I’m a newbie to buying precious metals, in fact never have. I have 5k cash saved that I have been keeping out of the bank for obvious reasons. Now I’m looking to buy silver and gold. There’s so much info out there it’s hard to tell what’s real or not and makes my head spin. I live in Northern Virginia. Any anons out there in my area know the best place to buy these metals? I’ve also seen there is different types of silver and gold, so which is the best to buy? And where can I look to see the current “spot” (still a little unsure about what that means) price? Any help would be greatly appreciated for a young(ish) 30 year old guy who knows nothing about this topic!
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Jmbullion.com This is an on-line seller of g/s and a fan of many on this board. I’ve been buying from them for over 10 years with great service and best prices over spot. Silver liberty dollars are an easy place to start. Buy gold bars and coins at a lower ratio to preserve your wealth for the long haul. With $5000, a possible scenario would be 1.5 ounces of gold and about 50 ounces of silver. Also, don’t be afraid to call the customer service line and ask questions and for suggestions. They will take the time to help you learn.
Awesome, thank your for the info. Question, if I were to find an actual coin shop to buy them in person, do they accept cash? If it’s possible, I’d like to have no digital paper trail through my bank of purchasing this
A coin dealer is great for exactly that! Cash is king, and no paper trail. Shop around for the lowest premiums.
My local coin shop , only takes cash.
Expect to pay 4 dollers or more of spot price.
ditto my experience from jmbullion...used them for decade or more, never an issue, always quality and exactly what i ordered...they also have copper bullion but doesn't show up unless you put it in search...they have a "silver card" that is size of credit card, .999 purity one tr oz, and can be carried in your wallet for emergencies...
TY Texastornado, I had not seen those cards before. Super cool. I just ordered a bunch. I really appreciate the heads up.
I order all of my precious metals from JM bullion. It might not be the cheapest but I have complete peace of mind knowing my order will arrive in 2/3 days and the product is authentic. Like a lot of peeps on here, I'm paranoid. I just moved to florida a few months ago and I need to find a local dealer I trust. Until then I will continue to use JM. I can't say enough good things.
Put your money into some fucking guns. They hold their value QUITE well
Agreed. Luckily I’ve been into guns far before I became awake (I mean I lost all of mine in a boating accident 😉) I haven’t bought ammo since Trump left office knowing what was coming. I miss the good ol days when there were Facebook buy/sell/trade pages
You need both
I don't know about northern Virginia, but here in Tennessee, you pay NO sales tax on gold or silver. There is a coin shop here in east Tennessee that I frequently buy small silver bars, silver rounds, and pre-1964 US coins (dimes, quarters, and half-dollars), which are 90% silver. Over the years I have amassed a decent stash of silver this way, always paying spot-price plus 5%. I also occasionally find silver Morgan dollars at places like gun shows and antique shops and pick them up if the price is right. By "price is right" I mean I will pay 20 times face value for such pre-1964 coins.
I love junk silver, as much as I'd love to hold a 100oz bar I don't want to be handed an IRS form later if I sell it.
I don't hold silver as an investment to trade later, it is ONLY for in case of currency collapse so I can buy things when money is useless. I advise all people to take that approach.
This is why I love junk silver, I can count out enough Mercury dimes to buy something, good luck trying to saw off an ounce from a kilo bar.
Actually the "bars" are 1-ounce (troy ounce) ingots, so much simpler to trade and get change in the form of silver coins. Also something to consider... if you have elderly aunts and uncles and relatives who aren't using their sterling silver (tea sets, flatware, etc.), ask them if they will bequeath it to you. The melt value of sterling silver will one day make such items priceless. Don't fool with silver plate, it costs more money to obtain the minute amount of silver there than it is worth... sterling only. I have the sterling silver from two different households of relatives who have gone to their reward, they gladly gave the sets to me, thinking no doubt that I would use them for entertainment and dinners etc. NOPE!! They become a silver hoard that I can tap into if TSHTF.
I always look for sterling silver first at every thrift store, occasionally I'll find something.
Be careful of their labeling... thrift store employees are often quite stupid about such things and "sterling silver" can mean anything from silver plate to a dull metallic thing that looks "silvery." Make sure to read the item to see if it is marked / stamped Sterling Silver. Bless their hearts, they mean well, but people that work at such places are often not very bright.
I'm great at mint marks, I've actually removed silver using acid and electricity. It was a fun experiment but I definitely understand why it's not very lucrative now.
So my family and several friends have been using providentmedals.com to order precious metals for many years now. They are pretty quick but it will require you to use a form of payment that is not cash. We have some gold but it is very expensive and have mainly stuck with silver and copper. Yes copper will be important too if a collapse happens as it is a great conductor for energy and heat. Don't forget if you are swapping out water pipes or doing electrical work you can actually save the copper from these projects too and it can be used to barter with as well when the SHTF. Trade shows, yard sales and flee markets are good areas to look as well. Coins before 1964 are 90% silver and then dropped to 40% until about 1973. Not certain about these dates because I try to buy before 1964 dates. Pennies before 1982 were 95% cooper so those would be worth more melted than an actual penny. Sometimes people sell copper or silver without even knowing what they have. I would stick with small amounts instead of buying large bars of anything as it will be easier to barter with instead if having to melt it yourself or try breaking it up later if needed. In addition, I am not sure about your area in Northern Virginia but if you have not established a bug out contingency and you are in a big area you may also want to invest in things such as seeds, canned foods, alcohol, tobacco and medical supplies for bartering with. It can all be daunting but do a few searches and just research a bit on what exactly you may be looking for as you know your stash hiding places and how much space you have have to deal with. I hope this helps some and God speed fren.
Another vote for JMBullion.com, reliable and always fast shipment. Gold is a great place for protecting your wealth in a collapse, but it's hard to spend effectively in that scenario. Silver is a much more useable form of currency, and many people believe silver pricing is significantly repressed and so makes a better investment while also protecting your wealth in a crash. I think adding in some junk silver (worn pre '65 coins) makes sense if you're focused on barter. Your mix of PM's will be based on what you're buying for (investment, wealth protection, being off grid, disaster barter resources, etc).
I have read that JMBullion offers a military discount.
First, If you don't have an emergency stash of cash, hold this. You don't want to have to use debt or be force to sell you PMs to pay for an emergency bill(s).
"Form follows function" what is your objective? How much flexibility do you need? If you want to preserve wealth for the long term against inflation and possible hyper-inflation, gold is probably best. The right mode depends on your storage capacity. If you have room and proper security, use smaller coins like 10th oz and quarter oz. You will pay an increased mark up but have greater flexibility. If you are gook with concentration of value, use 1 oz coins. At some level of your own comfort, switch from coins to bars for better value and higher concentration.
However, if you want to retain the greatest level of flexibility - for example if want to protect against inflation but you think you might need to use your stash to buy "stuff" - silver is arguably the best place to go. In that scenario, with 5K I would get mixed pre-1964 dimes and quarters. They are .71% silver, are readily recognizable and may be the preferred means of exchange (next to barter) if bad things happen. There are earlier dimes (Mercury dimes) that have higher silver content (90%) but have higher premiums and will be indistinguishable from the pre-64 coins for most people and so if you need to use the coins you risk losing purchasing power.
For me, I worked on building up my junk sliver to a level I set at about 3 months of current living expenses and then started buying silver Eagles from a monthly subscription service (Money Metals exchange). They are not the least expensive, but the automatic purchase keeps me from chasing prices and provides dollar cost averaging over time. I find the convenience to be worthwhile. When I hit an objective level, I will start buying gold in small increments.
That's one random guy's thoughts. Hope it is helpful.
I personally use https://sdbullion.com/ they even ship in boxes labelled SD Bearings, which made me laugh pretty good the first time i got a box.
Frankly I would suggest going to a coin shop and getting the real deal. If you buy gold, $5000 dollars worth could easily be carried out in a bag.
https://www.goldenstatemint.com/1-oz-buffalo-silver-bullion-round.html
Buy these. The more you buy the cheaper they are. Also cheaper if you order then mail them a check. This is my favorite company. Always have the lowest prices. These are on sale right now for 5 more days. Veterans also get a discount from this dealer.
https://www.goldenstatemint.com/1-oz-Year-of-the-Rabbit-Silver-Round.html
Also if you go to the palmetto state armory website you can find some pretty good deals sometimes. I got a "blemished" rifle for hundreds of dollars less.