Looking to buy silver. Whats the best source?

[mts]

Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I'm looking to buy $5,000-$10,000 worth of silver over the next month or so. I've been to the local dealers and the best I've found for halfs is $6. I'd like to pay significantly less than that. I read in another thread that dealers are potentially offering $4 (one person said that he gets 10.8 times face which is $5.40). I'd love to find the people that these dealers are doing business with. But I think that is probably going to be hard to do.

Anyway, here is the question. Where is the best place for someone like me to find a relatively large amount of junk silver coins, bars, and rounds? These sources come to mind. Let me know if you know of any others.

1) Coin dealers - I'm paying above spot at these places. Plus, I'm paying sales tax which is a double whammy.

2) Private individuals - I've looked at Craigslist but the prices seem to be as bad as the dealers. Some of these guys want way over what the dealers want because they've spent a lot of time collecting this stuff and are putting a higher value on it than melt value. I'm contemplating putting and ad on CL saying that I buy silver in hopes that people will contact me rather than going to a dealer.

3) eBay - I don't really like dealing with eBay to be honest. And the prices don't look that great. Plus I want to buy a bunch of it so individual shipping charges is likely to cost me a fortune.

4) Coin roll hunters - I'd love to work a deal with anyone out here who is looking to unload some silver. But I'm not interested in sending a check in the mail to some stranger on the Internet. You'd have to be in Ohio and willing to have me come pick up the silver with a cash payment. I also assume that CRH's know the value of silver and are less likely to give me a decent deal. It's the nature of the hobby.

5) Online - APMEX seems to be about the best price. I've seen others with decent prices but they don't want to deal in the smaller quantities that I'm looking for. APMEX is priced over spot though so although they beat the local dealers they don't beat them by much.

Thoughts? I appreciate the help.

 

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[DigginThePast]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

mts - You did quite well, below spot in fact (as of right now from coinflation):

Statistics:

» There are 0.3617 troy ounces of silver in 1 silver Franklin half dollar(s).

» Each Franklin half dollar contains 0.3617 troy ounces of silver and is valued at $5.92 when silver is at $16.37 / oz.

» A roll of Franklin half dollars has 20 coins and is valued at $118.42 when silver is at $16.37 / oz.

Tulving's minimums can be a little steep for most but if you can work up to that level when buying they have the best and fastest service that I have experienced.

 

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[mts]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

mts - You did quite well, below spot in fact (as of right now from coinflation):

Statistics:

» There are 0.3617 troy ounces of silver in 1 silver Franklin half dollar(s).

» Each Franklin half dollar contains 0.3617 troy ounces of silver and is valued at $5.92 when silver is at $16.37 / oz.

» A roll of Franklin half dollars has 20 coins and is valued at $118.42 when silver is at $16.37 / oz.

Tulving's minimums can be a little steep for most but if you can work up to that level when buying they have the best and fastest service that I have experienced.

Thanks Diggin'. Yes, Tulving does have great prices. 79 cents above spot for rounds is excellent. It's the best price that I've found. So as you said it's just a matter of working up to their levels. I'm just not quite there yet. I've convinced the wife that it is a good idea to buy up some silver and gold but I'm not sure that she is ready to sign off on buying that much.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

Dealers have told me that 90% halves always sell at a premium. They are just more desirable than dimes or quarters. Watching ebay yesterday, (ok; this is ebay), rolls are still selling @ 14 X face. That price seems to be constant whether spots dips or not.

 

[mts]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

Dealers have told me that 90% halves always sell at a premium. They are just more desirable than dimes or quarters. Watching ebay yesterday, (ok; this is ebay), rolls are still selling @ 14 X face. That price seems to be constant whether spots dips or not.

I totally agree that halves are more desirable. I only intend to buy a few dimes and quarters (1 roll each?) but the bulk of my junk silver will be in halves. And junk silver will be less than 1/3 of my total silver purchase. There is a dealer in my area that sells at 14X face and he is well known for being overpriced on most of his coins. Before I knew any better I bought three junk halves from him for $21. Now I feel cheated. Good thing I didn't buy a whole bunch of them at that price. It's too bad. He is right down the street from me. It would have been nice to have someone close by to deal with.

 

[cyberdan]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

Is US currency, thus chance of counterfeits is slim and it is widely recognized.

In one of my silver buys I got 4 counterfeit mercs. I now collect counterfeit coins and have about 7.

guess which ones are fake?

 

[DigginThePast]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

Is US currency, thus chance of counterfeits is slim and it is widely recognized.

In one of my silver buys I got 4 counterfeit mercs. I now collect counterfeit coins and have about 7.


guess which ones are fake?

Those are cool. Are the fakes silver?

 

[cyberdan]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

Those are cool. Are the fakes silver?

No, just some kind of base metal. I guess they were made when it was profitable to fake dimes.

 

[mts]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I have a lot of 90% that I will be offering for sale. I made an even trade for it when silver was around $17.50 I will be selling it right for spot, but silver will have to come up to at least $17 before I will start offering it for sale. We know silver will be going higher, just don't know when

I sure HOPE it's going higher. If not, I'm going to be sleeping in the doghouse.

 

[greg23]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I buy Canadian 80% for 9x face value,and U.S. 90% for 10.8x face value.As for gold coins and bullion I pay 96% of spot price for gold.My prices change all the time though.You have to go with the market.You will be kicking yourself in the #@% if you buy $5,000 worth and the price drops $3.00-$4.00 overnight.

 

[AGCoinHunter]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I buy Canadian 80% for 9x face value,and U.S. 90% for 10.8x face value.As for gold coins and bullion I pay 96% of spot price for gold.My prices change all the time though.You have to go with the market.You will be kicking yourself in the #@% if you buy $5,000 worth and the price drops $3.00-$4.00 overnight.

As with any investment, dollar cost average your investment.

 

[mts]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I buy Canadian 80% for 9x face value,and U.S. 90% for 10.8x face value.As for gold coins and bullion I pay 96% of spot price for gold.My prices change all the time though.You have to go with the market.You will be kicking yourself in the #@% if you buy $5,000 worth and the price drops $3.00-$4.00 overnight.

I know. Just a few weeks ago it was down around $14.50 and now it's up in the $16's. I should have bought it all back then. Now I'm stuck wondering if it will go down again or if it is going to continue going up from here on out. Such is life when you are investing.

 

[jim4silver]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I buy Canadian 80% for 9x face value,and U.S. 90% for 10.8x face value.As for gold coins and bullion I pay 96% of spot price for gold.My prices change all the time though.You have to go with the market.You will be kicking yourself in the #@% if you buy $5,000 worth and the price drops $3.00-$4.00 overnight.

I know. Just a few weeks ago it was down around $14.50 and now it's up in the $16's. I should have bought it all back then. Now I'm stuck wondering if it will go down again or if it is going to continue going up from here on out. Such is life when you are investing.

Watch out buying Canadian junk silver here in the US. All my local coin dealers pay WAY under spot for 80% if you go to sell, even for the nice AU dollar coins they don't pay what they should. I don't think the demand here in the US is very good for Canadian. It is the same with the old Mexican coins that are less than .999 pure.

As far as the up and down of the market, it will drive you crazy. If you are buying physical metals it should be as an "insurance policy" and/or long term investment. If a person wants to trade on the peaks and valleys, the ETFs are better since there are no premiums and your entry and exit points are whatever the price is when you buy and sell (minus commissions and fees of course).

Jim

 

[DFX DAVE in M.D.]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

This is a little off topic, but I saw it mentioned on this post a few times about buying silver and gold for survival reasons. I know a few people that are hoarding silver coins and gold because they think the world will end in 2012 or a New World Order will take over and zero out the value of U.S. currency. It may be boosting the value of silver and gold ? It may be helping the coin collecting market, because they never had any interest in coins before. If all the Conspiracy Theory Kids movment keeps getting bigger, silver may be in for a bigger ride. They nagged me until I watched this Zeitgeist movie, and it advises to hoard silver and gold. I may start a post in General Discussion about how do you spend your hoarded silver and gold.

 

[AGCoinHunter]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

This is a little off topic, but I saw it mentioned on this post a few times about buying silver and gold for survival reasons. I know a few people that are hoarding silver coins and gold because they think the world will end in 2012 or a New World Order will take over and zero out the value of U.S. currency. It may be boosting the value of silver and gold ? It may be helping the coin collecting market, because they never had any interest in coins before. If all the Conspiracy Theory Kids movment keeps getting bigger, silver may be in for a bigger ride. They nagged me until I watched this Zeitgeist movie, and it advises to hoard silver and gold. I may start a post in General Discussion about how do you spend your hoarded silver and gold.

Dave, this is one reason I got into this "hobby". I am not sure of the end of the world as we know it, but I feel AG is a good hedge against inflation which is coming. For the SHTF senerios, food, guns and ammo and everyday goods will be worth much more than silver and gold. Even TP will be more valuable.

 

[Silverbull]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I've had luck buying and selling small amounts on CraigsList. Just make sure you meet in public place,
I like libraries,McDonalds,etc.... Watch the collectable section and searchword "silver"
Good Luck

 

[Rich Hartford]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

This is a little off topic, but I saw it mentioned on this post a few times about buying silver and gold for survival reasons. I know a few people that are hoarding silver coins and gold because they think the world will end in 2012 or a New World Order will take over and zero out the value of U.S. currency. It may be boosting the value of silver and gold ? It may be helping the coin collecting market, because they never had any interest in coins before. If all the Conspiracy Theory Kids movment keeps getting bigger, silver may be in for a bigger ride. They nagged me until I watched this Zeitgeist movie, and it advises to hoard silver and gold. I may start a post in General Discussion about how do you spend your hoarded silver and gold.

Zeitgeist although entertaining, was filled with disinformation sprinkled with a grain of truth. One has to be very cautious about these type of films.
HH
Rich

 

[Rich Hartford]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I buy Canadian 80% for 9x face value,and U.S. 90% for 10.8x face value.As for gold coins and bullion I pay 96% of spot price for gold.My prices change all the time though.You have to go with the market.You will be kicking yourself in the #@% if you buy $5,000 worth and the price drops $3.00-$4.00 overnight.

I know. Just a few weeks ago it was down around $14.50 and now it's up in the $16's. I should have bought it all back then. Now I'm stuck wondering if it will go down again or if it is going to continue going up from here on out. Such is life when you are investing.

Watch out buying Canadian junk silver here in the US. All my local coin dealers pay WAY under spot for 80% if you go to sell, even for the nice AU dollar coins they don't pay what they should. I don't think the demand here in the US is very good for Canadian. It is the same with the old Mexican coins that are less than .999 pure.

As far as the up and down of the market, it will drive you crazy. If you are buying physical metals it should be as an "insurance policy" and/or long term investment. If a person wants to trade on the peaks and valleys, the ETFs are better since there are no premiums and your entry and exit points are whatever the price is when you buy and sell (minus commissions and fees of course).

Jim

Jim I have to stongly agree with you on this one. The Canadian coins (besides silver maple leafs) are big losers.
Rich

 

[greg23]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I usually trade with Coin dealers in the U.S.The U.S. silver that I do get over here,I swap for Canadian..We do not get as much for U.S silver in Canada.Its the same in the states.Coin dealers in the U.S. hate Canadian silver.So a swapping of silver makes sense.

 

[Bayman]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

You may want to consider a mail bid sale, since you know what you are willing to pay. I have found Fox Valley Coins in WI to be a good dealer. I have bought some rolls of halves, wheats, ect. and always recieved good service. They run the mail bid every so often, and you bid on whatever you like. They have categories for U.S. silver, rolls, bulk lots of Kennedys, Franklins and Walkers. On some of the higher price stuff, they will show the minimum bid that will be accepted. Name your price, and if you get it, great. If not, maybe next time. www.foxvcoin.com

Bud

 

[cdickrun64]

Re: Looking to buy silver. What's the best source?

I bought shares of the ETF ticker SLV. It tracks the spot price of ag, and I paid a trading commission of just $7 on scottrade.com for $2,000 purchase, or 0.32%. you don't have the ag in your closet...but I didn't have to worry about getting robbed. Sold at a 14% gain after about 6 weeks.