Monarch Package arrived. (And a small giveaway... WINNER ANNOUNCED IN FIRST POST.

mrpaseo

First and foremost, I need to say how pleased I am with this transaction. They had a nice selection at fair prices but it did not stop there.

I ordered on the weekend so I did not expect any communication until Monday, however, I did receive a confirmation e-mail stating that I made a purchase which I am assuming was an automated response. Come Monday I received a follow on e-mail stating that the items are being packaged and an estimated timeline of when I will receive the package. The time frame was reasonable so no worries. The e-mail also stated that if I had any questions, that I could respond to that e-mail to include if I wanted a tracking number for the package. I was amazed to see, "Reply to this e-mail", but thought the tracking number should be automatically done so I replied requesting the tracking number. Before the day was through I received another e-mail with the tracking number (Amazed again).

I plugged the tracking number into the site and was astonished at how fast it traveled. The estimated time frame had the package landing at my doorstep on Monday. I understand that most places will give you a worst case scenario and will project as many days as they can but I was okay with it arriving on Monday as it did not seem like a long time and the communications was so good thus far, that I was willing to wait longer... Much to my surprise, the package did not arrive on Monday (Next week), it arrived Thursday of this week. That's right, order to delivery was five day, with the first two days being Saturday and Sunday.

I was excited to receive the package so I met the mailman (Lady) at the curb with a smile and signed for the package. I brought it in, grabbed my phone (Camera), set up the table and started to open what I found the be the best packaged items that I have ever received. Obviously the package was delivered in a small priority mailing box, the outside of the box was taped with the string tape (The tape with the string in it) on all sides. It was obvious that even if this package was damaged, it would be hard for something to fall out of it.

I opened the box to find packing peanuts and another bubble wrap mailer inside... rolled and taped shut. There was plenty of padding, no way for something to get lost. I continued to open and found all the PMs tightly packed into yet another plastic bag.

Here is what I found inside:


All I could say is, wow.

After opening the plastic bag, which was taped closed with the string tape, I found these nicely packaged items.

Impressed to say the least.

As you all know, this was a Christmas package so here is the breakdown.

My Father will be receiving this:


He is a collector, I have seen his collection and he does not have any of these items.

My Father-in-law will be receiving this:


I do not know if he is a collector, but in years past, he has sent me coins and Precious Metals so I think he will appreciate this array of items.

Here is my bounty:


The 5oz is from my wife, the 1oz is from my daughter. The rest are from me to me

I picked up a few extra 1 gram pieces to give away:


These are the 1/10th ounce pieces:


I intend to offer a brief (Maybe 15 minute) story about precious metals (From the barter system, to the dollar being backed by gold, to dropping off the gold standard and probably finish up with the value of silver/gold today) and then I plan to do the nasty Santa deal where the youngest picks from the hat and the next oldest can take from the hat or swap from someone that has already chosen. As I mentioned before, I will also have a 1/10 oz AGE in the hat so someone will get a nice prize and the rest will get a short story and a piece of Silver.

So that's the package. On to the giveaway.

I would like to hear what you think non collectors would be interested in hearing. I know the barter system will be an easy starting point but what else should be covered in my brief. (The more entertaining the longer I can go). All you have to do to get your name in the hat for this giveaway is to offer your opinion on what should be covered in the brief.

The prize will be one of the 1/10 pieces that I will be giving away at the family gathering. (I asked and there will not be 16 people here).

Thanks for reading,
Ray


EDITED 4 JAN 13:

Well it's done, after a pleasant dinner we were conversing over dessert when I struck up a conversation about precious metals. After a brief interactive conversation I simply put all the silver and one gold into a hat and let everyone pick. We all opened at once and... My daughter pulled the gold... SMDH... that was not supposed to go that way. Afterwards I found the silver that they received left on the table and one of them removed from the 2X2 holder that it was in (Not sure what he did with it). Oh well. I did find out that my brother in law likes $2 dollar bills (He exchanged all that I had in my pocket).

Here are the people that posted below in the order that they posted in. They were numbered 1-8 and I used this page to chose the winner.


1) mariner67
2) bestmr
3) epcjimi1
4) dorkbar
5) Zubie
6) ricko
7) WhiteTornado
8) CuKevin

And the winner is..... (Drum roll)....

4) dorkbar

mariner67

Ray
Again, great gifts and sounds like a lot of fun.
You may want to touch upon the unique chemical/physical properties of gold and silver that also adds to their value.
For example mention how golf is an inert element that does not react with other things...one of the reasons I believe it is used in dentistry for crowns and fillings.
You can mention silver's many industrial uses and electrical properties which also inpacts its value through commercial/industrial demand.
Kinda like a mini chemistry lesson for the kids.
Your Christmas family gathering sounds like a wonderful time.
All the best!

bestmr

I also like the idea of saying what certain metals, in this case silver, are used in. I was telling a guy at work about silver and palladium. He was curious about palladium so we googled it and that brought us to a website that had all the elements listed and their properties, uses, ect. It was a fun way to kill time at work.

epcjimi1

I always tell non collectors the current value of pre '64 US silver coins, like a twenty five cent 1964 Washington quarter has $3.61 worth of silver in it right now. The response is always, "REally?, no kidding?"

dorkbar

How about telling the assembled masses about the origin of money, and/or when stone chips, say, turned to metal and then to worthless paper? You could go into as much or as little detail as necessary. You could discuss the U.S. back to its first inhabitants, or talk about the whole world.

Virtually everybody is involved with money, so the eyes might not glaze over for a couple of minutes at least.

Zubie

Nice gifts Ray. I always like those Monarch Bars.

Cheers, Tim

ricko

Great gifts and a great idea.... I would also include a bit of history about the silver mining in the West and maybe a bit about the gold rush... both were big events.... Cheers, RickO

WhiteTornado

You could discuss how some countries such as China seem to be accumulating large quantities of gold and speculate as to why. Thanks for the giveaway, and you really got some nice items there .

CuKevin

First, I think that this silver Santa thing you are doing will be great for the kids. Too many of today's youth don't understand that paper money is being printed at such a rate that it is becoming worthless. Maybe you could add something into your presentation about how paper money used to be backed by PM's. Or, as others have suggested, you can explain to them how much silver coinage is worth. That might just peak their interest.

mrpaseo

Well it's done, after a pleasant dinner we were conversing over dessert when I struck up a conversation about precious metals. After a brief interactive conversation I simply put all the silver and one gold into a hat and let everyone pick. We all opened at once and... My daughter pulled the gold... SMDH... that was not supposed to go that way. Afterwards I found the silver that they received left on the table and one of them removed from the 2X2 holder that it was in (Not sure what he did with it). Oh well. I did find out that my brother in law likes $2 dollar bills (He exchanged all that I had in my pocket).

Here are the people that posted below in the order that they posted in. They were numbered 1-8 and I used this page to chose the winner.


1) mariner67
2) bestmr
3) epcjimi1
4) dorkbar
5) Zubie
6) ricko
7) WhiteTornado
8) CuKevin

And the winner is..... (Drum roll)....

4) dorkbar

LukeMarshall

Nice Giveaway.

Congrats DorkBar!!!!

mariner67

Yes, congrats!
Good work and a fun project mrpaseo!

morbidsteve

Thanks for the write-up. Might just use them for a future purchase.

ricko

Congratulations dorkbar, and thanks for the interesting thread and opportunity Ray..... Hope you and your family have a happy and prosperous New Year....
Cheers, RickO

dorkbar

Whoo hoo! Thanks, mrpaseo! January has just improved measurably.

johnny9434

congrats to dorkbar, wtg