Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Buying silver

61Cadillac

61Cadillac

Elite Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2012
Messages
590
Location
Upstate, NY
I plan on taking all of my clad findings at the end of the year and investing it in silver. My question is what is the best way to go about doing this? Do I just go to my local coin shop and buy it? Where can I get the best value and how much should I expect to pay above spot price for Troy ounce silver bars and rounds? I would really like to be able to build a nice silver nest egg that I can leave to my kids or be able to easily liquidate it if I need the cash for something. I'm just not sure where to go and know I'm not getting ripped off.
 
Research. You can try your local coin shop. Most .999 silver rounds and bars carry a premium depending on the company producing them.

Also you can't go wrong with U.S. or Canadian bullion. But the primiums are a bit higher on these but safer and easier to flip if needed.

Feel free to PM me with any questions. I have some close dealings with a few dealers that I would be happy to give you their website and information!
 
I hate advertising for it but you can use fleabay, i do...you pay going rates and if you get the right ones you get ebay bucks back from it which may not be much but it means that every 20 or so coins you buy you get enough back to buy another.

The other option is to buy in bulk, some online sites will sell a minimum 25 1 oz coins but if your saving over a year you might only have to add so much to get them.

The other option is to go to an auction and buy coins or silver ware which is just as good when you remember its 925 or 900 when you calculate what to pay and allow the premium of buyers fees too
 
If it was me I would look to buy silver half dollars off people selling them . You can see what the price of silver is and pay a lower price for silver coins and who knows maybe you will come across some silver coins worth more than you are paying for them . I see where a silver dime is worth $2.10 melt value well the coin dealer isn't going to pay that for it . I think last I knew it was down to $1.58. But I can remember a time they were buying silver coins for 22 times their face value in 1980. and it seems recently it was up at a high of like 33 times. Learn your dates to watch for and condition of coins for a steal of a deal just pay the price a worn coin is worth for all. You can advertise on Craigslist for free that you are buying silver coins. Buying gold rings is something a guy did I heard of from a x girlfreind in the 70s he become a Jewlery store owner but started out buying gold rings cleaning them polishing them and reselling them making money in high school.
M6 Mike
You can buy $3,800 gold rings for $800 or less and resell for $1,600 to someone if you have several gold rings to show. Learn what scrap value is for gold and buy the rings that way. Gold will always be in demand if you weigh the gold and pay a fair price you should do ok .
 
I would look into buying collectable silver coins, and from more than one source. Look for the best deal and, in my opinion, buy quality coins which may hold some value even if the price of silver drops. I’ve been buying a mix of “investment” coins (Worn coins with little collector value) and, being a collector, better grade coins for our collection. Now, I’m pretty much looking for better coins, but, if the price is right, I will buy lesser coins.
 
I buy 90% silver coins and i really like to but 40% Kennedy half dollars(1965-1970). The 90% usually run about $24.50 times the face value and the 40% will co for about $10-$11 times the face value of the coinage depending on the spot price of course. If you buy generic silver bars or rounds you can expect to pay around $2 over spot price at a local coin store. If you buy Morgan silver dollars or other collectable coins you will be paying for the value and condition of the coin, not the silver melt value with a premium. I hope this makes sense and helps you out a little.
 
I do that

I have cashed in my clad and copper and brass I find and buy silver ingots
I gotten about $400.00 dollars worth this year I personally like the fine silver
.999 silver ingots I got two companys I deal with on line all the time I have also bought several oz. of silver over the past year from these two without a hitch.I have several silver eagles also which are investment coins 1 oz. .999
Provident metals in Lavon tx.
Silver town are both great to deal with.
 
Mike1961 said:
I would look into buying collectable silver coins, and from more than one source. Look for the best deal and, in my opinion, buy quality coins which may hold some value even if the price of silver drops. I’ve been buying a mix of “investment” coins (Worn coins with little collector value) and, being a collector, better grade coins for our collection. Now, I’m pretty much looking for better coins, but, if the price is right, I will buy lesser coins.
Click to expand...



You're talking about two completely different things because buying quality coins won't really be affected by the price of silver. So... your best bet, and sounds like what you are doing, is to buy the best deals you can regardless of what the coins are. If you can score some deals that are 30-40% undervalue it's a pretty safe bet, compared to gold and silver where you're going to have to pay full market price and hope it increases. Over 10 years ago I started buying and selling and had the choice to use the money I made on living expenses, fun stuff, and a bit of investing, or to just pay the bills and build a massive collection. I went with option one and glad I did because with the dollar getting smoked, and market really dropping off for many of the types of items I had, I never would have got the prices I did when I flipped them quick. It would be pretty insane how much cool stuff I would have if I collected but I just didn't want to be that guy that lives off peanut butter and has nothing else but his collectible stuff. So there is some risk to coins which is why buying deals is the right way to go because even if you take a hit you will still be up a little.
 
Iron Patch said:
You're talking about two completely different things because buying quality coins won't really be affected by the price of silver. So... your best bet, and sounds like what you are doing, is to buy the best deals you can regardless of what the coins are. If you can score some deals that are 30-40% undervalue it's a pretty safe bet, compared to gold and silver where you're going to have to pay full market price and hope it increases. Over 10 years ago I started buying and selling and had the choice to use the money I made on living expenses, fun stuff, and a bit of investing, or to just pay the bills and build a massive collection. I went with option one and glad I did because with the dollar getting smoked, and market really dropping off for many of the types of items I had, I never would have got the prices I did when I flipped them quick. It would be pretty insane how much cool stuff I would have if I collected but I just didn't want to be that guy that lives off peanut butter and has nothing else but his collectible stuff. So there is some risk to coins which is why buying deals is the right way to go because even if you take a hit you will still be up a little.
Click to expand...

Very true IP, there is a risk to coins, but, as you said, quality collectable coins have a value outside of the precious metal price. I look for bargains and do find them, but, for every good deal I get there are 3 or 4 coins and deals that don’t work out. Gemmy and I are both collectors and some of these coins are for our collection as well as for eventual resale.

I was not very clear in my first post but I do still buy some investment type silver and, here again, I look for deals and, often, coins that are not completely gone (Fine to Extra Fine) and might still have a bit of collector value. There is a more risk with this as you might pay a bit more than for investment grade silver, and you gamble that the better condition will get a better price. Here again you need to look for deals and be selective on the type of coin.
 
One of my customers wanted to pay his $50 tab in silver dimes today. He pulled out a ziplock bag full of them. So words getting around. He offers me 18 of them. Would have to check if that's a good deal. Not sure if he knows of key dates. If I were not trying to buya house I would have cashed him out.
 
BADBAJA said:
One of my customers wanted to pay his $50 tab in silver dimes today. He pulled out a ziplock bag full of them. So words getting around. He offers me 18 of them. Would have to check if that's a good deal. Not sure if he knows of key dates. If I were not trying to buya house I would have cashed him out.
Click to expand...

I would have sure tried to make a deal with him. Any Merc's or Barbers?
 
When i started buying silver i was aiming at gettign a nice investment but wanted to cover a nice area of silver coins and most of these are .999 but some are not like the britanias.

https://picasaweb.google.com/105768587945839387386/1OzSilverCoin#


They are mostly premium over melt but not so high that they become real collectables (like togrogs, red backed spider, etc = $500 and over)

The ingots are sold at premiums and the closest to melt are the rounds like the northwest, liberty, reagan).

The value of these are about $2500 for about 57-58oz of silver, melt would be about $2000, so the premium across the board is about $5 to $20 over depending on the coins and the fact some are harder to come by with local shipping.

Actually some i have found to be the most expensive premium wise is silver shot, which i have no idea why because anyone can make them...just melt and drip into water and there you have it, shot.

The best part about a selection collection is if the price dropped to the floor you still have something you didnt plan on selling anytime soon.

For people insisting on leaving them to their kids its and admirable quality but id prefer to have a nice life and teach my kids to earn their way and not get it for free....my kids come out of college with no debt..that was their inheritance....not my collections
 
Mike1961 said:
I would have sure tried to make a deal with him. Any Merc's or Barbers?
Click to expand...

They were all silver. I didn't see any older mercs or anything else. He is coming back for more labor I will probably trade. Will try to get them under melt for sure. Good luck to all silver investers. I might give that silver shot a try.
 
Mike1961 said:
Very true IP, there is a risk to coins, but, as you said, quality collectable coins have a value outside of the precious metal price. I look for bargains and do find them, but, for every good deal I get there are 3 or 4 coins and deals that don’t work out. Gemmy and I are both collectors and some of these coins are for our collection as well as for eventual resale.

I was not very clear in my first post but I do still buy some investment type silver and, here again, I look for deals and, often, coins that are not completely gone (Fine to Extra Fine) and might still have a bit of collector value. There is a more risk with this as you might pay a bit more than for investment grade silver, and you gamble that the better condition will get a better price. Here again you need to look for deals and be selective on the type of coin.
Click to expand...


I believe there's a lot more competition buying online now, but I just started again, and from past experience my first week or two sucks, and then good things start to happen. For some reason I have sort of had a knack for it, for both what to buy and where to look, and my % of good buys to bad used to be incredible. I bet on 100 purchases I'd break even maybe 5 times, and lose just two or three.... and that was just putting them to auction! Now there's a few things that changed, there is more competition, sellers being smarter, and ebay making it cheap to list fixed price so many people will sit on items until they get their price instead of auctioning them... which means less deals to be had. After about 11 years of basically doing things the same way I think I might have to change and it's going to cost me way more in fees, and will have to tie up WAY more money just to try and make close to what I used to. I've always adapted for the little stuff, but this time it looks like my entire model that worked for so long will be flipped on it's head. Funny, like detecting, I wish my buying was like my early days, but things change and if you don't go with the times, you're toast.


PS: An online friend of mine who is a serious dealer/collector on the West coast is much more optimistic about better coins increasing in the future. He tells me to put some better stuff away, but I see it different and would rather have the cash. Hard to say how it will all end up.
 
Iron Patch said:
I believe there's a lot more competition buying online now, but I just started again, and from past experience my first week or two sucks, and then good things start to happen. For some reason I have sort of had a knack for it, for both what to buy and where to look, and my % of good buys to bad used to be incredible. I bet on 100 purchases I'd break even maybe 5 times, and lose just two or three.... and that was just putting them to auction! Now there's a few things that changed, there is more competition, sellers being smarter, and ebay making it cheap to list fixed price so many people will sit on items until they get their price instead of auctioning them... which means less deals to be had. After about 11 years of basically doing things the same way I think I might have to change and it's going to cost me way more in fees, and will have to tie up WAY more money just to try and make close to what I used to. I've always adapted for the little stuff, but this time it looks like my entire model that worked for so long will be flipped on it's head. Funny, like detecting, I wish my buying was like my early days, but things change and if you don't go with the times, you're toast.


PS: An online friend of mine who is a serious dealer/collector on the West coast is much more optimistic about better coins increasing in the future. He tells me to put some better stuff away, but I see it different and would rather have the cash. Hard to say how it will all end up.
Click to expand...

I'm optimistic myself IP but it is a bit of a !!!! shoot.

You're right about the competition, which is why I said buy from more than one source. We buy through our local coin club monthly auction (Get some great deals here), E-Bay and other online sales, here on the forum, pawn shops, and private sales. The last couple of weeks we have gotten some nice deals on E-Bay on some nice collectable coins.
 
Mike1961 said:
I'm optimistic myself IP but it is a bit of a !!!! shoot.

You're right about the competition, which is why I said buy from more than one source. We buy through our local coin club monthly auction (Get some great deals here), E-Bay and other online sales, here on the forum, pawn shops, and private sales. The last couple of weeks we have gotten some nice deals on E-Bay on some nice collectable coins.
Click to expand...


It's probably not bad snagging a few a week, but I'm looking at anywhere from 50-100 a week and the prices seem strong... which I do like to see, and is good, but it goes back to the competition and how it has changed. I believe the way things are right now is most of the buyers are collectors who are willing to pay around market price, and the rest are buying to resell so will fight over it and drive the price up. Obviously there's nothing close to what there used to be for auctions running through ebay because of how many fixed prices there is now. Then when you add in all the other places popping up a lot of the coins bought might not even be going back on ebay. Several years back I'd probably buy something very good every day that I'd say to myself.... I can't believe no one bid! What a steal. But it's pretty uncommon for me to think that because it doesn't happen often. In a few weeks I'll get a better sense of really how it is and determine just how much I have to change to make it worth my while. I used to buy it all and sell it fast and do very well, but unfortunately now it seems like tying a ton up and sitting back is going to be a big part of it.
 
I would agree that many, if not most, of the buyers on E-Bay right now are collectors. They will pay market price and, some, much more. That is good for the sellers but hard on anyone buying for investment or quick re-sale. Still, there are deals but, as I said, for everyone I get I loose 4 or 5, maybe more.
 
Iron Patch said:
It's probably not bad snagging a few a week, but I'm looking at anywhere from 50-100 a week and the prices seem strong... which I do like to see, and is good, but it goes back to the competition and how it has changed. I believe the way things are right now is most of the buyers are collectors who are willing to pay around market price, and the rest are buying to resell so will fight over it and drive the price up. Obviously there's nothing close to what there used to be for auctions running through ebay because of how many fixed prices there is now. Then when you add in all the other places popping up a lot of the coins bought might not even be going back on ebay. Several years back I'd probably buy something very good every day that I'd say to myself.... I can't believe no one bid! What a steal. But it's pretty uncommon for me to think that because it doesn't happen often. In a few weeks I'll get a better sense of really how it is and determine just how much I have to change to make it worth my while. I used to buy it all and sell it fast and do very well, but unfortunately now it seems like tying a ton up and sitting back is going to be a big part of it.
Click to expand...

I'm seeing more and more people now buying for over melt on junk gold and silver becoming speculators, im competing against 3 and 4thousand feedbackers for the sake of $1 profit on $150 items...the ebay bucks is actually swaying buyers now, its that little on the immediate profit side, yes you have to tie up money for ages, let alone iof anyone gets grumpy about buying something from you and then ebay decicdes to hold onto your money for a while.

You have to be long on gold and silver now..the short three month jumps arnt worth the risk, let alone in and out in a week or so....with silver you can take a 10% hit in a day and have to wait days if you ebay them to get the auction running adecent length to get more bidders.

I have been long even if i buy now its meant to be for long...maybe 5 or 10 years long...unless i see a quick bump and can get out id say its like betting on the horses except instead of only betting what you can afford to lose, only buy what you can afford to wait years to make money on
 
There are some deals on ebay but you have to be quick on your toes and willing to wait there clock watching or pounce early....all for the sake of maybe $5 if your buying singles or a few hundred but your laying out thousands for it...ignorance costs one of you, them or you...you have to be sharp as a razor to make money at it and have a nice account fully loaded for instant paying
 
Dark Chameleon said:
There are some deals on ebay but you have to be quick on your toes and willing to wait there clock watching or pounce early....all for the sake of maybe $5 if your buying singles or a few hundred but your laying out thousands for it...ignorance costs one of you, them or you...you have to be sharp as a razor to make money at it and have a nice account fully loaded for instant paying
Click to expand...

Yep, you wanna buy low and sell high but as an investment choice, you KNOW silver will go up eventually. The thought is what is YOUR timetable. If you want the quick profit then you need to be watching every auction and knowing the current spot prices. If you are buying to save a pile for your children or grandchildren then a couple of dollars here or there over spot or a slight premium will be negated over time.

For an example, a couple months ago, I was able to buy some ASEs(American Standing Eagles) at $30 each. These are U.S. produced 1 ounce rounds that carry a goofy premium. Well silver is back up and it was no problem to get rid of these at $40+. Quick profit.

But I am saving .999 silver rounds for the future. Of course, I will buy them as cheap as possible but since I'm looking at 14 years, minimum, I really don't care that much.
 
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