I'm considering my first bullion (silver bar) purchase. Anyone have comments/opinions about best providers. . . Englehard, Scottsdale Silver, etc.?
I have been buying from Mulligan Mint. https://factorystore.mulliganmint.com/ They are a private mint that makes silver rounds for multiple companies. There is a premium for those, but if you buy their silver rounds, then it is only $1 over spot for each round with a minimum of 20oz. They also have 1/10 oz pieces as well. Those are obviously a lot less with a minimum purchase of 5 oz. The only negative that I have seen is that they are apparently backlogged with orders and their ship time is fairly long. I have always gotten my stuff but it has taken upwards sometimes of two months. If you don't mind waiting, then they are a good deal.
From experience - Englehards are the only 10X + bars that dealers, buyers etc buy without hesitation. Sure they are not purty, but they are recognized and trusted.
Dealers IMO look at all bard to make sure they are good. Englehard, JM, ect... Just go look at some bars and get what you like. Theres not really any difference if your look close to melt ones.
Buy the metal not the name (logo). The first thing you need to ask yourself is what is the time commitment and the quantity you want to accumulate for each month, quarter or year. You be surprise how much you will accumulate once you setup a quantity goal and period. My advice is use calendar quarter (eg 200 oz for the 4th quarter 2013). Try to use a reasonable amount at first and than increase it once you develop a buying habit. Time is important. How long will you hold the metal for? In my case is 16 yrs. I have a 2 year old son and at 18 he will be needing college money. Quantity is my preference and not the name. Will I care what the premium is 16 years from know on an Englehard bar or I be more concern with my quantity? Do your math. When you buy 100 oz (10 oz bars) Englehard you lost 2 to 3oz of silver on the premium. If your investment is for short term then by the name. My second advice is buy small bar increments. 10oz or 5oz bars should be your goal. In the future you do not want to liquidate a 100oz bar when you could sell 30oz to cover your expenses. The worst thing you can do is not to buy or wait until the price is lower. How knows next month it could be in the 30s or maybe not. What it would be in 16 yrs?
Mendozaco I don't agree with your comments depending on what the OP is wanting to do. Your comments are great if the op is wanting to just stack silver but this is Coin Talk so it's possible that the OP wants to get a bit more then just cold, sterile silver. Take for instance 70's art bars. Those can be had for just a bit more in some instances and really add some value to the price when selling. But it is really up to the OP to look around at the possiblities of it all. Personally if I was collecting silver I'd stick with 90% junk silver. It has low premiums, lots of history that is being lost more and more every day and with all the faked bars out there these are not hardly ever faked for junk.
What are you buying and why? 1oz, 5oz, 10oz, 100oz, 1000oz??? What are you trying to accomplish? This is so open ended I don't know where to start, so help me out...
All is well until you call up a dealer and the first question out of their beak is "Is it an Englehard?"
For pure bullion silver (with no value to me numismatically) I buy Scottsdale, APMEX, or Englehard. Johnson Matthey is another trusted name. When it comes to resale, it's better to have a recognized brand than a goofy "Christmas 2008" round. But most of my silver is in coins or art rounds that have value to me, and to other collectors above and beyond the metal value.
I have all sorts, its more about your preference. I like Scottsdale Silver or Johnson Matthey personally, and Engelhard if you can get one close to spot. Those carry a premium. If your looking just for investment purposes stick to generic brands like OPH or NTR to name a couple.
