Can someone explain to me the difference between the two for bullion investing purpose? The ASE bullion has a bit of a premium over 1oz bars/ rounds so do they hold value better when it comes to resale? Any pros or cons to buying one over the other? Thanks
well there really isn't much difference per say. people who buy it as bullion don't really care one from the other. some ASE's have a slight premium because people buy them as collectors items vs just plain bullion. in essence it's the same thing though. 1 oz is 1 oz. some years of ASE's are worth more because the amount or lack of amount made. there are key dates that can command a premium. it's hard to say down the line if they will keep there premium or eventually just be hoarded for their silver content. someone who is strictly buying them for the bullion value will go for the less expensive rounds if they can get a better price than the ASE's. it just makes more sense in the case of resale.
Some people (me) perfer government minted bullion. I've never sold so I can't help you there but I think they'll likely always have a premium, even when you sell, because they're government minted. I like ASEs better - sometimes my LCS has "circulated" ASEs for the same price as rounds and I'll always buy them like that. I don't really care for generic rounds - something I'm going to spend my money on has to look nice and I have never seen a nice one in the LCS.
It's kind of a wash really. You pay more for an eagle but it will bring a bit more at resale than a bullion bar. The bar costs less and the resale value is less. The resale value is relative to the purchase price for these two items. That has been my experience.
IMHO the main difference is in possible resale of the bullion, to folks who don't know much about bars and their makers. Technically they should be the same in regards to purchase and resale, and there's no difference in the silver content, just the form factor. Some folks prefer the fact that ASE's (and Canadian Maples, etc) are government minted, and are usually much more known and respected as being genuine silver, and it's most likely that you have a lot more folks in the buying pool when it comes time to sell, who will trust it and buy at spot or above. Bars, some people may question the maker, the purity, and just prefer to stay away from them, so your resale pool may shrink compared to the others. The main thing I would say is if you're only buying for bullion, stay away from buying proof ASE's and "art bars", since you will pay a much higher premium on average, since those are "collectable" compared to the bullion grade. Many people will debate the collectibility of what is essentially a bullion coin/bar, but the market is what it is for those.
:devil:f Bar Bullion vs Ase the both carry a Mark up due to a selling percentage or striking fees . So really its the eye of the buyer .
Can someone tell me who made the 2011 or 2012 ASEs, by percentage total? 1 ounce Silver ... 2011 : 40,020,000 + 1,150,000 Proofs/etc. = 41,170,000 coins Sunshine Minting of Idaho, in particular: "We are the primary supplier of silver blanks to the United States Mint..." http://www.sunshinemint.com/CompanyProfile.htm Thanks!
The largest difference for me is liquidity. Many folks, myself included, do not buy privately minted silver rounds. This makes them less liquid than an ASE. Certainly, you can sell the privately minted rounds, but you shrink the pool of potential buyers if you do this.
I think ASEs are better. You pay a bit more but they are easier to resell and generally sell for a premium to melt. Also, someday the US Mint will discontinue the series, and when they do every ASE in existence will immediately begin to accrue at least some numismatic premium [especially the low mintage years] because supply will be fixed but demand will continue. No guarantees but a good possibility.
I agree. There is a cash for gold place I go to once in a while because they only charge $2 over spot for rounds. I'll only buy ASE's or Canadian ML. I buy for the bullion value, because they have a premium over generic rounds. They always have weird 1 oz rounds, but if they don't have government issues rounds I am not interested.
As counterfeiting increasingly becomes a concern, I think it's worth it to pay a little extra for the ASE's because they are easier to verify due to consistent and well documented dimensions. They have wide recognizeability and should retain their small premiums. I do like generic bars and rounds as well, but only if I'm buying directly from the private mint that produced it, unless it's Johnson-Mathey or Engelhard, in which case you'll pay about the same as an eagle anyway unless you're a good bargain hunter.
Going from memory, I seem to recall that in the early 80s there were a substantial number of Engelhard counterfeits floating around. I wonder if some might come out of hiding with higher silver prices.
I don't know which is actually "better" to buy, but I do know this from first hand experience. If I go to a Brick and Mortar to sell, they'll give me anywhere from spot to spot plus $1 for ASE. If I try to sell generic bars and rounds it usually 3% under spot to spot. On the buying side, they usually want spot +$3 to $4 for ASE and spot + $1 to $2 for generics. If you look online, using Goldmart in this example, they want spot + $2.59 for ASE and + $.85 for generic buffalos.
I've run the math and I feel/know you get more bang for the buck with generics. I've been buying and SELLING for years and have no problem with generic rounds/bars. people talk of "in the future" but the silver I bought in '02-'03 (some) was sold in '06-07 that was in the future from when bought them and generics sold just fine privete sale for full price but I had more OZs for the money invested so made more profit. I like ASEs a lot but only get about 20 or so a year.
I think private sales are probably key to your sucess silverfool but again, I don't sell, so I don't really know...just sorta talking :foot-mouth:
