Printable View
Im looking to start investing in silver bullion and work my way up. Theres a ton of websites out there saying they have the best strategist but i'd rather hear it from the people here. Any tips and tricks you may have? since silver has taken a bit of dive i thought maybe to buy some American silver eagle 1oz coins since they seem to be the easiest to re sell.
any thoughts?
IMO you need to buy wholesale not retail to ensure a profit when you purchase. Otherwise the investment while a solid hedge against inflation is still a bit speculative. I do believe that I read somewhere that silver is a consumable so as it is used more in electronics supply is reduced.
My strategy to accumulate silver would be as follows. Spend a few dollars on classified reader ads in local publications. Post to every free classified site online. Purchase at fair rate from people just below melt. Go to them, take a scale make an offer. The jewelery I would sell in bulk, but the coins I would hoard. A jeweler I know retired and is now a notary and buys precious metals, he has gold and silver everywhere in his office. A small consistent profit week in week out. I would want to make the money I would invest in the eagles really work for me.
How and where would you buy wholesale silver coins or bars tho? I have check some places and even online it seems that even if you pay in cash or money order to get a discount the shipping still makes it not as worth as it should be.
Also if i did buy it from private residences whats the easiest way to prove that its real and not plated or clad?
Cut it deep with a file and acid test it. Plate will turn green.Quote:
Also if i did buy it from private residences whats the easiest way to prove that its real and not plated or clad?
Typically Eagles carry a premium and other rounds are a bit harder to resell I'm invested in pre '64 us silver coins in trade called 90% junk silver. 90% junk can still be had at or below spot. Understand PM weighs in troy ounces not the same as regular oz. Many hold silver for teotwawki. Dimes have the highest demand to survivalists.
The best way to test silver coins,, Is to wiegh them, ..
Get a pocket size scale form harbor fright est $15.00
Study the types of coins you want to buy ,, Find the weight of the coins when new,
some used coins with wear will be a little under ..
If alot under or alot over run
buy real constitutional money: pre 1964 u.s. minted coins. they were made to exact tolerances for weight and metal content, are very difficult to fake, and are the most recognized throughout the world. also, may carry additional numismatic value. become best friends with your local coin shop owner. try to pay as close to spot price as possible. Silver eagles would be the next best thing, but technically they are not real money, only just a 'token'.
apmex.com or prvidentmetels.com.. both great sites that you can buy pre 64 junk silver, ase, maples, generic silver bars, rounds, gold, pretty much whatever floats your boat.. the more u buy the more u save.. and also a dicount by paying with money order or wire transfer rather than a credit card..
When i was heavily into coin collecting I would frequent the local coin shops, occasionally I would buy silver bars from them when they would get them, granted I paid a little over spot value for them but i was happy with that. Now I am not as into coin collecting as I was 10 years ago but I do like making my silver hoard larger. What i do now is frequent the local thrift stores, I buy sterling silver at pennies on the dollar, just this week I picked up 102 grams of sterling for $12 plus tax. I know that sterling isnt .999 pure but it is .925, currently .925 is $.85 a gram. I have bought .800 sliver that weighed in at 760 grams for $8.00, do the math on that one. Thrift stores for me are the way to go if you live in an area that people have money but dont know what they have. Also get to know the people who work there, mainly the managers, they know me by name and sometimes have me evaluate things for them, if it is something i want i tell them that as soon as i make the evaluation, and let them know what i would give for it, most of the time i get the item as they appreciate the free service i give them.
I don't recommend cutting into silver eagles to test them, they will have to be sold as scrap silver afterwards since no local collector will buy it.
Visit the local coin shops and see what they have for coins and bulk. When I used to go they sold both government and private made bullion coins and bricks of silver (stamped with weight, purity, and maker). Government bullion coins were always more expensive then privatly minted "rounds" and the cheapest were worn silver dollars (used us mint coins). There are also gold/silver buyers around town these days who will buy and sell in any quantity, avoid pawn shops they over charge.
I stocked up on silver eagles when silver was $5 an ounce (you do pay more then spot for coins) and sold at $35 (they pay less then spot). I don't see a huge profit margin these days in silver, its not going to double anytime soon if ever.
Personally I like gold better then silver since it doesn't tarnish and it is much easier to hide and sell (plus takes up little space). You can walk into a gold buyer with a roll of 20 $50 gold bullion coins ( $32K aprox) and nobody would know you had anything on you, try that with silver (1122 ounces).
I agree with Jaydee if you want to buy allot at once nobody is better than tulving. He might be a little crabby and short with you, but he is one of the best in the business.
I agree with buying U.S. Silver coins completely. It's actually Pre-1965 Quarters, Dimes, Halves, and Dollars. These are all 90% silver. Additionally, U.S. Nickels from 1942-1945 were 35% silver. I buy mine through APMEX.Quote:
Originally Posted by earlfromclay
Yeah I like Apmex and Liberty Silver myself. Can't go wrong with Maples and Eagles.
i'm hooked on the new 5oz poured bars from scottsdale, real cool little things at just the right price for me.
http://images-cdn.ecwid.com/images/63027/50154248.jpg
A good site here https://www.fakebullion.com/ shows some of the latest fake bullion silver and gold.
Long term or short term?
Shoer term bullion is fine. But you can get screwed. Huge fluctuations up or down are rare. Silver is WAYYYYYY higher than it was 12-15 years ago, so don't expect it to go up much any time soon. The $50 was a fluke. Once in a generation kinda fluke.
If you want to long term invest into silver, here is how to do it. First of all be consistent! Secondly do NOT buy bullion or silver for its silver content.
A very good basic stratetgy is to buy x amount every month.
Say $100 a month is your budget.
Now you buy HIGH GRADE (do your home work) GRADED (by reputable company) key date silver coins in that $100 range at the lowest price.
I did this a few years ago and I got high grade (50 + up) key date coins for 70-80% of catalgoue value on eBay. I lost about 90% of the auctions I bid on, but if you are consistent you will always score something.
Now put these coins away for 20-40 years.
Buy coins whose value is mostly COLLECTIBLE (numismatic) value and not the silver value.
If you stick with this for 10-30 years you will make out like a bandit. And no taxes need to be paid, until you sell them. But that's a luxury problem to have.
I read this concept in a book I once found. They even had a list of coins they suggested to buy. The book was about 10 years old, so I went in and looked at the current prices on ebay for those coins and many had double in value. Also keep in mind, there is book value and fair market value. Book value is ALWAYS higher than fair market, except in a fluke market.
I sold a lot of common silver and gold LITERALLY at the peak years ago. I sold Friday afternoon and Monday the markets started crashing.
While I was waiting for my measly stuff to be tallied up someone brought in Rolls and Rolls of silver eagles. They had not even cashed him out, when they already sold his rolls to 'investors' on the other end of the counter. These 'investors' lost 35% of their investment over the next 7 days.