Complaints about modern bullion coins

gecko109

I see such a large volume of complaining on this forum about modern bullion coins....specifically silver eagles and maples. With mintages well into the 10's of millions, why are collectors so concerned about the condition of these chunks of precious metal? Sure, its only natural to want everything you buy to be pristine and flawless, but since that rarely happens, why fuss over a few spots on a bullion coin? In the current marketplace, super high grade bullion coins do alright. The serious problem I see with this phenomenon however is that for every 1 slabbed 70 coin, there are probably at least another 15-20 potential 70's that will never get sent in for submission. When it comes to these very common bullion coins, isnt it more important to put the emphasis on the fact that you are buying precious metal from a reputable source, and not worry if these commodities are potential 70's? Do you think that 30-50 years from now, the future collectors of this hobby will joke and ridicule current collectors for making such a fuss over a bullion coin in which the mintage was 30,000,000 pieces? To be perfectly blunt, those of you who cry about spotting on these coins remind me of the chick I went to college with. She was promised a new Mercury Cougar (back in 1994) if she got no lower than C's on her 1st semester grades. When I saw her after X-mas break, all she could talk about was how devastated and upset she was that she had to get the color white because the royal mettalic blue wasnt in stock. Made me wanna throw up in my mouth!

slantycouch

I couldn't care less about spots because I buy as bullion, but I certainly understand why some people collect for the condition of the coins too. It's like any other collectible. I think perhaps you're making the assumption that everyone buys for the same reason you do.

Baseball cards... coins... currency... many have absurdly large print runs/mintages but that doesn't stop people from wanting the best. Hell condition is the only thing that gives some pieces of cardboard "value". That's what collecting is all about.

That girl sounds spoiled. People here just sound like collectors.

gsa1fan

Bullion should only consist of weight & purity. Paying big premiums for choice eye appealing pieces that's when collecting starts.

I've seen some bars that look to have been skipped all day on concrete I passed on. Some ASE's that we toned ugly but priced at spot so I bought them.

I collect coins also. I try my best to keep numismatics & bullion separate.

ksammut

<< <i>Bullion should only consist of weight & purity. Paying big premiums for choice eye appealing pieces that's when collecting starts.

I've seen some bars that look to have been skipped all day on concrete I passed on. Some ASE's that we toned ugly but priced at spot so I bought them.

I collect coins also. I try my best to keep numismatics & bullion separate. >>



Well said. When it comes to bullion, my goal is to buy the most metal for the least amount of money.

PerryHall

<< <i>

<< <i>Bullion should only consist of weight & purity. Paying big premiums for choice eye appealing pieces that's when collecting starts.

I've seen some bars that look to have been skipped all day on concrete I passed on. Some ASE's that we toned ugly but priced at spot so I bought them.

I collect coins also. I try my best to keep numismatics & bullion separate. >>



Well said. When it comes to bullion, my goal is to buy the most metal for the least amount of money. >>



Given a choice, would you buy the silver bar that's in good condition or the one with dents and scratches from careless handling? Each bar is priced the same. Which would you choose for your stash? Which do you think would be easier to sell?

jmski52

Whether it's collector bullion or regular bullion, I buy bullion with an eye towards stuff that is, and will be tradeable, sellable, fungible and marketable. Some of it is high-end, but all of it is highly recognizable, redeemable, of known composition and from a known source. I have no complaints either way.

ksammut

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>Bullion should only consist of weight & purity. Paying big premiums for choice eye appealing pieces that's when collecting starts.

I've seen some bars that look to have been skipped all day on concrete I passed on. Some ASE's that we toned ugly but priced at spot so I bought them.

I collect coins also. I try my best to keep numismatics & bullion separate. >>



Well said. When it comes to bullion, my goal is to buy the most metal for the least amount of money. >>



Given a choice, would you buy the silver bar that's in good condition or the one with dents and scratches from careless handling? Each bar is priced the same. Which would you choose for your stash? Which do you think would be easier to sell? >>



I would choose the good condition bar if I had a choice. If my B&M only had dent and scratched bars that particular week, I would still buy. If the SHTF, and you are buying PMs as insurance, the poor condition bar is going to melt just as nicely as the good condition bar. If the SHTF does not hit the fan, yes, you would be better offer with nice bars to sell to collectors.

My money is on the SHTF.

gecko109

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>Bullion should only consist of weight & purity. Paying big premiums for choice eye appealing pieces that's when collecting starts.

I've seen some bars that look to have been skipped all day on concrete I passed on. Some ASE's that we toned ugly but priced at spot so I bought them.

I collect coins also. I try my best to keep numismatics & bullion separate. >>



Well said. When it comes to bullion, my goal is to buy the most metal for the least amount of money. >>



Given a choice, would you buy the silver bar that's in good condition or the one with dents and scratches from careless handling? Each bar is priced the same. Which would you choose for your stash? Which do you think would be easier to sell? >>





Perry, I really hope this is just goofy banter on your part....you DO have a great sense of humor! In case you are not goofing, then let me ask you this:

Given a choice, would you buy the silver bar in original plastic that has swirl scratches on the plastic itself, or the bar in the plastic in which the plastic is pristine? How far do you want to go with this?

jmski52

We've been in SHTF mode for awhile, probably since about 2001 I'd say. What people don't realize is that it is a rolling train wreck. Just because we didn't hit a brick wall in the middle of the tracks doesn't mean that the wreckage isn't being strewn all over God's Creation. And it continues - hence the case for precious metals. Today's overpriced bullion is tomorrow's bargain price. It's all relative if you step back, away from all of the daily static and misdirection being created for the benefit of TPTB.

Zubie

I'm with PerryHall (Dennis) on this, if a guy has a beat up silver bar/spotted ASE and a nice one for the same price, I'll take the nice one each time. There are some guys who pay more for the nicer bar, so, when I go to sell it later, there is a chance I'll make more down the road.

derryb

Keep in mind that some people do collect bullion coins. To them it is more than just a piece of bullion.

gecko109

<< <i>Keep in mind that some people do collect bullion coins. To them it is more than just a piece of bullion. >>




So you buy a 500 monster box just to pull a few high grades? Why not skip the monster box altogether and just buy slabbed coins then? It seems that high grade slabbed coins are what you are after with modern bullions. You aint gonna find any slabbed coins in a monster box!

derryb

<< <i>

<< <i>Keep in mind that some people do collect bullion coins. To them it is more than just a piece of bullion. >>




So you buy a 500 monster box just to pull a few high grades? Why not skip the monster box altogether and just buy slabbed coins then? It seems that high grade slabbed coins are what you are after with modern bullions. You aint gonna find any slabbed coins in a monster box! >>



Actually bought 3 monster boxes - for bullion. Don't assume that you know why I bought them. I don't collect modern silver because of the spotting problem. Went through a case of them to see just how bad the spotting problem is on maples so that when i made a post here it could be based on fact. I commented on behalf of the bullion collectors because some on this forum seem to think that what they collect is the only thing worth collecting. So, anyone that collects modern bullion and has a complaint about spotting, complain away.

CaptHenway

<< <i>I see such a large volume of complaining on this forum about modern bullion coins....specifically silver eagles and maples. With mintages well into the 10's of millions, why are collectors so concerned about the condition of these chunks of precious metal? Sure, its only natural to want everything you buy to be pristine and flawless, but since that rarely happens, why fuss over a few spots on a bullion coin? In the current marketplace, super high grade bullion coins do alright. The serious problem I see with this phenomenon however is that for every 1 slabbed 70 coin, there are probably at least another 15-20 potential 70's that will never get sent in for submission. When it comes to these very common bullion coins, isnt it more important to put the emphasis on the fact that you are buying precious metal from a reputable source, and not worry if these commodities are potential 70's? Do you think that 30-50 years from now, the future collectors of this hobby will joke and ridicule current collectors for making such a fuss over a bullion coin in which the mintage was 30,000,000 pieces? To be perfectly blunt, those of you who cry about spotting on these coins remind me of the chick I went to college with. She was promised a new Mercury Cougar (back in 1994) if she got no lower than C's on her 1st semester grades. When I saw her after X-mas break, all she could talk about was how devastated and upset she was that she had to get the color white because the royal mettalic blue wasnt in stock. Made me wanna throw up in my mouth! >>



Agreed.

Back during the Y2K madness, we sold a LOT of bullion, often in the form of British Empire sovereigns and French, Swiss or Belgian 20 francs.

We were getting in two or three thousand-coin bags a day at one point. We just ran them through the coin counter and sealed the bags back up. Perfection was not an issue.

TD

Konahead

I want it real, cheap and in decent condition so it doesn't look like a truck ran over it. Metal is metal! These are not meant to be works of art.

derryb

<< <i>I want it real, cheap and in decent condition so it doesn't look like a truck ran over it. Metal is metal! These are not meant to be works of art. >>



Which makes superb examples worth collecting.

gecko109

<< <i>

<< <i>I want it real, cheap and in decent condition so it doesn't look like a truck ran over it. Metal is metal! These are not meant to be works of art. >>



Which makes superb examples worth collecting. >>




Not when there are 30,000,000 examples produced....none of which will go into circulation....and almost none of which will ever be melted. In this case, there will ALWAYS be more supply than demand for superior examples! Ultra high grade modern bullion coins might be the numismatic version of the dot com bubble. We all know how that turned out.

bluelobster

as long as there are people who slab bullion, there will be people who care what there bullion looks like.

I don't get it, but there are a lot of things about people I don't get, like neck tattoos