Why buy generic rounds?

I am just trying to figure out why buy generic rounds? Is it only for the melt value? If you buy it from APMEX or JM, will they only buy it back? Any clarity would be great.

 

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With silver rounds that's all it is. Silver. With American Eagle, Maple Leaves etc. There is a bit of a numismatic value with it. And any place that buys silver should buy rounds. Some places are better for minting obviously but 1 oz if silver is 1 oz of silver. Plus some of the coins just look awesome.

 

I agree with rooman9. I "stack" silver for the silver value only as a hedge and because it's so much cheaper than actual coins.

 

I always steer clear of generic rounds simply b/c in my experience my local coin shops will buy them back for less in comparison with American Silver Eagles. It really depends on how much you're paying for them though.

 

Since holding/investing in physical PMs is generally a long position, there's always the chance that some decades or centuries from now, these rounds will be less liquid should the firms selling them go out of business, records be lost, mintages unknown, purity found to be suspect, and a potential future buyer unfamiliar with them, their integrity, etc. Were this the case, one may need to have generic rounds assayed for content, loosing time and money as well as some content in the process.

With denomination bullion, it is backed by the nation that issued them and generally, their long standing history is well known and can be internationally trusted or agreed upon, and if intrinsic value wasn't taken, they are worth the value they are denominated in. Generic rounds have no such guarantee nor denominated value backing them.

Denominated bullion could have a numismatic value, though many will argue this with modern issues like ASE. Yet those same folks seem to accept that Morgans were pretty much the same thing and yet are now highly valued, both intrinsically and numismatically. That's not to say that anything can and is collected and that some bullion does become collectible. There are those who buy/invest/collect older issues of bars, hand poured bars, bars with serial numbers once issued by firms such as JM, but are no longer produced in the same way. These items tend to trade at a value above their intrinsic value, among those who would collect and pay for such a thing.

 

for silver stacking, they are cheap, few bucks over spot, they are .999 silver, some designs are really cool, like zombucks, an i think they look better than 1 oz bars..

 

one may need to have generic rounds assayed for content, loosing time and money as well as some content in the process.

With modern X-ray florescence analysers assay takes seconds, costs nothing and is not destructive. True, the user has to amortize the cost of the gadget somehow, but like all technical things, today's 5 figure price tag could be 3 figures in ten years.

If I were looking to sell generic bullkion at the best price, I'd be selling to a place that already has an XRF analyser.

 

I only do because the APMEX rounds with the eagle on them look cool. I've never bought any other type of generic, except a 10 oz. Ohio Precious Metals bar which I later traded for $12.60 FV in junk silver

 

Takes seconds, costs nothing... Everything costs something, and this is assuming you have ready access to your physical bullion, time to haul it to one who has the equipment, and that person/dealer is both available to run the test and interested in buying from you, and at the price point you want, on the day when you wish (need) to sell. Yes, technology makes things seem effortless and seem like a time saver but it's just as much an illusion as are all our wireless gadgets. Somewhere, lurking behind some furniture is a whole mess of wires!

So my point about time still holds true. When people react to precious metals prices and wish to be liquid in a hurry, bullion ain't what you want to be trying to trade in when you need every edge you can get to sell it for what you want, when you want it. And what happens when the zombie apocalypse hits the fan? They won't be taking Zombucks off you any more than will they have the X-ray equipment and electricity and know-how to use it... and would you even trust them then?

This is my point about what kind of bullion one ought to consider buying and which to avoid. There are too many factors working against you when you'll want to cash out, so why make it harder on yourself? Don't fool yourselves into thinking you are saving a buck or so over spot per ounce now when it could be an investment in convenience to avoid ALL of this by buying sovereign denominated bullion today. It also may not be perfect, but when looking for the advantage, go with what's at hand.

 

Before Zombucks I didn't really care for rounds. I still don't but Zombucks I like. Don't know if that really answers your question but that's the story I'm sticking with.

 

Morgans were the first bullion coins. They hardly ever circulated here on the 'right' coast.

 

Apparently they were popular here in western Missouri. My great-grandparents saved back hundreds of them from their businesses in the mid 1960's when silver prices started going up (as well as bags and rolls full of silver Halves, Quarters and Dimes), and my grandma says that she had almost never seen $1 bills until the early 60's

 

The Morgans were very popular out west where paper money was not trusted........

 

and all the experts here also say that morgans are overpriced and that fools buy them.

 

I would be one of those ............

 

so what's the smart buy? just ASE??

 

to be honest I have bought both and to be more foolish I bought them when silver was in the mid twenties, so that now silver has tumbled somewhat I have bought more of both trying to make average per ounce drop down. but I am unsure which to buy because I see both sides points on this... both have good points.. so I will stay foolish and buy Morgans

 

I've always stayed with Silver Eagles, Gold Eagles and Gold Buffalos each year. I've started to try and obtain the first strike PCGS 70's and just hold on to them. I've not sold any of my coins, but my parents did sell some of theirs back in the mid 2000's. The dealer told them they were receiving less than what they were receiving less than a graded coin's value. The best way, according to multiple dealers in NYC, so I was told, was to have graded coins. Hence, since I started back up, I've been purchasing a few graded coins each year. Not sure if this theory still holds weight in the market, but this was what we went through back then. I do feel, when you need to sell, everyone senses this and takes advantage of you. Hopefully, if I ever needed to sell, the graded coins will take that sense of selling out of desperation out of the equation. I am sure you've all heard the saying, once bitten, twice shy.

 

I think you might want to let us know what you're trying to accomplish. Do you plan to buy and hold? Is the plan to flip this stuff if spot rises? Are you looking for items that will accrue premium in the future?

 

Buy and hold for years.