Quick bullion question

I've been thinking of buying some silver (and possibly gold) bullion, but everywhere I look the prices (on coins, bars etc) are marked up a pretty significant amount over the intrinsic value. I was wondering if all you bullion experts could point me in the right direction to hopefully a more affordable place to buy bullion, whether it be in the form of bars or coins. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

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www.moderncoinmart.com
www.apmex.com
www.providentmetals.com

i use these 3 mostly, register an sign up for e-mail specials, i've gotten silver bars as low as 49 cents per ounce over spot thru e-mail specials and the 1st one has free shipping..

 

Jmbullion.com is another great dealer to buy from, very competitive prices and free shipping. Minimum of $100 which is easy to meet and if you pay by check, better deal.

 

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@cube --> There are many many online bullion dealers but know that you may be paying a premium just because you are getting to use a slick website or they have a competitive service, wide range of products they offer, etc. Once you compare some of them, don't forget your options nearby such as a local coin dealer, and coin shows. The benefit of buying local supports your community, the dealers and keeps the money close to home. You can probably take delivery in person, nothing sent/moving through the post and causing a delay, nothing to pay to ship and insure, plus when buying local you can start a relationship that might help you when you want to liquidate, if need be quickly, should you need the cash, or if you see prices moving in the right or wrong direction. If you ever need to sell back to an online dealer you have to ship and may not have instant ability to get funds quickly for selling.

As for what to buy, AVOID fractional bullion. If you want something smaller than one ounce, but junk silver, such as pre-1964 90% silver US coins like quarter-dollars and dimes. Bars are nice for storage purposes but may be difficult in larger sizes (100oz / kilo bars) to resell. Stick with 5oz and 10oz and from good companies like JM or Pamp Suisse and especially if they have a serial number. One of the benefits of buying bullion with a denomination on them is that they are well known and easier to recognize by buyers and dealers, plus backed by the governments that issued them. One ounce size coins are good but for storage and better price per ounce, 5 oz coins like Mexican Libertads or US America the Beautiful silver coins are easy to store and offer better value.

Just some thoughts on where / what to buy.

 

Canadian 80% and Australian .925 coins typically sell for about their melt value both on Ebay and at LCS's that have them

 

So would you recommend staying away from 1/10-1/4 oz. gold eagles? As of now I'm not looking to drop the $1300+ for the full one ounce coins, but I was thinking of putting some money into a smaller amount...

 

Yes, I would avoid those as they carry higher premium over spot. It's much better to save the money and buy a full ounce when you have the money together.

 

What Krispy said.

 

I just bought my first non USA full ounce of gold. It was a Canadian maple leaf!! Bought it from APMEX. Can't wait to get it!!! What percentage over spot is about average for dealers to charge?

 

govmint.com MIGHT still be selling 1 oz eagles for $18.50-i grabbed 20

 

EXACTLY what krispy said!

 

Just got my first 1 ounce gold foreign coin. It's a 2014 maple leaf!! Looks great. The only thing is that I assumed the diameter would be the same as a silver maple leaf!!

Wrong!! Lol I've ordered a few air-tite capsules. Should be here next week. Now that I'm collecting more gold I guess I have to decide if I want to store them in a safe deposit box. I guess I'll call my bank & see how much they charge!!

 

Usually about 5-7%.

 

I can't speak for silver, since it's so cheap that I've never had to go below 1 oz.

For gold.....I've bought 1/2, 1/4, 1/10th, and 1/20th oz. coins.

The standard premium for 1 oz. at my local dealer is about 6% over spot. For the coins above it goes up to about 10%......12%.....20%....and 30%.

The numbers on the 1/10th and 1/20th can go up or down 5-10%, depending on inventory and how aggressive he wants to dump the coin (also if he purchased it at a good time relative to bullion). At times I can also get the 1/4 close to the premium of a 1/2 oz.

For an individual coin that you like or a 1-time-thing, it's OK. It's a conversation piece. But as a regular investment, no, you're killing any chance of making a profit based on numismatic and/or bullion appreciation.

 

I have a separate bullion question. Has any bullion collector/investor on this forum heard of silver bars stamped "DC Centennial"? I acquired 7 2toz bars from my reputable dealer the other day and I can't find this company/refiner anywhere on-line. They are legitimate, I'm just not sure what if any premium might be attached to them on the market. I paid $1.50 over spot in CAD. Thanks for any insight.

 

Expect to get blemished and scratched possibly used products from jmbullion.

 

I've seen comments going both ways. I looked them up recently on the BBB website. There were too many negative/issues for me to feel comfortable buying from them. Just my opinion.

 

I have 4 britannias and a 1 1/4 bison backing up what ive said. And a chinese panda with a broken capsule.

 

Yeah, experiences like these are part of the reason why I won't be purchasing from that dealer.

 

JM Bullion SUCKS-thats from personal experience-they sent me a 5 oz ATB that was SO BAD they told me to keep it and sent another one-which wasnt a WHOLE lot better but I did get a 2 for 1-even so I will NEVER use them again