Mark ups on bullion has gotten out of hand

Supply and demand...demand is up...prices are up(premiums). Silver even though at 21-22 per oz has been selling like mad... "Premium" Bullion is going to sell for higher. My LCS sells Pandas for 10 over, but they change the design every year so they are a highly collectable round. Now put that against something like the Maple Leaf or the ASE(same design year after year) premiums are generally lower but have less increase over time as far as the value against a Panda. Now with silver selling like crazy of course premium prices are going to be up. Now if sales drop...I'll bet premiums drop to entice buying. But if you are into silver just for the silver you are better off going with a generic round from a more recognizable metals mint like OPM, Sunshine, Provident, etc... premiums are low.

 

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Don't underestimate the "collectable market value" While I don't agree with it or understand it, I do not deny its existence. I will never understand why someone will pay thousands for a "rare" date ASE , but someone who does have a better understanding of this niche market, can surely profit from it. I myself have gladly paid 3x, 4x spot or more for some earlier date Panda's simply because by my wife likes them. For anyone who saw the hidden "collectable potential" and has profited, Hats off to them.

Mike

 

I would echo Mike. Just because something is made of silver does not necessarily mean it should be only valued based upon its silver. I have ancient coins made of both silver and gold, should I get mad when I cannot buy them for melt? I am pretty sure a 1916d dime or a 1901s quarter was not worth much more than melt the day it left the mint.

 

Ain't no such thing.........

 

I know..... 30,000 is not rare but I sure wish I was smart enough to put a few of those in my stable back in '95

 

If you are looking for something better than generic bullion, but want to avoid the premiums of the Perth Lunar series, Pamp Suisse, Chinese Panda and Britannia, there are many choices out there:

American Silver Eagle
Canadian Maple Leaf
Austrian Philharmonic
Mexican Libertad
Perth Kookaburra
Perth Koala
Somalian Elephant
Fiji Taku
Suriname Round
Armenian Noah's Ark

The Kookaburra, Koala and Elephant change designs every year.

 

Back when I was in college at the Univ. of KY (1964-67) I was in a con shop when a woman brought in a lovely mahogany case lined in velvet and having one-ounce rounds from Franklin Mint or some such organization with depictions of famous left-handed pianists (or sone-such subject) which her husband had been collecting but he had passed away and she wanted to see what she could get for them. The shop owner did a quick calculation and told her the bullion value and offered her 90% or so of it. She was shocked since these were "collectables" which her husband had paid big bucks for. After selling them, I watched the dealer empty them out into his junk silver bucket and hand her back the tray.
Collectables are only collectables if someone else wants them...now can we talk about my Cabbage Patch Dolls?

 

People can ask whatever they want for their pretty silver, the beauty of it is that you don't have to pay it.

You can get silver bullion for less than a $1 over spot, and thats reasonable.

Provident has 1 oz OPM rounds for .99 over spot in any quantity.
They also have 10 oz bars for .79 over spot in any quantity, or 100 oz bars for .69 over.

If you just want silver I'd recommend any of those, if you want pretty then you are going to have to pay additional for it.

A classic quote from a poster on another forum is:
"It all melts the same"

That statement is very true in my opinion and when the silver price gets very high, good luck getting your percentage over spot premium back on the pretty stuff, not likely to happen.

 

Yes, but one of two things happened here. The first possibility is he was just buying high priced trinkets that no one really wanted, so the collectable value was zero. The second possibilty is they did in fact have true collectable market value but she sold them to the wrong venue. For an example, as I said earlier, my wife collects Panda's. As of right now the earlier date Panda's have real collectable value and a serious premium is attached. If I were to take them to the local scrap silver dealer, I would only get spot, but if put those same rounds on the 'Bay, I could easily get 4x spot for the 03's 04's 05's etc. It all depends

Whether this premium holds, goes up, goes down, I have no idea, but for the shrewd collector who understood the market and purchased these rounds at issue price, he did very well. It all depends.

 

hey im a newb here, maybe not my place to get into this one, but my opinion is maybe stick with the johnson matthey bars. that way your getting atleast a decent name brand but not paying like you would for pamp. you could get 4 ounces shipped to house for $101 bucks (by check). thats not to bad. i wouldnt mind having a couple pamp bars, but i would prob stick to sunshine, heraeus, johnson matthey if i was to be buying silver bullion bars.

 

Last I checked no company is forcing people to buy bullion so if your not enjoying the price or feeling you get from buying bullion simply don't pay the premiums you feel are excessive. Plenty of generic low premium stuff out there for purchase. Just don't expect to get a premium or even spot in some cases depending on what you purchase when selling.

 

This is why I've never understood buying the lunar series coins as a bullion investment. Unless you manage to find them for sale with a low premium, you're paying extra for a numismatic premium that may not exist by the time you sell. I buy the 1oz and 2oz lunar coins each year because I like them. I can afford to simply collect them because I like them, regardless of whether or not they're good investments. If I wanted a pure bullion investment, I'd buy something cheaper.

 

I like the thoughts shared in this thread. Identifying coins/bars/rounds that have good resale potential, and then only buying them when you can find them at a price that's "lower than usual" is a fun hobby of mine. I don't like generic bullion, and I am willing to pay a mark up (I also dislike the term premium, as if you're paying more for something crafted that's top of the line when it's just a matter of shape/design) on collectible coins/bars if I see good resale potential, AND I can get them at a price I think is lower than what I could sell them for in the relatively short term.

 

Use the correct word for it then, basis. Basis is the term used in commodity markets when discussing the difference between the market price and what you can physically buy it for locally. So, if the silver market is $22, but the best deal you can find on an ASE is $24, then you have a basis of $2 on that purchase.

I know its not commonly used for coins, but if you remember this fact it will make any conversations you hear from commodity people more understandable.