Hey all, I got some good advice here awhile back about who to use for purchasing ASEs. I did go with Silver.com and JM Bullion to purchase a few. I wasn't all that happy with the silver eagles that I received from them. I wanted to get your opinion on APMEX. Any positive/negative experiences with them? They look reasonable with their prices.
Apmex is pretty good, I use them all the time. MCM is allright also, although over priced sometimes. If you're looking for the best price try sdbullion, they usually have lower prices if you can overlook their crappy service.
I've bought from APMEX, no problem on BU ASEs. I've also bought mostly from Provident ASEs and had no issues with them either.
You do need to remember there are two ways these are handled. /1/ is to send the monster box to PCGS or NGC for bulk grading and have the 69s and 70s slabbed. Anything lesser gets returned and sold raw. /2/ is to pre-select the best and send them off to be slabbed bulk. The ones that don't look good enough to make 69 or 70 (or are returned unslabbed) get sold raw. Only once there are enough slabbed to fill the pipeline do ASEs get sold raw w/o a review. But it's bullion you are buying and bullion priced, so it SHOULD not matter...
That's right, so if you're looking for 70's buy a sealed monster box and pull them out yourself, but if you buy their bullion expect it to be all rejects.
Wow, excellent information here, thx. After I do some ASEs, I want to get a collection of Peace dollars going. Does anyone recommend a website? I do not want to depend on eBay for those, if I can help it.
@CoinBoyBryan visit the National Silver Dollar Roundtable, http://www.nationalsilverdollarroundtable.org/ Although the primary focus is on Morgans and older, most dealers also handle Peace Dollars. You will find it to be a series that is quite challenging in it's own way. Although there is only one real rarity (1934S), there are several semi keys. More importantly, there are a lot of really ugly coins out there. Lousy strikes, worn dies, etc. Study the series carefully and don't settle for PCGS or NGC says... there are some pretty ugly MS-6xs out there.
This is making the big assumption that you're looking for an MS set. In lower grades, the 1934-S is quite cheap. You won't find a 1928-P for less than three figures, and the 1921 gets a premium in all conditions as well, but the rest can be had as junk silver with enough patience.
There's a third option with Apmex: Mint Direct®. "To ensure our customers receive only coins that have remained unopened from the U.S. Mint, APMEX has created a process called MintDirect® to guarantee each 1 oz Silver American Eagle tube comes directly from the U.S. Mint to you." Of course there's a premium: http://www.apmex.com/product/102277/2017-1-oz-silver-american-eagles-20-coin-mintdirect-tube
@COCollector - so they charge a premium for NOT opening the tubes and selecting the best coins? Wow...
I have bought from APMEX in the past. My opinion (and it is just that) is that when I buy bullion silver, I really don't care about the finish (ie milk spots don't bug me). If I want a nice example for my collection, I either buy one with specific pictures or a graded (69/70) one. As for customer service and price, they tend to be competitive with the other major dealers. But again, I shop with them in the commodity, not the numismatic, market.
Just sell all your silver and buy nice NGC/PCGS-certified gold coins. No more trouble with milk spots APMEX deals with gold, too.
Check out APMEX specials on eBay. You can use PayPal without the usual surcharge. Some other dealers also have similar specials, but I've had no problem with APMEX.
