Request Advice on buying Gold and Silver.

[wilspeak]

Hello, I am interested in buying Gold and Silver. I don't trust the paper currencies, 401K, and IRA plans. I want to start saving some of my small income in Gold and Silver coins, bars and ingots. Can someone Please tell me what is the best and most profitable way to invest in Gold and Silver coins or bars? What are the best companies to buy from? and how do I sell the Gold or Silver if I had to cash them in? Also please include any other advice that someone new to buying Gold and Silver should know. Thank You

 

[11C1P]

If you are getting in to make a quick buck, I have no advice for you. If you are looking at it as a way to store wealth, a longer terms savings plan, or a go to form of currency if the $ collapses or some other SHTF disaaster, then I think there is a lot of advice people here could give you. Who has the best answers? Who knows. I don't buy a lot of gold, most of it is fractional AGE's & CGM's. I have a fair bit of silver. For me mainly I try to keep my stacks in 1/3 that is to say I have roughly 1/3 of it (by weight) in Govt. coins/bars, 1/3 in private rounds/bars & 1/3 in junk silver. For junk silver I only stack 90% silver but don't mess with silver dollars cause the premiums are out of proportion to other junk silver. I also try to keep my junk silver in 1/3 stacks so 1/3 is in 1/2's, 1/3 is in 1/4's & 1/3 in dimes. Also I generally don't buy stuff for numismatic value, but just for it's PM content. As far as selling it, if you have a LCS store in your area, check there & see what they offer for it. The one I go to will buy it at current scrap value. So if I have a 3ozt of silver I wanted to sell & silver was at $14.50ozt I would get $43.50 cash from him. If I went in on the same day to buy 3ozt of silver, I would have to pay a premiums on the silver, that usually varies by what you buy. For instance usually a ASE has a slightly higher premium than a CSM, then those usually have a higher premium than private companies rounds/bars do. So if I went in with silver still at $14.50ozt I might pay $16.75 for an ASE, $16.25 for a CSM & $15.50 for a private round so that would be $48.50. So if your plan is to buy low & sell high, you might have a lot of waiting to do cause it would have to go up past whatever premium you paid to make any profit. For most on here at least, it's a long game and/or a safety net. Also for selling there are online companies that buy back PM's but then you have to deal with shipping etc. to me it seems like a PITA, but if it's better for you that way, there is that option. You could also try to sell it online if you have a local online classified ads.

Here is a site that shows you some online companies that have some of the better online prices.

https://comparesilverprices.com/

If you want to know what the melt value of junk silver is, I like this site.

http://www.coinflation.com/

As far as which companies to go to, that is generally a bit of a personal choice. There are lots out there, some better than others. Most of the ones with better reputations also tend to have a higher premium on their stuff. This site has reviews on many sites you can check out too.

https://www.pmbug.com/forum/f8/

I hope that gives you a start, if not, people much more knowledgeable than me will come along & mention stuff I forgot & make me go "Doh!" but in my defense, it's almost 2am & I have insomnia! :judge:

 

[pmbug]

LCS = Local Coin Shop

Search around your local area for a coin shop. It's not the same thing as a pawn shop. Coin shops deal in gold and silver bullion as well as numismatic coins (both precious metals and otherwise) for collectors.

Selling physical gold and silver is as easy as going in the LCS and presenting what you have to sell. Generally, the LCS will need a copy of your ID for the "know your customer" requirements. If you are selling more than $10K worth of metal, they will need to issue a 1099, so there could be further paperwork required. More info on that here: https://www.jmbullion.com/investing-guide/taxes-reporting-iras/1099b-forms/

 

[octavian]

Same situation

I ended up buying silver from JMBullion. Recommend them or similiar. I felt coin shops were riskier, less controlled. Also I read that some larger banks sell gold eagles, but haven't found any (small town).

 

[11C1P]

I ended up buying silver from JMBullion. Recommend them or similiar. I felt coin shops were riskier, less controlled. Also I read that some larger banks sell gold eagles, but haven't found any (small town).

How is a LCS riskier? At least there is an actual physical place you can go to, also you will see that they have in stock whatever you buy & if it's not in stock you don't pay for it. When you order from an online store, often times you have no idea where the store is & they will often have stuff listed & take your money, even if it's not in stock. In some cases I've waited for a couple of months for them to ship stuff. I've had to go through my credit card company to get money back from an online retailer (supposedly a trusted one too) to get my money refunded. Buying on line is fine, but it's certainly not less risky than buying from a LCS, quite the opposite in fact.