Buying silver coin?

[Cpt Caveman]

I'm looking at putting a little of my cash into silver coins to have as a form of emergency currency. I've been looking at online distributors but I was wondering if I'd be better off trying to find a local shop and buy from them. Anybody got sage advice for me?

 

[redneckmedic]

Try Ebay, pre 1965 silver coins
Don't buy collections as they cost more than silver value.
Look for sellers that are names not stores.

silver coins pre 1965, Coins Paper Money items on eBay.com

 

[RelicHound]

you best bet is to research and buy direct...cut out the middle man.
the best thing to do in my opinion is to invest in silver rounds instead of coins. but you can buy none key date silver dollars such as the morgan dollars and peace dollars which are 1oz of silver{same as the silver rounds} for pretty cheap if you buy "cull" or damaged coins{only worth melt value}
if you have the money to invest Id go gold or key date coins a few examples of some of the best key date coins would be the 1909S Indian head penny,1877 Indian head penny,1909-S V.D.B wheat penny,1916D mercury dime
1916P standing liberty quarter...plus quit a few others.

if you just want silver coins for there silver value you cant go wrong with buying any silver coin{1964 on down..1965+ coins are clad and very few have silver in them other than special releases} but if you want silver coins that will actually be worth alot some day your gonna have to invest ALOT of money now and if you have that money now Id buy gold as it will always be worth more.

 

[Archbishop]

When I buy, I buy on ebay. I also visit this site Silver Coin Melt Value Calculator - Coinflation.com to see the current value of silver.
Don't forget to factor in the shipping cost to make sure you're getting a good deal. Good luck.

 

[ChalupaCabras]

Well if you want to buy i guess nows the time.

I purchased silver last year when all the metals started going up. silver peeked at about $17.50 per ounce, and then mysterious plummeted while all other metals kept rising. last time I looked it was about $13.50 per oz. I lost my @$$ on my silver investment.

Good news is that I cant see it going much lower. This HAS to be an artificially induced abundance thats keeping it low: silver nearly always shadows gold up or down and gold has been skyrocketing for a few years now; yet silver keeps dropping.

 

[jamstutz]

If you want to make a little road trip you may want to check out Silvertowne in Winchester, IN. The downside is you would have to pay 7% sales tax, but the upside is that you are not going to have to pay shipping or insurance.

Silvertowne has bags of circulated junk silver as well as non-coin silver rounds. I would go with the circulated junk silver coins myself since they are easily identifiable as what they are--not always the case with silver rounds.

 

[Kingrat]

junk silver is great, if the shtf you wouldnt want to flash off large bars or rounds, and dimes are nice and small for bartering small items with, they also have lower premiums

personally i diversified and i have a little of everything (junk, rounds, ASEs, 10+oz bars)

apmex.com is good to work with, or we do have our very own silvertowne in winchester as mentioned..for small amounts find a good reputable coin shop locally that isnt a ripoff, i will usually only order online if the shipping/handling is < sales tax, which usually crosses over at 400-500 bucks?

edit: it broke through 16 bucks recently and is pulling back right now, i wouldnt be too suprised if it breaks 16 again next week sometime, it might even stay there (but could flop around the 15-16 range for a bit, while building support for the next run up)

 

[barber613]

Try Northwest territorial mint, they were the lowest over spot price I could find. Free shipping also. Silver is up over 15.00 now.

 

[Cpt Caveman]

Would a local shop be a good place to start and ask questions?
I think there is a coin shop in Nashville.
I'm just looking for coins that are worth their weight in silver. Not interested in coins that are sought after by a choice few people because they have a flaw in them or something. I'm not a collector, simply SHTF currency is what I'm thinking.
Thanks for the helps folks.

 

[RelicHound]

the coin shops around here are a bit shady and I dont do business with them but Im sure there has to be some honest ones out there. Id go on ebay and have a look around,you can usually find some good deals there on silver coins. I bought 40 silver canadian coins on ebay a few weeks ago and paid about $20+ around $8 for shipping so at $2+ a bit of change per coin it wasnt a bad deal really. go to your local book store and pick up a copy of "the official red book,a guide to US coins" and it will give you an idea of whats a good deal and what isnt when buying off ebay or at a coin shop. if you look around you can find common date morgan and peace dollars {1oz silver} for around $8-$12 a peice.

 

[jamstutz]

Silver Coin Melt Values

Check the link above to get the current value for any junk circulated coins, that way you will know the actual value of what you're buying. Go to your coin shop and ask for junk silver circulated coins--they should have them individually, by the roll, and by the bank bag.

Expect to pay some sort of premium (extra charge over actual value). Otherwise it wouldn't make any sense for the dealer to sell the coins. If the price of silver is on the rise, you'll likely pay a higher premium than if the price of silver is falling.

Remember, the value of precious metals like silver and gold do not really fluctuate a great deal--what's fluctuating is the value of the dollars that you are paying for the coins. Precious metals therefore suck as an investment since there is very little if any growth--but they shine as insurance against hyper inflation when the value of your paper money disappears as more and more US dollars are printed and circulated.

 

[dice dealer]

Whitmans Red book of coin values ..Buy it , read it , learn it , live it ....

I have been collecting coins since i was a 5 year old ..

coins like guns if you collect , you will get burned unless you study values , if your just collecting for the SCRAP value you still wanna read this book learn that silver $1.00 coins are not an actual once like most think they are actually about 3/4 once also if you go to sell , the places that buy will not give Spot value but 10 - 15 % under spot ...

All i can say is STUDY STUDY STUDY before you start and good luck ...

 

[sporter]

Ebay for Gold and Silver bullion is probably your best bet if you keep your eye out of deals.

 

[Crimson]

Some of the best deals I have gotten came from ebay. Watch for the auctions ending soon, and buy at the last minute. I have won silver for as little as $7 an ounce doing this. But you still need to know what you are buying. Get a book.

 

[Cpt Caveman]

Stopped into the local coin shop in Nashville, they seem like nice folks and were willing to answer all my questions. I think I'm gonna use them , not the internet and try to build a relationship with 'em. Especially since I'll be buying a little here and a little there as time goes by. The prices are a little higher on proofs than the internet but there's no shipping.

 

[nawainwright]

Great place to buy silver

Set up a free account with www.apmex.com

You can buy secondhand rounds for less than $1 above price point. Not a spectacular deal, but as someone who has spent some time trolling ebay, its much better than you're going to get 99% of the time.

 

[Jed]

If you want real value... not numismatic value of the coins... buy only rounds or bars that are .999-.9999 fine silver. There is a coin shop in Franklin, Indiana with a nice selection of the one ounce rounds for just over the spot price of the day.
Larger bars from 10-100 ounces of silver are harder to come by but in Greenwood there is a gold exchange that offers some very large silver bars...
I won't collect any "coins" {most are not pure silver} but silver rounds or bars with .999 or higher stamps are worth investing in as they hold value well.
I imagine in a SHTF scenario a pure silver round will be worth far more than a coin that's 80-90% pure silver... for one its value is easy to determine by weight... where for a coins value you need the year, purity of silver, and numismatic value... something i doubt most people will bother with after TSHTF.

 

[Cpt Caveman]

Where is the coin shop in Franklin?

 

[Pamcake]

I don't know if this is the one Jed referrs to, but I know of one on the main drag thru downtown Franklin:

Franklin Coin Shop

http://www.google.com/mapdata?CxUobVoCHcHu3vogDwxAjgJIuQFSAlVTkAECygECZW4

155 E Jefferson St
Franklin, IN 46131
(317) 736-4903‎

 

[cclark2009]

I used to have a real nice collection, but had to sell last year to avoid bankruptcy. Guess I was just too small not to fail

Anyway, I got most of my deals from auctions. Fancy auctions mean fancy prices, so don't waste your time. Keep in mind your auction fees and taxes when bidding. Here's a link to auction calendars (if I do this right):
AuctionZip.com - Live Auction Locator - Fast,Easy, and Free!

As far as coin shops, I had a good relationship with Lost Dutchman at 4983 N Franklin Road in Indy. Matt is a stand up guy. Just like every other business, he is in it to make a profit, but after checking out every other coin shop, his was the best that I found. He also has civil war and WWII memorabilia.

You really have to look hard to find deals on eBay and you need to stay current on pricing. Redbook is good, but if you are looking at collecting you will need the CDN "Grey Sheets" and the ANA Grading Standards book.

Hope this helps