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Good vendor for buying silver coins?
AnnW
Posts: 62 ✭✭✭
Hi,
Does anyone have any advice about good vendors for buying silver bullion and proof coins?
My husband has decided he wants to stack some bullion, and I've decided to collect some proof coins as well. Neither of has any experience in this world and I've noticed there are many different sources, so I thought this would be a good place to ask.
Thanks in advance.
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Compare prices with some of the larger dealers. I have bought from JM Bullion....SilverGold Bull Inc....Monument Metals....APMEX Inc.....Provident Metals....Etc. Later when you are more experienced,I'd pick up some on ebay,or other auction sites.
If you have a local coin shop, maybe give them a shot. My local guy beats anything I can find online, just don’t expect as many choices, but it doesn’t sound like that is an issue. Another advantage is that they have no shipping and you walk out with it.
@Smudge @Coinlearner
Thank you both for the advice. I do have a local dealer, who I trust, but he doesn't usually have too much available for silver bullion, and what he gets is first come/first serve, which I respect and understand.
I find the best prices on ebay using only reputable (feedback) sellers. Ebay protections take the worry out of buying from a stranger and the protections do in fact protect you. Bullion Exchange has been giving me the best ebay prices lately.
Your first step is to narrow down the types to collect/stack and then learn all you can about what you will be buying. The lower the number of types, the more knowledgeable you can become about what you are buying.
Consider a Sigma precious metal verifyer to confirm metal content of your purchases. If it flushes out just one bad ounce of gold it has more than paid for itself. Remember, it verifies content, it does not identify it. I have been using one for years and would not purchase or pass up returning a coin that didn't pass the test.
I prefer American Gold and Silver eagles and Gold Buffalos for my stack. A buyer with little knowledge of PM coins should probably buy these in an MS69 slab at not much more premium. This assures them of the authenticity of the coin, provided the slab itself is authentic. For this reason buy slabbed coins only from a trusted larger dealer, and yes, they do exist on ebay. Another consideration is graded MS 60-64 common date $20 gold coins. Proofs carry a wee bit more premium and for that reason I do not include them in the stack. They could be fun to collect.
Safe, secure storage is important. I don't trust others to store my metal for me. A good quality safe, sealed lips and a monitored security system are important.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Coin shows are starting back up in many places. Sometimes you can find things there. Inventory seems to be low at many places. APMEX is a site where you can do some looking but last I checked the "Alert me when back in stock" was on many of their items. If it's bullion you are after then premiums are the key.
Successful BST with BustDMs , Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino (CBH's - 35 Die Marriage's)
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
I’ll be on more later
But
One quick point
Proof coins aren’t for stacking. Well, unless you can buy them at the same price as bullion.
Alway confirm with your seller that the item(s) are in stock and will ship out upon payment. It has become common for many to sell bullion that they expect to be delivered to them soon. Soon sometimes becomes a long wait.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Most of the time when I buy PMs on line, I use JM Bullion.
There are several good bullion dealers, including the U.S. Mint. Buying from your local dealer will save on shipping if their premium is not exorbitant. Melt prices are in a dip right now... though it likely will not last too long. Cheers, RickO
Bought the dip yesterday actually to celebrate no more 401k deductions for the year, put in a small order at the A. Free shipping helps eat some of the premiums going on right now.
Thank you for all of the advice. the tl;dr in this long post is that I'm thanking everyone for their comments and responding.
Good point. My husband is the stacker and I don't think it is a bad idea at all. I seems to make fiscal sense in our overall situation and it makes him happy, which is good too. Collecting some proofs would be for me, since I'm the one interested in coin collecting. He likes to admire coins and is interested in the history (in small doses) but he has no interest in collecting coins other than for their metal content. He would say the same thing--"fiscal sense" and "makes her happy"--that I saw about him and bullion.
They are certainly on my radar and one of the sites I bookmarked.
Thanks, Rick. I do have some stuff on order from the U.S. Mint for my coin collection. I did manage to order one of the two coin reverse proof Silver Eagle sets, though it is still "processing," and some other stuff. That is a good point you make about the local dealer. I do have a local dealer, who I trust very much as a square dealer. Plus he is free with the advice and I've grown a lot as a collector by knowing him, so I always try and give him business when I can. The only problem with buying bullion from him is he is "first come/first servce" with bullion and isn't online so it is kind of catch-as-can. But I go in every week or two and ask him about it when I'm there. I did manage to grab a couple of Silver Eagles a couple of weeks ago at a better price than I could have gotten them online because, as you say, he premiums and especially shipping.
Nice, congrats. Always nice to have the 401K out of the way. We just finished up on that for the year as well, though this year we're going to put the resulting extra money into remodeling our bathroom, which needs it badly for various reasons. Good point about shipping. When we do buy anything online I generally try to buy enough of whatever I need to qualify for free shipping.
I've never been to a coin show. Out of the question growing up because of finances, but I definitely would like to start going to them when I can. I am planning on going to a show in a couple of months or so. It is a bit of a drive, but we have family in the area so we can go see them. Thank you, I'll make sure APMEX goes in my bullion folder.
I've done a little coin buying on Ebay; Indian and Lincoln cents mostly since that is what I know most about and found some good sellers and bad. I'll take a peek there for bullion as well and check out Bullion Exchange, thank you.
Great advice, thank you. American Eagles is what I've been concentrating on looking at, though I'm developing an interest in the Maple Leaf silver coins as well. I'm also interested in Kruggerands for proof silver coins as a small sideline though more for sentimental reasons than fiscal ones. Long story, won't go into it here since this is a long post.
Wow, more great advice. I knew such devices existed but I hadn't thought of this. I will definitely look into getting one for the reasons you outline. Also, I have a small, sideline interest in Roman coins so it would seem like it would be good for that as well as checking some of the more commonly counterfeited U.S. coins that I'm starting to see show up in the news, etc. Also, my husband loves gadgets like this. I bought a little coin scale and some electronic calipers the other day and it was fun watching him playing with them. He even tried to measure the width of one of our cat's head with them, which I thought was pretty funny.
Do I need to worry about authenticity of coins like Kruggerands and Eagles buying from large houses like JM Bullion and others? I could definitely see where places like Ebay and Amazon could be a problem.
Yes, I'm going to do a little proof collecting as a sideline. Nothing too big though.
Good points.
https://www.goldeneaglecoin.com/
thats my favorite online dealer
I like d.b.s in California
That looks like a great site. I have bookmarked it. Thanks.
Successful BST with BustDMs , Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino (CBH's - 35 Die Marriage's)
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
dbscoins.com has been an excellent source for me on numerous occasions. Competitive prices, quick shipping. They periodically sell on ebay. You will find many bullion dealers with a presence on ebay actually sell at lower prices on ebay.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Thank you for the info 🙂
I was just looking for good bullion prices as well, I found that my local dealer was the best option. I just bought 100 ounces of silver and a bullion grade $20 gold piece today with very low premiums. The prices I checked online weren’t much more but then you don’t have to pay for shipping and you just walk out with the items
Type Collector of U.S. Pre-33 Gold https://instagram.com/deplorable_dan Successful transactions with- @drfish, @Cladiator, @johnny010, @Pedzola, @PerryHall, @2windy2fish, @Ike1964, @JohnThePainter, @rpmsrpms, @REALGATOR
APMEX can have high prices.
Sometimes you can find a deal on one site if you shop around.
You can also try moderncoinmart & bgasc
It is always a threat but the big dealers will be less likely to have counterfeits
As for counterfeit collectible coins, I’ve seen common cents counterfeited.
Introduce yourself on the us coin forum. Ask questions. Post pics. Etc.
Hi Ann. I'd recommend Apmex, Modern Coin Mart, JMBullion, and Provident based on personal experience. I haven't dealt with either - but bgasc & dbs coins have both had good feedback here as well.
You might also call Dallas Gold & Silver, Scotsman Coins in St. Louis (scoins.com), Silvertowne, and sdbullion,com are well-known and reliable.
I knew it would happen.
Bullionexchanges.com and libertycoins.com has been great for me. Usually if I spend over a grand on bullionexchanges they don't charge tax, which is a huge savings. They also have had the best prices I can find lately on rolls of silver coins like American Silver Eagles, Kangaroos, Maples, etc. Thats something you would want to consider when purchasing bullion. Tax laws vary state to state.
Successful transactions with: AnonMan, Commoncents05, JJM, PerryHall, Danielp, greenwr, Along, Herb_T, Downtown1974, masscrew, coinnerd, liefgold, JWP, Relaxn, Pnies20, Weiss, Type2, dm679864, pointfivezero, and more!
Yes….
Know your sales tax laws
"Tax laws vary state to state."
True, if you are a traveler making your purchase out of State... For online purchases, the State you "hang your hat" dictates how much of a tax you'll be charged or not charged.
I used to buy bulk silver. My favorite was getting to pick through dealer's 90% piles of walkers and mercs. Vf-xf were minimum acceptable. I also found some amazing coins in those 'junk' piles. I probably would have been better off buying monster boxes of eagles when silver was $7-8-9 per oz. But the mercs and walkers were fun and it always allowed me to spend at least a couple hundred dollars at a dealer and gave me an opportunity to look over what I was really after.
One thing that I feel would be important to consider until you get educated on what is out there on the market is to consider only govt minted silver. Generic privately minted pieces ( aka Rounds) can seem attractively priced and also be made of base metal.
You can buy Canadian maple leafs at a very low premium. American silver eagles are commanding a high premium. Mexican libertads are beautiful but not always available.
When the silver spot falls to where I like it, I go to First Fidelity Reserve and get about 8 to 9 ounces per order. They seem to have low and fair prices, I've bought from them for a couple of years now. I also like Gainesville coins, I like their copper and silver rounds also.
USN & USAF retired 1971-1993
Successful Transactions with more than 100 Members
My wife has been burned buying gold on a small auction site with counterfeits that weren’t graded and I got burned with two $10, one pcgs & NGC as well as one $25 NGC graded coins. All three of mine were on eBay. Beware the Pcgs holder and label were very good!