Hi there, just started my collection a week or so ago with a couple of bar and coin purchases from APMEX and Provident. Was very excited for that first delivery. I am trying to buy bars near spot (JM bars), and coins I think are cool for a bit of a premium. I just bought some Pandas and Maple Leafs. A quick question, how much is the premium over spot reduced if you take the product out of their mint wrapping. I assume for the bars it does not make a difference as you are close to spot, but for the coins I assume it will matter. I do not want to leave them out, jut put them in similar, air tight individual plastic containers. I am not a huge fan of the shrink wrap. Just trying to tap some of the knowledge on this Board. It has been very helpful so far in getting me started, now that I have my first delivery I want to treat them right. Thanks!
Taking the coins out of the mint packaging will not affect the value if you store them properly. Remove them while holding only the edge of the coin. I would save any presentation boxes from the mint, but the cellophane is fine to remove. Welcome to CT.
:welcome: Welcome to CT! Keep your pandas in their original packaging as there are a lot of fakes out there. :smile TC
Thanks, but I like the shiny stuff that comes at $10-$20 over spot, that has got to be a solid investment, right Now pretend I wanted to buy close to spot for investment purposes, where would you advise I buy?
LCS in the junk silver bin. I usually buy for melt value that way. On bullion, you're probably not going to get it for spot. $1-3 over would be the normfor generic and ASE. If you want Pandas, Canadian Wildlife, Dragons and such be prepared to pay a higher premium.
Before you "invest" in metals or (especially) coins, I suggest you first "invest" in yourself and learn before jumping in head first. Assumptions can turn your "investment" into a divestment very quickly.
Thanks for the advice, I couldn't agree more. Jumped in to the tune of ~15oz, different types (bars, coins) from different dealers, just trying to get a feel for it. Bought some simply because they looked nice (likely bad "investment", but based on eBay sales probably not too bad), and some as close to spot as possible (but no junk yet). Will likely go to junk or smallest premium on bouillon if this becomes a little more serious for me. I do have my boys going through the water cooler full of change looking for some junk silver, I know it is unlikely they will find any but they are having a great time doing it and are trying to put together all 50 states in the new quarters so a little learning going on. Thanks for the advice!
You did something very right, and that was not buying off ebay. Do not take the pandas out of the original packaging, it will cost you a lot of money. They're worth no more than the bars if you do, trust me. Do your homework, generics are generally $1 to $2 over spot in low volume. ASE, Maples, libs and the like from $2 to $4 over spot. Pandas, Perth Mint items, Brits are in the $8 to whatever the market demands over spot. I suggest you buy what you like, just make sure you're not setting the market.
