Please Help Silver Newb...

MillerJW

I've been getting into silver more and more recently, and i know there is a huge difference between paper silver price and actual solid silver price. Is there anyplace that tracks the going rate for solid silver aka. bars, ect...???

gecko109

<< <i>I've been getting into silver more and more recently, and i know there is a huge difference between paper silver price and actual solid silver price. Is there anyplace that tracks the going rate for solid silver aka. bars, ect...??? >>




Its really a regional thing, so there is not a singular source that tracks this. A good indicator however is APMEX sell prices. That will give you a good idea of the "floor" for premiums, especially the silver that they are promoting as being "on sale" (items that the price is the same from 1 to 500 ounces). But your locality will dictate your actual price. If you live in a town with 1 coin shop in a 250 mile radius, expect to pay a much higher price than the guy who lives 20 mins from 4 different shops.

MillerJW

Is there a table for different type of bars??

Example:

Amark Bar = Spot + 1.50
Johnson Matthey = Spot + 2

ect...

What is the going rate for the different types??

AgBlox

Depends where you're buying. Just like everything else, Different sellers have different prices. There is no standard.

OPA

Another good gauge of what buyers are willing to pay.... is eBay... Best place to buy if you are enrolled in Bing and eBay bucks along with big crumbs and cash back on your credit card. Those combined credits should amount to about a 15% discount when you purchase PM's on eBay.

mkman123

there are some B&M stores that do have a list in which they may pay more for engelhards and JMs and less for others. But in general prices are the same. Check ebay for the more collectible items like rare fractionals and old pour bars.

SilverBaron

Is there a table for different type of bars??


Good question.... butttt no.
No matter the size of the dealer.... sometimes metals come dear and sometimes they can be had "right".
It all depends on any given dealers supply - demand - cash position.

"Most" bars are rated according to brand.

There are/have been Hundreds of brands/types/sizes of bars over the years.

For the most common bars you will invest in....

Engelhard, Johnson Matthey, Credit Suisse are considered by many to be the top names,

and sell for the highest premium over spot..

Most other brands sell for a little bit less.... say .25 to 1.00 an oz. for silver ... $5 -$10 for gold.

Even bullion coins issued by governments have different premiums.

American Eagles & Canadian Maples usually sell for a bit more than other countries bullion.
[ In North America ]


There are LOTS of exceptions to what I have said here ....

such as .... if you like to invest only in low serial numbered 1 gram bars.

There are seveal online bullion stores. Compairing there daily bid/ask prices
will give you a great idea of what any given PM is being bought / sold for.
[ Search " Gold Silver" ]


Many folks simply buy what ever has the lowest premium when they are ready to buy.....
and there is nothing wrong with this method.


The good news is that almost all bars/rounds are "good" if marked. [ .999 , .925 , ect. ]
and .... it can actually be interesting to diversify the stack!!


Keep on stack'n!!

roadrunner

Be careful with local B&M's. They often like to work on some pretty fat margins when it comes to bullion. There are plenty of local wholesalers and national retailers who will work much closer for you.

roadrunner

coynclecter

Bulliondirect.com has a real bid/ask exchange for all gold/silver products. sometimes the spreads are huge if no one is bidding or selling but all prices have a live buyer/seller.