at silver bars?

 

[COharbinger]

Also, I know the retailers sell over "spot" price. where can i get my best bang for the buck?

 

[Back40]

Junk silver is a great way to invest in PMs. That's mostly what I've got.

You can buy silver bars for a slightly lower premium but they aren't as recognized if S does HTF and you have to spend them.

The "premium" is the additional cost over spot price that the dealer charges for the work they do in taking the order, shipping product, etc.

Premium varies quite a bit, depending on many factors. The more exotic a coin or bar is, usually the more premium is charged. Sticking with junk silver coins helps with that, as usually premiums are pretty low.

Two dealers I highly recommend are apmex.com and texmetals.com.

You can also visit local pawn shops and see what they have in the way of junk silver. Often times they'll at least have a few American Eagles lying around.

Edit: for the amount you're ordering, you might save it up and order quarterly. I know that texmetals.com will ship any order size for free, but some dealers have order minimims for free shipping.

 

[The Branch Manager]

I'm unsure what's your overall Financial Spectrum looks like, but I have a method in buying precious metals. To me it's not worth my time to save a dollar around on Fiat silver. I've gone through the phases of trying to shop around and get the best deal, now I just go to one of the big metal houses and buy a roll once a month. JM gets most of my fiat, but ampex and sd also have free shipping minimums. This is my normal monthly order.

https://www.jmbullion.com/2019-american-silver-eagle-tube/

 

[The Branch Manager]

See just in the time it took me to type that you get three different replies. Everybody's got their own opinion on this, and I think everybody's probably right. I just won't take the time to save $0.10 on a $20 item.

 

[WhiteWolf]

Junk silver is also getting hard to come by. Used to be you could pick up a couple rolls of quarters at the bank, sort thru and maybe find 2 or 3. I used to handle a lot of change, and we ALWAYS separated the junk silver out from the copper clad stuff. But that was the 70s.

Silver eagles, and perhaps 1/2 oz gold coins (the 1/10ths don't seem that useful, IMO) would be my recommendation because they'll be more widely accepted. Both silver & gold are high right now; but the fluctuations are frequent enough that I won't be surprised to see silver go below $15/oz soon. Gold might not come down much below $1200/oz - but we'll see. Just like stocks, the rule is: BUY LOW, SELL HIGH.

You will stay under the IRS radar (IIRC, that's a single purchase/sale of anything over $10k value) buying small quantities on a regular basis. You can also buy directly from the US Mint, btw. But these will be considered of slightly higher value for having numismatic qualities - proofs, sets, etc.

 

[COharbinger]

Junk silver is a great way to invest in PMs. That's mostly what I've got.

You can buy silver bars for a slightly lower premium but they aren't as recognized if S does HTF and you have to spend them.

The "premium" is the additional cost over spot price that the dealer charges for the work they do in taking the order, shipping product, etc.

Premium varies quite a bit, depending on many factors. The more exotic a coin or bar is, usually the more premium is charged. Sticking with junk silver coins helps with that, as usually premiums are pretty low.

Two dealers I highly recommend are apmex.com and texmetals.com.

You can also visit local pawn shops and see what they have in the way of junk silver. Often times they'll at least have a few American Eagles lying around.

Edit: for the amount you're ordering, you might save it up and order quarterly. I know that texmetals.com will ship any order size for free, but some dealers have order minimims for free shipping.

Why do you think they won’t be recognized?

 

[240Geezer]

Kitco

 

[COharbinger]

I'm unsure what's your overall Financial Spectrum looks like, but I have a method in buying precious metals. To me it's not worth my time to save a dollar around on Fiat silver. I've gone through the phases of trying to shop around and get the best deal, now I just go to one of the big metal houses and buy a roll once a month. JM gets most of my fiat, but ampex and sd also have free shipping minimums. This is my normal monthly order.

https://www.jmbullion.com/2019-american-silver-eagle-tube/

So you think it might be better to save my $ and make a big purchase rather than small individual ones?

 

[The Branch Manager]

So you think it might be better to save my $ and make a big purchase rather than small individual ones?

No I just buy the rolls because it's convenient and they come sealed up. There's no question as to their authenticity. Realistically you wind up within a few percent regardless of what you buy. The cost of the metal the cost of the metal just what form you get it in you make it a little bit better deal you make it a little bit worse still. I've also been known to buy numismatics, but I would highly recommend staying away from those until your stash is plenty deep. But I do like some of the hand poured stuff too. Sometimes you'll see a deal on 10 oz bars, and you want to buy a few of those. I think for somebody starting out that 1 oz American Silver Eagle rounds with the way to go. There's no question as to their silver content and there's less question as to their authenticity. It is an easily recognizable form silver that everybody holds as a benchmark.

 

[The Branch Manager]

I'll usually buy one of these when they go on sale around Christmas. I've been getting one for the last 5 years. They're just neat no other reason than that.

https://sdbullion.com/2019-1-kilo-p...urra-coin?utm_source=connexity&utm_medium=cpc

 

[Back40]

Why do you think they won’t be recognized?

People won't have a way to authenticate the metals and their metal content if SHTF. Junk silver and American Eagles will be universally recognized, while mere bars could be silver plated and forged much easier.

 

[HandLoad]

Where You buy, and from whom, are things You need to ferret out. But if You look above, 240 told you a gold nugget😁

On the Morning of the Day You want to buy PMs, go to KITCO.com, and look up the London Market SECOND Close prices. Those are baseline for the price You should pay. Avoid any vendor who asks "Too Much" over those prices.

 

[NoFlyZone]

I have some pre-65 stuff, (dimes, quarters, halves and Morgans, etc.) but my stash is mostly Silver Eagles, rounds and a few bars.
If the S does hit the F, there will be a bunch of people involved that don't understand about the value of junk quarters.
They'll just see a quarter.
That's why I like SEs. They're big, shiny, easily recognized and they look valuable.
That makes them more likely to be accepted as genuine.

I don't carry any gold.
The denomination is too big and hard to divide for a small purchase.
In a hastily conceived barter economy, flashing a Krugerrand will make the price go up on any product.

 

[HandLoad]

Except with a Dentist! They USE/Need Gold!

 

[Bud]

I have a flea market near me (in Rogers, AR) that sells pre-1965 silver for market price . Eight now, silver is at $18.58 per troy ounce. I use the Coinflation app on my phone (or Coinflation.com) to figure out the melt value of any silver coin. At the current market price, a silver dime is worth $1.34.. So, my dealer will sell me silver coins at 14 times face value. I like junk silver and Silver Eagles.

 

[COharbinger]

Thanks for the info. I looked online and I think junk US currency is the way to go. I’ve seen some pretty cool collectible coins and bars but that can wait.

I’ve been seeing the $5 face value 90% dimes for around 70-75 bucks and just called the LCS (local coin shop) and they have the same thing for less than online retailers and without shipping costs and hassle.

So going by what you guys said, I’ll probably get a couple rolls of dimes and quarters for investment purchases and some of the 1 oz coins for barter and also investment

 

[Optimist]

....In a hastily conceived barter economy, flashing a Krugerrand will make the price go up on any product.

Or the value go down on your life....

 

[Back40]

Those are both reasons I don't have gold. It's useless now for day-to-day purchases and would be even more so in the future.

How often do you spend $1500 at the grocery store in one trip? That's an ounce of gold... Once the defecation hits the oscillation it'll be worth much more. And can't be readily broken down, either.

 

[Optimist]

Gold is a form of concentrated power, pure and simple. You got a supply of the stuff, and know how to use it, it's quite handy. It's the economic equivalent of high explosives that way. And, exactly like high explosives, it can get you killed in a split second if you ain't careful enough using it.