Has anyone ever considered purchasing 99.9% pure Silver, Palladium or any other PM wire? I see a bunch of listings for 18-30 gauge 5 feet, 10 feet or 25 feet of pure silver or palladium wire. And then I see listings for palladium sterling silver wire. I was wondering if anyone here would recommend PM Wire as an investment, or just stick with coins, bars, and scrap metal (jewelry, PC parts, HDD disks, etc)?
I have some wire, ribbon, and wool, but only because I could purchase it below spot on the secondary market. I had always assumed that these types of items commanded a significant premium when purchased new.
Yeah I was wondering b/c I think a few listings on eBay are selling Palladium wire below its spot price for its weight (oz).
And I don't have Pd but Im saving to buy at least 1 Pd Maple Leaf for fun. I would consider adding Pd to my stack but Pd is kind of expensive unless I focus on those individual loose 1 gram bars. So I think Pd wire would be a good alternative. But I've never heard of anyone having wire to their stack(s).
And, then the problem at the other end of the transaction, way down the line -- convincing a skeptical buyer it's really palladium or whatever. Stick with 90% dimes. Very very boring, but problem-free, unless someone slips you ancient Mercuries so thin you can read a newspaper through them. I've never seen a counterfeit Roosevelt.
I agree you should stay away just to avoid problems selling in the future. Its also the reason I am not a huge fan of bars, since many are counterfeited with plated bars nowadays. Coins, especially 90% US silver, are the safer bet.
Could lead to some interesting conversations. A year into the Apocalypse, Hoarder: I want 11 inches of wire for this can of beans. You: Oh, it's worth more than that -- I'll give you 17 centimeters. Hoarder: Er...umm...uh...OK
Usually the wire is intended to be used in the production of something and not used as an investment. I have some silver wire that I bought to use to make button hooks to solder to Mercury dimes.
Gotta tell the story...I knew the glassblower at the Univ. of KY while I was there and he was talking about a friend who worked for the government as a glassblower. Many times glassblowers have to repair glassware that has a Pt wire connection. They have to pull the wire out and it is often too hard to replace since it is such a short bit. The government glassblower decided he should keep a small spool of Pt wire on-hand, so he ordered some of 0.01 mm diameter. As to how much, he looked at a small spool of Cu wire and decided 1/4 pound would be enough. Several weeks after ordering, he was wondering why it hadn't come in so he called the factory. They told him they had put on an extra shift and had his order half done, only about a mile more to go. True or not? Don't know but it was told to me as true.
Buying wire as an investment would be a losing idea. Buying small quantities of sterling wire, sheet or other components that are intended to be used for making jewelry or other things is expensive, right now small quantities are over $20/oz and it is not hallmarked. I work with this stuff just about every day and while a small amount goes a long way, it's way too expensive per ounce to be an effective method. Here is one of the suppliers I use, and yes, they do sell a few items in .999, but again it's not hallmarked and you're trusting the reputation of the seller and their supplier. https://ijsinc.com/c-6-silver.aspx
You have to ask yourself why you're seeing this wire being sold at below spot. I bet it's because people can't move the stuff. I wouldn't buy PM wire, as I'm sure most here wouldn't, regardless of price.
Regardless of price? If you can get it for less than 80% of melt that is a smoking deal. I know of multiple refineries that will pay 90%+
