Does anybody collect other types of silver bullion besides rounds and bars and coins? I've been thinking silverware. Is the price for silver flatware comparable to coins or bars? I would think jewelry would be too expensive for bullion purposes, unless you can buy broken stuff.
Sure you can get creative in things to invest in, but you also have to think about how easy it will be to sell it later. Would you rather have $100 worth of silver forks and knives that you have to put in a box somewhere or simply a couple silver coins with $100 that is more recognizable.... You also don't know for sure how pure the silver you're buying is....
Some people collect bullion but most probably invest in it. Silver flatware and jewelry is sterling and therefore .925 or less, not the composition of .999 or .9999 as bullion coin and bars are. You might find this PM calculator of some use in determining metals of different alloys values, just plug in the factors and it will compute. Stick with government issued bullion like ASEs, Philharmonics, Libertads, Maples,... they will be the easiest to sell if you need to do so quickly or without as much hassle later on.
On ebay, I bid on an old coin-silver spoon. This was the cheapest spoon there, the others were way more than this one.
Coin-silver spoons tend to be regarded as antiques, generally speaking, and not bullion for investment. I have no idea what you are bidding on, but some coin-silver spoons are quite valuable from certain eras and from certain silversmiths if they happen to bear the right style and hallmarks. If you win that piece and it has a hallmark you should research it so you know what you have.
About a year ago, I purchased some generic .999 silver bullion rounds, because they were the lowest priced one ounce silver investment I could get my hands on. I think that for all practical purposes though, ASEs and 90% U.S. silver is still the most liquid investment as far as silver bullion goes, and carry the highest premium.
Everything is collectible, but silverware has a lot of pitfalls in purity and exactly what part of the piece is actual silver and what part is base metal. You need to make a special study of it to avoid serious loss. It is also more difficult to resell without a large discount.
Yup! It's vastly more functional too. Around here, in addition to coins, we have 0.900 candy dishes, and a drawer full of sterling ( unmatched) forks, spoons, and butter knives to eat with. So while piling up treasure, we get to use it until it's time to ship it off to the refinery. While it is true that there are 'issues' in selling it, bottom line is that if you don't like the offer, don't accept it. Hallmarked sterling is unlikely to be seriously under 0.925. This stuff was made and sold by very prestigious firms who were not shorting the customer in order to pinch a bit of silver from the melt. They were already making plenty on the multiples of the $1.29 an ounce price of the silver. I've never tried to sell any as collectibles. It's certainly possible that some commands a premium as such. Since I eat with mine every day I know what it looks like so if I ever see something similar selling for a crazy price, I'll try it too. But just because somebody ASKS a certain price doesn't mean they RECEIVE that same price. Pick it up when it comes your way at a good price. Silver is silver.
The Pawn Stars TV show featured a Revere coin-silver table spoon from the era of Paul Revere Jr. Collectible and rare, valued.
Paul Revere If you can get anything made by Revere there is a nice premium associated. But make sure it was made by Paul Revere Jr. His father was also a silversmith, Paul Revere, Sr. I have 5 or 6 books on old silver. You can find pictures of the hallmarks used in the day. These books can be found at your library.
I saw that but didn't catch what it sold for. Seems they call the same "expert" for stamps, antiques and paper money. I wonder how much this show is rigged.
Well not exactly. I didn't see where he told the public about going to the library to reference hallmarks.
I was being absurd, but of course many probably go less than they used to what with the internet/google/wiki, databases, etc. to search.
Its television, it has to be all true. Nothing arranged, nothing contrived. Nothing scripted. You can believe anything you see on TV.
I used to work at the library while in high school. The local library I worked at has always been there for me growing up. It's a great place for community to get together, hold contests...get to know your neighbors. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be the same way anymore. I think they are still trying to hold the programs they had in the past, but even back in high school, many kids who went there after school didn't go to study!!! They went to socialize and cause trouble....we even had to hire security just to help out. If you're going to the library to try to act cool and cause trouble, you're really lost in the grand scheme of things....at least go to the mall or something....
If FOX I say yes.but CNN & CBS .but we all know that all Tv new is edited so not to panic the public at large but the link below is one of the few not edited www.current.tv
