Silver coins?

[Gnosis]

Calling all Bulb-Meisters:
I would ask your advice concerning the best "on hand" silver coin to purchase. These would be used in a TEOTWAWKI situation as well as investment against the bankster $ devaluation in the next few years. What should I buy guys/gals??

[aaron]

Re: Silver coins?

Calling all Bulb-Meisters:
I would ask your advice concerning the best "on hand" silver coin to purchase. These would be used in a TEOTWAWKI situation as well as investment against the bankster $ devaluation in the next few years. What should I buy guys/gals??

I like Canadian Maples. They have a face value of $5, so that is their floor in Fiat dollars. They are 9999 pure, as opposed to others' 999 pure silver. (perhaps more industrial value?). They also tend to have a slightly smaller mark-up than US silver eagles.

[ggirod]

Re: Silver coins?

Why not scrap US coins? They seem to be reasonably priced and they are fairly difficult to counterfeit, though they do not have elevated Fiat dollar denominations.

[Gnosis]

Re: Silver coins?

Why not scrap US coins? They seem to be reasonably priced and they are fairly difficult to counterfeit, though they do not have elevated Fiat dollar denominations.

Where would one find "scrap US coins"?

[Gnosis]

Re: Silver coins?

I like Canadian Maples. They have a face value of $5, so that is their floor in Fiat dollars. They are 9999 pure, as opposed to others' 999 pure silver. (perhaps more industrial value?). They also tend to have a slightly smaller mark-up than US silver eagles.

Do you have a favorite company to buy from?

[ggirod]

Re: Silver coins?

http://www.bulliondirect.com has scrap silver coins in bags.

[ASH]

Re: Silver coins?

I like Canadian Maples. They have a face value of $5, so that is their floor in Fiat dollars. They are 9999 pure, as opposed to others' 999 pure silver. (perhaps more industrial value?). They also tend to have a slightly smaller mark-up than US silver eagles.

Do you have a favorite company to buy from?

http://www.bulliondirect.com has scrap silver coins in bags.

For what it's worth, I too like Canadian Maples, and find Bullion Direct to be convenient.

My main thought is that it is simplest to buy coins for metal content only (i.e. not historic or collectors value), and the standardization offered by the Canadian Mint (or similar) is a plus. Once you go for metal content and standardized pedigree, the only reason to prefer one type over another (e.g. silver maples versus silver eagles, etc.) is premium over spot price. I, too, had found the maples carried a smaller premium in the past, but there is no reason to be wed to one or the other.

[jtabeb]

Re: Silver coins?

Calling all Bulb-Meisters:
I would ask your advice concerning the best "on hand" silver coin to purchase. These would be used in a TEOTWAWKI situation as well as investment against the bankster $ devaluation in the next few years. What should I buy guys/gals??

90% Silver Mercury dimes, by Far!

They look different, so you don't have to convince people of what they are.

They are ALL the SAME, which is important.

They are small enough (in amount of silver) that you could use them for purchases where 1 ounce coins would lead to you overpaying by a large margin (got change for a Silver Maple?). You get the idea.

I have 3 bags of 71.5 Oz for just this purpose. (That's about 3000 dimes, btw, and YES, I counted them).


The premium is High on these for the reasons stated above. Worth it for the reasons stated above, IMHO.


That being said, I also have a FEW Silver Maples and American Eagle Silver coins, just in case. (Okay, maybe more that a few;) )

[aaron]

Re: Silver coins?

Junk silver sucks. It is ugly. It requires further refining if you want to "use" the silver. I would not accept a handful of old silver coins in exchange for anything real, and I KNOW they contain a fair amount of silver. Most people see a dime or a nickel and see a dime or nickel. There is an "education" premium built into real bullion coins.

It is called JUNK for a reason. It is undesirable, and only has value when packed in LARGE BURLAP BAGS. Basically, the savings over real bullion is not worth it. All of these coins would have been melted down by now if it were not for a few doomers who still buy bags of the stuff.

And do not worry. There will be "change" available, if not from current fiat system, then from guys like jtab who will spend it into the economy.

[ASH]

Re: Silver coins?

They are small enough (in amount of silver) that you could use them for purchases where 1 ounce coins would lead to you overpaying by a large margin (got change for a Silver Maple?). You get the idea.

That's an interesting question in a SHTF scenario. I actually follow that line of reasoning as a rationale for holding some physical silver coins (as opposed to all gold). On the other hand, I am also persuaded by the idea that there will still be paper currency in a SHTF scenario -- maybe rapidly devaluing currency that is hauled around in wheelbarrows, but still a medium of exchange. In that case, it should be feasible to exchange silver coins of higher purity for a wheelbarrow of cash and use the cash to buy whatever. Getting change for a 1-oz pure silver coin wouldn't really be a problem. You just wouldn't want to exchange a coin for more currency than you could spend more-or-less immediately, assuming rapid devaluation... that's the argument for silver coins over gold, but I suppose a spool of gold wire that you could snip into small pieces would also work. So, I see no big problem with getting change for 1-oz silver coins in a hyperinflationary SHTF scenario. The plus side of standardized 1-oz bullion coins is that I think their intrinsic value and liquidity may be higher in non-SHTF scenarios. I prefer to hold things that are valued pretty close to spot, because I think swings in people's future expectations could have a big effect on the value of items that currently trade at a larger premium over spot. It's not that those same expectations don't also affect the spot price, but rather I'm expecting smaller swings with sentiment.

[coolhand]

Re: Silver coins?

I recently read that in a SHTF scenario in Bosnia in the mid-90's, gold & silver coins were marvelous stores of wealth, but of little use in day-to-day transactions. The article stated however that ammunition could get you a hot meal anywhere. A former Ranger friend of mine has also stated that in places where it has already HTF, ammo has long served as a useful barterable item/currency...just a thought...

[wayiwalk]

Re: Silver coins?

For the purposes of TEOTWAWKI - a few $100 bags of US silver coins makes sense. I have enough to buy 3 months of food for my family based on equivalent $fiat currency valuation to buy them as I would need to buy those supplies with fiat money now.

I use ampex.com not sure if they're better or worse, but at least I got what I paid for.

So, figure out what you need, how long you'd need it, and purchase accordingly.

For the other 2 purposes that I can think of for buying PMs (wealth protection or investment), you need to go with high quality PMs that trade close to spot value.

[shiny!]

Re: Silver coins?

Calling all Bulb-Meisters:
I would ask your advice concerning the best "on hand" silver coin to purchase. These would be used in a TEOTWAWKI situation as well as investment against the bankster $ devaluation in the next few years. What should I buy guys/gals??

You can get generic rounds of silver bullion. Rounds don't carry as high a premium as do coins. More bang for the buck. If it comes to trade or barter, I think people will learn real fast about generic silver. I agree with Ash, in that it will be more feasable to take some silver to the coin shop and exchange it for paper money, then use that paper for the day's purchases. If you never have to use your silver for SHTF, you can hold onto it as a long-term investment because from what I've read, silver will become increasingly scarce over the next decades.

Some bullion comes from well-recognised refineries, such as JM, A-Mark, Englehard, Sunshine, Silvertown, Pan Am, etc. Others are called "art" rounds. These are minted for Christmas gifts, retirement parties, sports events... You can sometimes pick up "art" rounds for less $$ than the branded ones. As long as it shows the weight and says .999, silver is silver, IMO.

Check out your local coin shops and if you find one with good prices, cultivate a relationship with the owner. Buy on the dips, but buy a couple of rounds or coins even on days when the price is high. Be a good customer, and that shop owner might come through for you in unexpected ways down the road.

Consider an assortment of junk, coins and rounds because absolutely nobody knows what will be useful in the future. For large quantities, you can't beat Tulving's prices. Wish I could afford to play in those leagues.

[MulaMan]

Re: Silver coins?

That's about 3000 dimes, btw, and YES, I counted them

LOL!

I bought 2 1000 oz Johnson Matthey silver bars, they offer the best value over spot, and are only 70lbs each.

btw, I counted them and do arm curls with them each morning so if the SHTF then I will be able to kick your butt and take your bag of quarters, no problem. Plus they are fairly easy to melt and turn into bullets prior to Armageddon in order to knock out those pesky zombies.

[jtabeb]

Re: Silver coins?

LOL!

I bought 2 1000 oz Johnson Matthey silver bars, they offer the best value over spot, and are only 70lbs each.

I will be able to kick your butt and take your bag of quarters, no problem..

Umm, How do I put this POLITELY?

Ah, yes. "You'd have to get within 1600 meters first"