Hello all! I've just got some initial, and likely vague, questions. First, to get the most appropriate feedback I'd like to somewhat explain my current situation and goals. I'm 46 and on track to be able to retire at 55. Not an extravagant retirement mind you, but enough to cover what I expect I'll need and then some, although I'll likely work longer. In any event, I found while reading other posts the concern of putting money into PM's of any sort if not really able to afford it. I'm pretty well set, besides being 100% debt free soon. Well, besides I'm also thinking what most would consider a ridiculously small amount on top of it As far as the goal, I'm not likely to be real clear on it. What I HOPE to do is invest a small amount, say $100 a month, and mostly for fun. I have no expectation of any profit on this. However, while in retirement, should we have an economic calamity where silver spikes, then yes, it would be nice to know even a small amount I'd have could be unloaded to avoid selling actual retirement investments right at the bottom. I would view this only as a remote/maybe benefit. I'm also no survivalist, as if things got that bad I'm likely just hosed regardless So, what I would like to do is buy a wide variety of rounds, bars, ASE, and foreign bullion with simple enjoyment being the primary goal. However, with the other, smaller side goals in mind I obviously don't want to go overboard on shipping and premiums due to buying only $100 a month. So, what are some good options? Obviously I could buy once a year and a larger amount, but I don't want to! So, where are some good places to shop when the time comes? In going through individual sites it looks like APMEX is pretty reliable, and if I really order that often get a flat rate in the future. Where else would still have a decent selection and the same or lower shipping for small orders? Again, I know I'm paying a premium regardless, but looking to keep it to a minimum. I'm also not looking to do ANYTHING until around March and just put a small portion of my next raise into this, so I have plenty of time to think. Clear as mud?
Dang, sounds like fun. Realizing that you are not going to make enough to buy that villa on the Riveria is a good step. Welcome to CoinTalk, you will get (mostly) good advice here. For buying stuff for fun as well as to retain/gain some value, one thing I like is to buy one or more of the silver proof sets from the mint, they do contain silver and if they do depreciate, hopefully it won't be much. I recently ordered some one-ounce silver bars from Silvertowne at a good price with free shipping, and have ordered foreign bullion (British Brittanias, Mexican Libertads, Armenian Arks, Canadian Mapleleafs) from MCM (Modern Coin Mart). Some of these are also available on e-bay and it is always worth a check to see if you can get free shipping. I also like to buy US pre-1965 90% silver if I can find it cheap. Welcome and good hunting.
I think you should visit your local coin shops, let them know what your goal is, and see if they'll let you paw through their 90% silver for a modest premium. You'd be surprised what they send off to the melting pot, simply because their time to package such material is better spent on other tasks.
I agree with Tough, check out the local stores. Become a regular. It seems when you are sure money (no matter how much) you get better prices. I can almost always get better prices at a coin store then the internet as well and it is nice being able to see what you are buying and spending money with a local business.
Welcome to the forums and to precious metals! Because you have your retirement in mind, and are investigating PMs as part of a broader diversification effort (wise!), I would recommend as a starting step to look at how you can invest in bullion through your 401K, traditional IRA, or Roth IRA. The tax savings advantages of doing so make these your best bet, and (if you are American) our government has made it easy to invest in its bullion coins through these plans. A Google search can get you lots of information about your options for doing this, which you can follow up with a call to your plan administrator. If you are itching to hold something physically while also being as smart as you can about it financially this would be the place to start. You have also indicated that you aren’t expecting the apocalypse to occur and that that is not a motivating factor for investing in PMs for you. That being the case you have several options for PM vehicles in the normal market that are very liquid in that a call to your broker or a sell order on-line converts the investments to cash within a day or two. There are mutual funds that attempt to mirror any commodity you like including gold and silver, largely by holding large portions of their portfolios in those commodities. You can also invest in mining and development companies, whose prospects are largely dependent upon the fluctuating price of the commodity that they produce – this option carries the added complications including considering how the company is run, what its assets include, etc. Your brokerage account will typically charge a per-trade fee that is far lower than the premiums charged for bullion over spot. But you posted to the bullion forum, and you stated that “what I would like to do is buy a wide variety of rounds, bars, ASE, and foreign bullion with simple enjoyment being the primary goal,” so let’s look at holding physical bullion! As an investment, this is probably the worst way to hold PM in my opinion because of the fact that you are buying retail and selling wholesale, because you have to physically store the metal which either exposes you to the risk of loss/theft or costs you additional money in maintenance/insurance, and because of the time and effort that you expend acquiring and transporting your purchases. But it is sure fun, which is why I do it myself! Based on what you said in your post, that you want to spend a fixed dollar amount per month and to hold a variety of bullion media I would suggest that you take a dollar cost average approach to acquiring your PM. Set your dollar amount per month ($100, $120, $500, whatever) and your frequency of purchase (weekly is what I do, monthly, quarterly, it’s up to you) and buy that much gold, silver, or whatever you want with it. So say you want to spend $100 each month on silver and buy weekly: That’s $25 per week, which is about what an ASE is retailing for right now. Buy an ASE per week while it is at this price. If the price goes down to $20 you still buy your ASE for $20, but you also pick up $5 worth of junk silver dimes, or gram bars, or something. If the price of silver goes up and an ASE retails for $35 you buy one every other week along with some junk silver, or buy a lower-premium coin/bar/whatever to total your $25 per week or $100 per month. Again I suggest that you do a Google search for “dollar cost averaging” to learn more about this strategy, which is a good one with any sort of long-term regular investment. In full disclosure, I personally only cost average instead of dollar cost averaging: I buy an ASE a week regardless of the price and only buy a proof or something else when I’m in the mood. But I don’t really think of my PM stacking as an investment, it’s just fun and cheaper than a movie. I live in a major city where there are several coin stores and have found that they charge a much lower premium than anything I have found on-line, though I’m always looking. If you are in a similar situation and can go buy your bullion in person at a good price I’d recommend it. Not only is it more fun to drive down to the store every week than to enter your credit card information on a website, you can develop a report with the people in the store who may be able to educate you, hold on to things for you, and even offer you preferred prices. If you don’t have the option of going to a store there are a lot of auction and direct sales options on-line. Because I’m not in this boat they all look pretty terrible to me when you include premiums, shipping, and often fees. I would opt to find a better price at a store even if it is 100 miles away and only go every other month if I had to (maybe find some other excuse to go to the big city, like a hockey game or something). If I didn’t want to make the trip I would honestly stick to investing through my brokerage account and just make a physical purchase on a rare occasion, but I’m cheap that way I guess. Silversaver.com seems like one of the more reasonable sites, but I don’t use them myself because it is still cheaper to stop by the coin store on the way to the dog park.
Wow, talk about information overload Thanks for all of the input, and ideas for me to dwell on. In5urgent, thanks for all that work in the highly detailed response as well! Yes, I'm looking mostly for fun on this, at least initially. Any benefit in being able to sell some off in a crunch would be an incidental thought. However, now that it has been brought up, adding some PM exposure via funds, ETF, or mining stocks is a good idea once I bump up how much I am investing when I officially become debt free soon, since I'm well past 90% in equities. With the total amount now where I need it I DO need to diversify and start worrying a little more about protecting it. LOL, In5urent, while it isn't precious metals I'm more than familiar with the commodity cycles while owning an iron ore/metallurgical coal stock, along with another mining company primarily copper and a bit of silver. Every time China burps they go down like the world is ending or up like the future is nothing but bright I've never "intentionally" used dollar cost averaging, as I haven't needed to and pretty much got it anyway since I've been investing set amounts monthly even when I was only 18 and fresh out of Navy bootcamp. Unfortunately there is only one coin shop in town, which I don't trust and I'm moving soon as well anyway to get the equity out of my over-sized empty nest house and get a duplex and some rental income in a town closer to a company site I can work from. I can't find a single coin store listed there, lol. There is one near my parent's a couple hours away I can visit on occasion though when I am there. With all the input I think for now I'll go the online route, although I'll keep trying to find the best deal I can manage. Once I'm debt free though I'll add more by smarter means. LOL, some may freak over all the physical handling, but I'm looking forward to a lot of variety and letting my grandson handle them, ask questions, and maybe spark an interest. I certainly failed in getting two of four kids to save like I did, so maybe something will get the grandkids interested Can't beat shiny treasure!
When I first really got into collecting coins I sought out all the coin shops I could find, but I found coin shows to be far more rewarding experiences with better deals too. You don't have to buy in bulk or pay shipping. You get to shop around for deals, and chat with people about your common interest. It's a great time for all ages. There should be a numismatic association somewhere in your neck of the woods with coin show info posted online. You could even go just to get your feet wet before you start purchasing later on. Most of the dealers are usually owners of coin shops in the surrounding area, and it's a good way to see what's out there. If you are set on buying online I prefer Provident Metals or APMEX since they have always come through for me with no issues.
I can't find a store listed where I'm soon moving to, but they do have a numismatic club that meets one a month for about nine months of each year and the state club has a coin show there once a year. I'll be making it to those for sure
Well, it wasn't what I planned, or when I planned, but already got a boost. Helping to sort through my Grandmother's stuff now that she is having to stay in a nursing home. I know she had a small box of Kennedy halves so when I drove out I went prepared to buy those from her. Well, then there's a Morgan in the underwear drawer, another Kennedy in an old letter, a Barber in with pictures, and I think all can picture it. LOL, along with bills of many denominations strewn about. I picked up: 2 1965 Kennedy halves 40% 20 1964 Kennedy halves 7 pre-1964 Washington quarters 1 pre-1964 Roosevelt dime 8 Morgan dollars 1 Barber half 3 Walking Liberty halves 2 Mercury dimes One of the Morgans is a 1921 and looks uncirculated.
Your situation matches my own. I typically spend $100 at a time on silver, and I am looking for bullion I will enjoy owning and collecting. This is what I've bought, many one coin per order: 2013 Britannia (dissapointing) 2013 Panda (meh) 2013 Kookaburra (meh) 2013 Fiji Taku (pretty!) 2013 Tokelau Snake (lovely!) 2013 Libertad <---All Time Favorite! 2013 ASE <---Second Favorite Various SBSS Rounds (poor quality) 2013 New Liberty Dollar (interesting) Some Zombucks Walkers (fun, good price) If I had to start buying from scratch, I would only buy ASEs and Libertads. I can't say enough great things about the Libertad. Aesthetically, it speaks to me. As far as shipping, spending $100 at a time, you'll need to strategize on how to save on shipping. I've purchased from: Provident Amagi Modern Coin Mart Apmex and EBay I have heard of Provident releasing coupon codes for free shipping which would be a great way to go for small orders. Of all the places I've bought from, Amagi is the cheapest. It was $2.20 for standard shipping for two 1oz rounds. They are currently out of the coins I want (ASEs and Libertads) but they will the next vendor I purchase from. If you are spending more than $100/order, I'd buy from Provident. For small orders Amagi is my go-to.
Thanks for the additional links! LOL, your list is sort of what I was imagining, at least initially, just for the fun of variety.
I have to say I am with some others. You wish to invest small amounts a month, keep shipping chsrges down, and sell off easily when retired. To me it sounds like a perfect situation for a local monthly coin show buying 90%. Easy to buy local, easy to sell, and low premiums. As a bonus, buy a series you like, maybe wl halves. Have fun with your hoarding!
