40% drives me crazy!

So a few years ago- I took the 40% out of a bag- and put them all in rolls. The plastic holders are not good- the tops wont screw on right- the paper wrappers split.

So last night_ I counted and packed $500 of 40%, put them in 5 bags. At issue- is that as I was doing this- some of them were uncirculated- I tried to set that aside- which is now a mess.

I had thought- for about $5 an ounce I could have eagles.

I note that many dealers wont touch 40%- I wonder if the price goes up if they will.

I never did mail those coins in- and it could be for the best- the vendor has terrible customer service.

Have you tried to lift $500 in 40%?? It is bulky and weighs alot.


When I had some good days- I thought I would cash in some gold for some eagles. Then after that- cash in the 40% for eagles.

However- I do NOT want to churn.

Compact coins- are easier to hide- and time is of the essence if a robber gets in.

Also- if I put my house up for sale- the bulk of my stack is too much to hide when people inspect a house.

In time- I could go from silver to hold- again- one has to not churn.

One shocker- is a 1/4 gold kugerrand- when I bought it- it had been cleaned- so the price was lower- well on resale- they offer only melt- not enough for me to want to sell.

The sell rate for $10 in 40%- is a bit over $91. On ebay- I need 11% to cover fees there and paypal.

People just dont like 40%.

A good outcome of me getting antsy- I have a clearer idea what my inventory is. One can forget over time.

On 90% I noticed quarters Washington are the least favorite. I thought of cashing them in for something else. I like Barber Dimes, Merc Dimes, Franklin, liberty and barber 1/2s. So Roosevelt dimes, and 1964 halfs, and Washington quarters could be cashed in.

I see the buy rate for bars- englehard, is a higher buy- I could cash in bars and it would be less then $5 an ounce to convert to eagles. Keep in mind- junk and eagles are best for tax purposes.

Any thoughts on your stack?

Penn said:

Any thoughts on your stack?

Click to expand...

did i have a stack ?

i seem to have forgotten all about it (-;


Good that you have had the time to rationalise it all Penn
and as you say, volume reduction is not the same as cashing in.

Perhaps theres still a bit of space on your boat for all that 40% ?

Penn said:

So a few years ago- I took the 40% out of a bag- and put them all in rolls. The plastic holders are not good- the tops wont screw on right- the paper wrappers split.

So last night_ I counted and packed $500 of 40%, put them in 5 bags. At issue- is that as I was doing this- some of them were uncirculated- I tried to set that aside- which is now a mess.

I had thought- for about $5 an ounce I could have eagles.

I note that many dealers wont touch 40%- I wonder if the price goes up if they will.

I never did mail those coins in- and it could be for the best- the vendor has terrible customer service.

Have you tried to lift $500 in 40%?? It is bulky and weighs alot.


When I had some good days- I thought I would cash in some gold for some eagles. Then after that- cash in the 40% for eagles.

However- I do NOT want to churn.

Compact coins- are easier to hide- and time is of the essence if a robber gets in.

Also- if I put my house up for sale- the bulk of my stack is too much to hide when people inspect a house.

In time- I could go from silver to hold- again- one has to not churn.

One shocker- is a 1/4 gold kugerrand- when I bought it- it had been cleaned- so the price was lower- well on resale- they offer only melt- not enough for me to want to sell.

The sell rate for $10 in 40%- is a bit over $91. On ebay- I need 11% to cover fees there and paypal.

People just dont like 40%.

A good outcome of me getting antsy- I have a clearer idea what my inventory is. One can forget over time.

On 90% I noticed quarters Washington are the least favorite. I thought of cashing them in for something else. I like Barber Dimes, Merc Dimes, Franklin, liberty and barber 1/2s. So Roosevelt dimes, and 1964 halfs, and Washington quarters could be cashed in.

I see the buy rate for bars- englehard, is a higher buy- I could cash in bars and it would be less then $5 an ounce to convert to eagles. Keep in mind- junk and eagles are best for tax purposes.

Any thoughts on your stack?

Click to expand...

Looks like we're gonna need a bigger boat.....

My advice to anyone reading this ... just buy the .999 (or in Canada .9999!) stuff and you'll never have these headaches.

What's churn?

You could put all your silver around my fusor and us make it so radioactive no one would steal it (and live). Or I could just store it for ya..

Only jesting.

mike said:

What's churn?

Click to expand...

What a dairy farmer does to make money.

mike said:

What's churn?

Click to expand...

from wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churn_rate

The phrase is based on the English verb churn, meaning "to agitate or produce violent motion".

Penn means buying and selling to try and gain a trading advantage.

His advice being buy and hold and even better buy and forget
but not forget where its stored :shrug:

churn can mean eating up the fees- in essense the house wins.

As you know I have scanned ebay on and off for years.

Mostly in spurts where I pop in to size up the market.

Ever since I posted the 40% thread- MANY sellers of 40% show up- now keep in mind we have a nice increase in spot. With ebay tho you have to figure 2.9% paypal fee, and 8-9% ebay fee. So right off the bat that is 11-12%, not counting packing it- and postage with tracking- and the statistical buyer who is GOING TO COMPLAIN. You sell 10 items and 1 is going to complain. So you have to eat some cash there too.

So I conclude that when silver rises there is interest in 40%, sellers use it to dump this lesser form of silver. When spot declines- no one has ever heard of 40%.

PLEASE like this post if you own more then 1 oz of 40%! Thanks!

Penn said:

As you know I have scanned ebay on and off for years.

Mostly in spurts where I pop in to size up the market.

Ever since I posted the 40% thread- MANY sellers of 40% show up- now keep in mind we have a nice increase in spot. With ebay tho you have to figure 2.9% paypal fee, and 8-9% ebay fee. So right off the bat that is 11-12%, not counting packing it- and postage with tracking- and the statistical buyer who is GOING TO COMPLAIN. You sell 10 items and 1 is going to complain. So you have to eat some cash there too.

So I conclude that when silver rises there is interest in 40%, sellers use it to dump this lesser form of silver. When spot declines- no one has ever heard of 40%.

PLEASE like this post if you own more then 1 oz of 40%! Thanks!

Click to expand...

Penn, I "liked" you but more than that, you have inspired me to dump my 40% that didn't sink in the tragic boating scandal when prices go up (and secure more easily transportable silver).

Jay- do your own research on this. Maybe I am missing something. On some other boards guys will trade with eachother- some how it works for some.

But notice the dealers that BUY- sure buy. Recently I wanted to trade my gold for silver- should be no problem right? Well they never sent packing slip- nor replied to my emails. A few years ago- I tried to sell some platinum a dealer of a show Bob Chapman was on. No return phone call- none. No interest. I called 2x. With either place I am not a usual customer.

So one does have to ponder what is the exit strategy?

When I looked at 6 dealers the few that did buy 40% ..Im not impressed- but lets suppose silver hits $50 again- and it will- and consider TOO that the pundits say buyers are DESPERATE for physical. If they are desperate now- it seems they would sell 40%, or buy it to sell being they ARE dealers.

Really!?!?!

I not only own 40% halves, I actively buy.

I maybe have.........well..........a qualified shitload of the damn things and I like them. Fuck it gentlemen, silver is silver and I care not what the detractors say or what the price of tea on E-bay is, silver is fucking silver and if I can get it on the cheap I will.

I have yet to spemd more than 95% of spot for 40% and never will.

My LCS will sell to me on a regular basdis for as much as 10% less than spot. During manic times, 40% loses this negative premium to spot and returns from being the red headed sdtepchild of junk to her rightful place at the silver trough.

When the balloon goes up and I dump this on the market, I will have done as well as 15% plus whatever mark-up over spot that comes with silver at that time. It's good shit if you can get it. Keep your 40% Penn, and to hell with the nay sayers.

Silver is silver is silver. Nothing can change that.

ancona said:

Really!?!?!

I not only own 40% halves, I actively buy.

I maybe have.........well..........a qualified shitload of the damn things and I like them. Fuck it gentlemen, silver is silver and I care not what the detractors say or what the price of tea on E-bay is, silver is fucking silver and if I can get it on the cheap I will.

I have yet to spemd more than 95% of spot for 40% and never will.

My LCS will sell to me on a regular basdis for as much as 10% less than spot. During manic times, 40% loses this negative premium to spot and returns from being the red headed sdtepchild of junk to her rightful place at the silver trough.

When the balloon goes up and I dump this on the market, I will have done as well as 15% plus whatever mark-up over spot that comes with silver at that time. It's good shit if you can get it. Keep your 40% Penn, and to hell with the nay sayers.

Silver is silver is silver. Nothing can change that.

Click to expand...

and what, pray tell, qualifies a true shitload, sir? :rotflmbo:

Fortunately, I've never spent more than face value for 40% (and I do have a shitload of it) cherrypicking banks rolls has been very profitable; people pull the 90% but skip the 40 for some reason. I see it as "free money".

Jay said:

and what, pray tell, qualifies a true shitload, sir? :rotflmbo:

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this much ?

http://flickriver.com/photos/tom_martin/4063201989/

Of course 40% at the right price would be fine- BUT_ to sell it- you as a seller must sell at the right price- unless you find a newbie.

Penn said:

Of course 40% at the right price would be fine- BUT_ to sell it- you as a seller must sell at the right price- unless you find a newbie.

Click to expand...

You have defined the limitations of your holdings. Why wait for selective opportunity in order to succeed?

I inherited 90% + 40% halves, not a lot, but enough to contemplate as you sincerely are.

I sold them in order to capture silvers rise. The coin shop buyer, whom I know, had a massive pile of 40%ers. In order for them to make money from them was to keep until a godly pile formed, and drive to the refiners and melt.

Loose the restrictive parameters of your investment and join the masses. Only gains will be captured, not losses.

Want to own less %? Buy 80% pre '67 Canadian coinage. Very nice looking dollars with many changes.

I kept one <90% I found @ the beach.

rblong2us said:

this much ?

http://flickriver.com/photos/tom_martin/4063201989/

Click to expand...

touche'