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<p>[QUOTE="-jeffB, post: 2575548, member: 27832"]That's a good topic, especially if it includes discussion of <i>why</i> each is bad.</p><p><br /></p><p>A few points I've noticed, from my own experience and from discussions here, <b>strictly limited to buying and selling in the US</b>:</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Anything other than 90% US coinage or .999 silver tends to trade at a discount from spot silver price.</b> Even sterling, which does contain more than 90% silver, trades at a discount. There are at least two reasons for this: first, 90% US coinage is easy to refine, because the other 10% is known to be copper. Sterling can have many other components, and getting them out is harder and more expensive. Second, 90% coinage is easy to buy and sell <i>without</i> refining it, and refining <i>anything</i> is always more expensive than not refining it.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Foreign coinage trades at a discount to US coinage.</b> Even Canadian silver, which is either .800 or .925, trades for less than an equivalent silver amount of US coinage. (This can be an advantage if you're knowledgeable enough to buy lots of foreign silver and cherry-pick key dates.)</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Smaller-denomination coins lose silver due to wear more quickly than large ones.</b> A heavily-worn dollar or half might lose 5% or more of its weight, but a slick quarter can lose 10% or more, and a slick dime can lose up to 20%. You can come out ahead if you can buy worn coinage by <i>weight</i> and sell it by <i>face value</i>; you come out behind if you do it the other way around.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, people often argue here about <b>"invest" versus "speculate"</b>. If you're buying silver on the assumption that its price will go up, you're <i>speculating</i>. If you're buying it and then selling it <i>immediately</i> for more than you paid -- for example, buying silver at a morning estate auction at 20% below spot, then selling it to a coin shop in the afternoon at 5% below spot -- that's something different. I'm not sure what I'd call it (beyond "flipping"), but it is <i>definitely</i> a way to make a profit.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="-jeffB, post: 2575548, member: 27832"]That's a good topic, especially if it includes discussion of [I]why[/I] each is bad. A few points I've noticed, from my own experience and from discussions here, [B]strictly limited to buying and selling in the US[/B]: [B]Anything other than 90% US coinage or .999 silver tends to trade at a discount from spot silver price.[/B] Even sterling, which does contain more than 90% silver, trades at a discount. There are at least two reasons for this: first, 90% US coinage is easy to refine, because the other 10% is known to be copper. Sterling can have many other components, and getting them out is harder and more expensive. Second, 90% coinage is easy to buy and sell [I]without[/I] refining it, and refining [I]anything[/I] is always more expensive than not refining it. [B]Foreign coinage trades at a discount to US coinage.[/B] Even Canadian silver, which is either .800 or .925, trades for less than an equivalent silver amount of US coinage. (This can be an advantage if you're knowledgeable enough to buy lots of foreign silver and cherry-pick key dates.) [B]Smaller-denomination coins lose silver due to wear more quickly than large ones.[/B] A heavily-worn dollar or half might lose 5% or more of its weight, but a slick quarter can lose 10% or more, and a slick dime can lose up to 20%. You can come out ahead if you can buy worn coinage by [I]weight[/I] and sell it by [I]face value[/I]; you come out behind if you do it the other way around. Finally, people often argue here about [B]"invest" versus "speculate"[/B]. If you're buying silver on the assumption that its price will go up, you're [I]speculating[/I]. If you're buying it and then selling it [I]immediately[/I] for more than you paid -- for example, buying silver at a morning estate auction at 20% below spot, then selling it to a coin shop in the afternoon at 5% below spot -- that's something different. I'm not sure what I'd call it (beyond "flipping"), but it is [I]definitely[/I] a way to make a profit.[/QUOTE]
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