When going on social media such as YouTube and Instagram and such, you’ll find that a lot of “Silver Stackers” have almost no rhyme or reason to the purchases they make, they’ll post a video or image of a massive pile of jumbled silver, silvers bars, generics, rounds, Silver Eagles, slabbed coins, 90%, foreign silver, jewelry etc and it just seems that the purchase whatever comes in front of them. For example this frame from a Stacker video. Or these Now this looks messy to me and this honestly may be be set up like this for the video but I personally could not have this much “assortment” I plan to keep 3 types of investing silver. Rolls of 90% quarters Certified ASEs ASEs in plastic flips So your takeaway question is this. Are the mad stackers such as shown above, diversifying or just on a mad buying spree?
Yes, just look at the silverbugs reddit. Some people have some really ugly stacks. The most important thing is to identify why you are stacking. Are you collecting? Are you saving? Are you foolishly investing? That will determine what type of item you should buy. There are many options within each of the categories. For example, if you are stacking in order to save, you should be buying at very low premiums, with good resale value (meaning you can sell easily and you can sell for spot or reliably over spot so that your total spread between what you pay and what you sell for will always be small, no matter what the price of silver is). Then, focus your purchasing on what makes the most sense. For me, Silver Maples are my favorite to stack for savings. They are the most verifiable form of bullion by all of the security features the RCM uses. Unlike an ASE, Britania, Kangaroo, or other government-issued silver coin they are not going to be successfully counterfeited (or at least the odds are substantially lower). Two, in normal times they can purchased with some careful patience at only a few percent over spot. Three, they can be resold always at spot or even a little above, giving a very low spread and risk to the buyer. The same can be said US junk silver, with some minor differences. Could easily be counterfeited, but the denominations are so small most wouldn't bother. They are extremely easy to resell in the US, maybe even easier than Eagles or Maples. The spread can be decent, but often worse than the Maple Leaf spread, because dealers like to underpay for junk silver. However, the spread is still way better than foreign government issued silver. I think the problem you identify of an ugly or messy stack comes from the fact that not all "stackers' are just savers, investors, or collectors. Most of us are some combination of those things. So although the core of my stack is Maple Leafs, there's a bit of a collector in me that has at least one example of government issued silver bullion from most countries that issue them. Not to mention, CRH has yielded me a decent amount of spot silver. However, I think what you identify that I agree with is the packrat stacker. The person who buy silver whenever he feels it is a good deal and then ends up with a silver stack made up of Eagles, Franklin halves, 1970s olympic coins, and silverware.They might even have old silver fillings in a vile. UGLY UGLY STACK
Silver is silver ( if your only objective is to build a 'pretty stack', you'll likely overpay and pass up better deals) - buy whatever .999 bullion is closest to spot price, whether it's a 10 ounce bar, obscure commercial rounds, ASEs and Maple Leafs at a small premium or circulated 90% coins - the value of a silver stack is only what you can sell it for at any given time - wait for a sellers' market and/or a lofty spot price - happy stacking
Honestly @CoinBlazer, if I were to lay out all my silver for a photo it would look very much like your examples. I been collecting fifty years and stacking 25-30 years. I go through spurts where I may like cull dollars for a couple years and ASE’s a couple years. Then I’ll pick up a mix of old dimes, halves or whatever. Yes it has become quite ungainly..... Sometimes I pull all the mess out intending to organize all the old silver and cover up the kitchen table with it. My wife calls me Scrooge McDuck when I do that.
I neglected to mention that I had the most "profitable fun" collecting the Silver Strikes from the Slots-A-Fun Casino in Las Vegas. In 2006, I won 77 of the $10 "Nevada Wildlife" Silver Strikes. Each contained 1/2 ounce of .999 fine silver, and when silver finally topped off in the high $40's a few years later, I sold them for $900. Of course, you might think that $900 was pretty cheap, but since they only cost me about $80 in slot play, I think, both, the buyer and I made out pretty good. ~ Chris
most people make a lot of mistakes when they start and buy a bunch of pretty stuff. smart people end up buying cheap silver bars and maples, no emotional attachment.
A couple things come to mind. CoinBlazer it doesn't matter what the next guy has if your not in a competition. After that, buy what you want if you cant buy what you like.
I'd have to disagree with that assumption. I bought a lot of "pretty stuff" when silver was less than $6 an ounce. I still have it all......about 500 ounces worth. 4.55 oz. .999+ FS 4.55 oz. .999+ FS
