Quote:
Originally Posted by NYChistorygal
Howdy. I want to start buying/saving silver, i.e., old silver coins and such. I look in my change for old coins, but how do I go about finding a reputable dealer to buy them from? do you have any websites I should refer to?
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You can find a dealer locally just about anywhere.
Whatever you are planning to spend, just spend 1/10th or 1/20th of it at the first go. Blowing your whole wad at the first go is just bad investing technique.
The only web site you need right now is
U.S. Silver Coin Melt Value Calculator - Coinflation
Check what you should pay for, say, a roll of silver quarters, maybe $125. Then go in and buy a roll. If you get it for $135, then the dealer charged you about 8%. Check on-line prices and see if this is close. It doesn't matter if it's $132 or $138. This is to get your feet wet - so to speak.
Now you are a silver investor. Some dealers will let you pick them out of a box. I've gotten a
seated liberty half for the price of the silver before.
People freak-out over paying 5% over spot vs 3%. For the metals, it doesn't much matter. You are looking to make 20-30%, so if you paid an extra 2% it doesn't matter. Once you have experience,
then you can worry about fractionals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wells5
I wouldn't look to the numismatic value when investing in precious metals. Coin dealers want you to believe that old coins have a much greater value than their bullion content and they jack up the prices accordingly. In the currency crisis to come, gold will be more readily tradable than silver.
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That blanket statement is false. With simple calculations, you can tell if the dealer is jacking up the price.
Not that I subscribe to the "currency crisis" thing, but the idea behind buying silver is that you can buy everyday items with it. A small coin 1/3rd the size of a dime has a value of something like $50.
Silver trades with gold, always has, probably always will.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Lee
As to buying, first be sure to go online and learn values, then you might wish to look around in smaller pawn shops for possible deals.
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Unless a person is already an expert then going to pawn shops is an invitation to get ripped-off.
Stick with coin dealers or gold dealers. They don't do anything but the metal. ( There are dealers who ONLY sell the metal and coins are incidental. They don't do rare coins. )
Quote:
Originally Posted by WannabeCPA
I'm also curious as to why you want to buy. Precious metals are generally a terrible long term investment when compared to other investments.
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Who cares? The question was not
should I buy, but I want to buy. There is a difference.
You also don't know if now is a good time to buy or not. Unless you were on here recommending silver and gold in 2001, then your prediction means nothing. Buying at that time was excellent timing. Either the recommendation to buy comes from a perma-bull like one of the posters in this thread or a perma-bear who
never, gets it right when it goes up. Metals can be traded, and as long as the person isn't betting the farm, leave them alone. A few hundred or thousand won't matter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stockwiz
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The force is strong with this one. You can follow his advice, but save the palladium and rhodium for later.
If you have the time, you might be able to gather 40 ( 1 roll ) unique dates and start filling a book. You don't know anything about buying silver, so a slow start like this will do you good.
If you want to do some on-line buying I can recommend some dealers in a DM,
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