Thinking back on our most recent PM market fluctuations I can't help but wonder how others are coping. I'm not so much addressing the bullion aspect but focusing on numismatic trade. Rising intrinsic values have stripped away numismatic value from a lot of coins, both graded and raw. Some people have taken advantage of the price hikes and sold for melt where they could while others hesitated. Personally I switched focus to other numismatic areas that were not affected as much by the crazy metals market. What other things have people done (if any) to adjust their buying, trading and collecting during this chaotic time?
I hadn't bought much since the early teens, but the last year I sold off a few of my '90s AGEs and bought those hole fillers I have needed for so long. Now I am just holding tight waiting for the next change in the market. If the bullion continues dropping then it will be time to buy again, and that's what I think will happen, but if not then continue converting and picking up a few more of the tough ones.
I haven't bought any silver coins this year and I probably won't until silver prices go down again. I just think everything goes in cycles and I don't expect it to stay this high and don't want to be left holding the bag in the end. It's too bad because collecting silver is a lot of fun but it just doesn't seem smart right now.
The meteoric rise of PM has confounded numismatic values, this is true. Currently they are retracting, however, and buying and selling PM items is in a state of flux of hesitation. By this I mean if you want to sell PM, a buyer is hesitant to pull the trigger because the price is falling. This trend is symbiotic with both buyer and seller because both are unsure where PMs will stabilize. I have predicted recently and I reiterate: It may be another year or even 2 years before this stabilization sets in, in the meantime I am offering sell values and shading the deal with 10% less as incentive as the decline continues. I continue hunting through pocket change, and even sporadic CRH, but pocket change finds have been dismal.
I continue to hold and buy when I feel the price is right. My customers in the antique shop that buy coins must feel the same as I continue to sell coins, mostly silver coins.
I quit selling. The only thing I'm buying are coins that the value is not based on the price of silver. I don't trust silver to stay at the high price it is now.
I had the idea to try to trade some PM for key dates/better coins when prices were high. First problem, none of the shops had any key dates. Second problem, they were so stressed about hemorrhaging cash (because everyone was selling) that even mentioning PM to them mostly got me a lecture (every time I was in there, someone was getting the lecture, so I didn't take it personally.) Most of the stuff I was still buying was either the same price it normally was (US Mint Souvenir Sets) or just a bit higher (US Mint Sets with 40% halves). I did get a LOT more choosy with the foreign silver I bought - since no one online really wanted to buy the foreign silver I already was trying to sell, why buy common circulated Canadian 80%? None of the dealers offered it at any less than spot price anyway (even though I know what percentage they buy it at) and the refineries wouldn't take it, so they just hung on to most of it...and now still have it. There were a few foreign silver pieces I couldn't really turn down when they were available, even at higher spot prices. I did make some decent progress on an accurate inventory of the hoard, though. Not anywhere close to complete, but still. Progress.
Hindsight being what it is I should have sold more and a little bit later in the run up...but who knew? On the other shoe, I cashed out 50 ounces for someone at $101 (nearer the top) sold 14 Libertads to a friend and kept the other 36 Eagles and Britanicas (that didn't help with the DCA. ) Since then I traded a few ounces of vintage silver for vintage silver and picked up a couple more ounces as in the dip...I maybe learned a little bit for the next ride.
