Need explanation - Gold

[unix]

It depends. You can never get anything for spot price, with the exception of maybe pre-64 US currency. But you will get lower price if you sell it.

 For generic rounds,  I would say $1 over spot is average. For more desirable coinage like Silver Eagle or Maple, you have about $2 premium over spot per coin. I like some kind of gov issue silver coinage vs. generic rounds. You pay more but you get a higher resale value and they are easier to recognize. I think Joe Six Pack will feel safer given the coin has "1 dollar" stamped on it.

The best prices I have seen are on tulving.com. But he does require a substantial minimum purchase like 20 oz in gold and something similar in silver. Other than that, try Ebay.  I have a local dealer who has a reasonable premium.

I think my favorite coins is  Canadian Olympic silver from 1976.  They are in plastic capsules and usually mint. They are 925 fine vs. 999 so that means they are more suitable for circulation (999 stuff is too soft) The best thing is, you can usually get them for spot price.   Historically, silver in currency has always been about 900 fine to 916 fine, it has copper added for durability. These Silver Eagles would get beat up pretty badly if you carried them on a daily basis.

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5135417

Lastly, I think in this bull market silver will outperform gold but both are pretty good choices.

[codger]

When I was a lad. I saw a lot of US silver dollars. What are they worth (not as collectibles, but as silver) nowadays? Are they difficult to buy?

[The Gorn]

Silver is the best possible choice for a private citizen interested in establishing a small stash of coinage for a crisis period.

I like what I am reading. Gold just seems too "out there" and too illiquid due to its high value per ounce. It would be practical to use silver for everyday needs.

Yes?

[Peter Gibbons]

[codger]

Thanks for the information.

I don't want to acquire my silver via auction. Can you recommend a good Internet dealer? There are lots of them out there and choosing one is somewhat daunting.

[ArnoldW2]

Here is one person's list of dealers he likes and dislikes.
At least you have something to start further investigation from.

http://find-your-local-coin-shop.com/

[codger]

Thanks for the information. This will be a good start.

[unix]

Silver is the best possible choice for a private citizen interested in establishing a small stash of coinage for a crisis period.  
 
  I like what I am reading. Gold just seems too "out there" and too illiquid due to its high value per ounce. It would be practical to use silver for   everyday needs.  
 
  Yes?

Right, unless you want to move, then Aurum really helps as you can move large amounts in a very small package.  These 1/4 oz gold  Eagles are neat, the size of the nickel coin yet with the purchasing power of $250 FRN.

Ideally have a balance of the two, erring on the side of Argentum IMO...


Stay away from pre-64 coinage, because Joe Sixpack might have a hard time differentiating between post-64 and pre64 coinage. In fact, even gold-bugs have a vague idea how much silver these old us coins contain.    Get something that says how much silver is in it.  The Canadian Maple is one of the most recognizable coins in the world, in both silver and gold.

[unix]

A blast from the past  --  exactly 10 years ago in Sept '99, PMs hit the absolute bottom, gold at $251, silver at $4.

Pay attention to the gold-to-silver ratio, if it becomes more like 1:30 (historically 1:16) I plan to swap all silver into gold.  Right now the GSR still favors silver IMO. I should have swapped all gold into silver a year ago, when GSR was more like 1:70, a historical anomaly. It's 1:59 now.  By trading back and forth, playing the  GSR, you can pick up some free coin.

Both fight inflation well but keep in mind that silver is more of an industrial metal than gold.  Silver gets depleted.

[pm4hire]

My mother would carry a yellow card that she would take
to the store to do her grocery shopping.  Her card would
be stamped at the store after every shopping trip and
when the card was fully stamped, she'd turn in the
card to the grocery store and receive a silver dollar
in return.

This was in the Southern california area.

[Aussie]

Mention of Sthern California reminded me of something I've always wondered about.

Why was the border drawn where it was after the Mexican War in the 1840's?  At least on the surface, it would seem much more convenient for a annexation to take in the Baja Californian peninsula......that bit projecting south seems so cartigraphically untidy.  Does something....climate or resource or otherwise....change radically at the current border or something?  Something that would have influenced an 1840's decision?

[David Randolph]

Nope, it was simply that the negotiators of the treaty dropped the demand for Baja California. Considering that the fighting hadn't ended there and the control was still in doubt while the treaty was being negotiated, it was valid to drop the demand.