Traded Some Junk Silver for some Gold

[FreedomUIC]

Was running out of space alloted for Junk silver so decided to trade with my local dealer.

Silver for Gold....

Needless to say, have a lot of room in my storage area now....

 

[Rich Hartford]

I have done alot of business through my local dealer this past year. The deal on the $20 dollar gold piece was melt price and he paid me melt price for my silver at the time of the trade. He told me that people are coming out of the woodwork with old Gold coins, Gold Bullion, Silver Bullion and junk Silver to sell and the dealers are getting innudated with product. He very seldom had Gold in his inventory, mostly one or two pieces at a time, he has a full showcase of it now. Mostly fractional silver, American Eagles, in particular. I saw this coin amongst the other ones, it matches my 1886-s $5.00 I bought five months ago so we worked a deal that we both were happy with. I am not into PM's for the short term, I am into collecting old coins, learning the tricks of grading coins and all of the nuances of running a coin shop, so for me this was a no brainer.

Think how many dinners this coin purchased in its day, or the number of drinks at a saloon this coin might have been used for or possibly even a "Lady of the evening". It is history to me and it fascinates me to no end.

For a deal like that I would definitely buy all the old ones. Old US gold coins are the best looking.
HH
Rich

 

[AGCoinHunter]

I have done alot of business through my local dealer this past year. The deal on the $20 dollar gold piece was melt price and he paid me melt price for my silver at the time of the trade. He told me that people are coming out of the woodwork with old Gold coins, Gold Bullion, Silver Bullion and junk Silver to sell and the dealers are getting innudated with product. He very seldom had Gold in his inventory, mostly one or two pieces at a time, he has a full showcase of it now. Mostly fractional silver, American Eagles, in particular. I saw this coin amongst the other ones, it matches my 1886-s $5.00 I bought five months ago so we worked a deal that we both were happy with. I am not into PM's for the short term, I am into collecting old coins, learning the tricks of grading coins and all of the nuances of running a coin shop, so for me this was a no brainer.

Think how many dinners this coin purchased in its day, or the number of drinks at a saloon this coin might have been used for or possibly even a "Lady of the evening". It is history to me and it fascinates me to no end.

Dang you got a good deal. Love the Indian, still on the lookout for one. Might trade in some of my 40's for one.

 

[AGCoinHunter]

Jim,

As it so happens, I am in the market for an MS-63 Double Eagle. What is a good goal price range to obtain when shopping for an MS-63 common date St. Gaudens?

Thanks,
-Ben

Ben,

It will depend on the year of the coin, the local market, grading company, etc. If you have local coin stores shop around and bs with the person behind the counter. Many local coin dealers buy these coins from customers and wholesale them if they don't sell at the store. When they wholesale them they normally will get less than what they want to charge you. Don't be afraid to negotiate with them. It is easier for them to sell to a local buyer than to send the coin off and wait for a check. Read up on these coins and learn to tell if a coin has been cleaned (if you are searching for raw, ungraded coins especially-this is easier said than done). Read up on the different coin grading companies so you can make a purchase you will be happy with later on. I personally feel most comfortable buying coins graded by PCGS, but others might prefer other coin grading companies so do your due diligence.

One site I like to get an idea of what dealers bid for coins is the link below. The price they list for the old US gold coins will probably be less than what you will pay a dealer because they will add some premium, but it is a good site to watch to see when prices are rising and falling, etc. Most coin dealers who advertise will list the common year coins when the show prices, like the 1908 No Motto, 1924, 1925, 1927 and 1928, etc. There are other common years, but the above seem like the ones I see the most.

This is all just my opinion.

http://www.coininfo.com/

You might need to click the "show all coins" button if it only shows the top couple of brackets of coins.

Jim

Thanks for that link Jim. Very useful.

 

[jerseyben]

Slightly on/off topic: What is a good target buy price for a BU 2010 American Eagle? I have seen them on ebay for around $33/each but I feel like I could do better.

 

[packerbacker]

My opinion is there are various reasons that folks are investing in, collecting and even hoarding gold. If you are a "collector" you are looking for coins with a better than normal grade and are willing to pay a higher premium just because you want them. Not much different than a baseball card or coin collector. Thing is, I feel if the SHTF, these coins won't be worth any more than plain ol' gold based entirely on weight alone. Not an attempt at scaring anyone as I don't think the 'S' will ever hit the fan THAT badly but, "it could".
Now, if you're investing, I think silver is the better investment. I know I'll get 20 different opinions on this but, if you look at charts for gold and silver for over the last 5-year period, silver has outperformed gold based on percentages gained. That's a cold, hard fact.
My opinion on hoarding is about the same as above. IF the 'S' does hit the fan, it is going to be difficult to use a large denomination gold coin to purchase smaller black market items. such as bread etc. It will be too valuable to get "change" for and risky to use in the first place. That's where the Silver Eagles come in. They will be a lot more valuable than they are now and recognized by many as "real" silver. I have some silver bars but they are in 5 and 10 ounce denominations. Larger bars would be as risky to use as larger gold coins. If I were getting gold to "hoard" it would be in 1/10th oz. denominations and I would not pay collector prices for them.
I understand your reason for getting the coins you did Freedom and it worked out great for what you wanted. If it were me, I'd have bought Silver Eagles or bars but that's just me. I didn't respond to this post to disagree, just stimulate a little pondering is all.

 

[FreedomUIC]

My opinion is there are various reasons that folks are investing in, collecting and even hoarding gold. If you are a "collector" you are looking for coins with a better than normal grade and are willing to pay a higher premium just because you want them. Not much different than a baseball card or coin collector. Thing is, I feel if the SHTF, these coins won't be worth any more than plain ol' gold based entirely on weight alone. Not an attempt at scaring anyone as I don't think the 'S' will ever hit the fan THAT badly but, "it could".
Now, if you're investing, I think silver is the better investment. I know I'll get 20 different opinions on this but, if you look at charts for gold and silver for over the last 5-year period, silver has outperformed gold based on percentages gained. That's a cold, hard fact.
My opinion on hoarding is about the same as above. IF the 'S' does hit the fan, it is going to be difficult to use a large denomination gold coin to purchase smaller black market items. such as bread etc. It will be too valuable to get "change" for and risky to use in the first place. That's where the Silver Eagles come in. They will be a lot more valuable than they are now and recognized by many as "real" silver. I have some silver bars but they are in 5 and 10 ounce denominations. Larger bars would be as risky to use as larger gold coins. If I were getting gold to "hoard" it would be in 1/10th oz. denominations and I would not pay collector prices for them.
I understand your reason for getting the coins you did Freedom and it worked out great for what you wanted. If it were me, I'd have bought Silver Eagles or bars but that's just me. I didn't respond to this post to disagree, just stimulate a little pondering is all.

No issues here, I love the old US Gold coins and melt for melt, well you can't get any better than that. I still have a sizeable amount of AG but I didn't want to put all my so called "Eggs" in one basket. This filled my gap very nicely, I love looking at the two I purchased and the rest of the collection at home and just ponder where they might have been. Jesse James might have touched one of them, Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp or any other famous person of the time. I wish each coin came with a history of where it had been.. . I think I missed my calling, I should have been a teacher of US History instead of a Systems Analyst/Programmer extradonaire.

 

[packerbacker]

I'm in total agreement with you. They are definitely purdy gold coins! I'd like to find a little stash of them with my detector someday.