Well you are very welcome! I'm flattered if you read even half of that. I'm looking at it in shock that I wrote THAT much.....LMAO.....gotta love coffee..... :-p
To answer your question; of course you were never taught about gold & silver, just like you were taught that the government has our best interest at heart & politicians serve the public interest.
You again come up with a very good question; I think you are sharper than you give yourself credit for. :-)
That said; it's incredibly easy to look up the price of gold & silver. I have an app (Kitco) that displays the real-time price of gold on my iPhone lock screen, for heavens sake. :-)
You honestly just look it up, like with anything. When you go shopping for groceries; don't you ever price compare? Or look up amazon vs. some other online vendor?
However, if we're talking about a total collapse type situation as I mentioned above; I have no clue how gold & silver would be valued..... again; if we're in a total collapse, gold & silver are very, very secondary (or lower) concerns to food, water, bullets, beans, etc.
Just search for "Gold & Silver Price Charts" and you'll get a zillion. Maybe cross-check 2-3 to ensure they are all accurate + current.
Also; The price you see on any chart is the "Spot" price.
Any dealer charges basically a "markup" - formally called the "premium" - on gold & silver.
Certain coins - such as American Gold / Silver Eagles - almost always have a higher premium than other coins, beause they're in extremely high demand. In part because of the security features built into the coins to help people easily check for fakes.
So right now; the spot price of gold is $2,341.80; premiums (as with prices) vary, but you could expect to pay around $100.00 over spot, per 1 oz. coin.
(I also just proved myself right again; I have no clue why APMEX is so po-pular they're a big online precious metals dealer - but they are ALWAYS more expensive. In this case, they're only about $6.00 more than monument, but why pay more?)
Premiums (or "markup") vary based on the type of coin & other factors, as with Silver; different premiums based on different factors.
Honestly, you'll just have to shop around a bit to get a feel for pricing & such.
Oh, and pay close attention to the quantity pricing; most precious metals dealers advertise their lowest price, but it's only if you buy like 100 or some huge number.
They give bulk discounts; obviously if you buy 100 coins, you can pay a bit less per coin vs. if you just buy 1.
But look carefully at the pricing based on how many you actually want to buy.
As for your (again smart) comment on authenticity;
Yep, agreed. It's why I stuck with very large, well known & reputable dealers for my first (ok most) of my gold & silver purchases. I don't have to worry (as much) about fakes beause these big companies have a big reputation to uphold + we all know how fast bad reviews spread on the internet.....
Monument Metals has been my favorite, along with JMBullion and a few more I can share if you are interested.
I'd buy only from a large & reputable dealer until you're comfortable with it & learn more, and possibly get a metals tester.
Real precious metals have a distinct tone / ring they make vs. a coin that is supposed to be gold but is actually copper, or is gold plated & filled with a cheaper metal.
The "Ping check" is also a valid way of testing authenticity & my understanding is it's pretty darn accurate, once you learn enough.
Well you are very welcome! I'm flattered if you read even half of that. I'm looking at it in shock that I wrote THAT much.....LMAO.....gotta love coffee..... :-p
To answer your question; of course you were never taught about gold & silver, just like you were taught that the government has our best interest at heart & politicians serve the public interest.
You again come up with a very good question; I think you are sharper than you give yourself credit for. :-)
That said; it's incredibly easy to look up the price of gold & silver. I have an app (Kitco) that displays the real-time price of gold on my iPhone lock screen, for heavens sake. :-)
You honestly just look it up, like with anything. When you go shopping for groceries; don't you ever price compare? Or look up amazon vs. some other online vendor?
However, if we're talking about a total collapse type situation as I mentioned above; I have no clue how gold & silver would be valued..... again; if we're in a total collapse, gold & silver are very, very secondary (or lower) concerns to food, water, bullets, beans, etc.
Just search for "Gold & Silver Price Charts" and you'll get a zillion. Maybe cross-check 2-3 to ensure they are all accurate + current.
Also; The price you see on any chart is the "Spot" price. Any dealer charges basically a "markup" - formally called the "premium" - on gold & silver.
Certain coins - such as American Gold / Silver Eagles - almost always have a higher premium than other coins, beause they're in extremely high demand. In part because of the security features built into the coins to help people easily check for fakes.
So right now; the spot price of gold is $2,341.80; premiums (as with prices) vary, but you could expect to pay around $100.00 over spot, per 1 oz. coin.
Example: An American Gold Eagle - ONE - is $2,451.30 here at Monument: https://monumentmetals.com/2024-american-1-oz-gold-eagle-bu.html
(I also just proved myself right again; I have no clue why APMEX is so po-pular they're a big online precious metals dealer - but they are ALWAYS more expensive. In this case, they're only about $6.00 more than monument, but why pay more?)
Premiums (or "markup") vary based on the type of coin & other factors, as with Silver; different premiums based on different factors.
Honestly, you'll just have to shop around a bit to get a feel for pricing & such.
Oh, and pay close attention to the quantity pricing; most precious metals dealers advertise their lowest price, but it's only if you buy like 100 or some huge number. They give bulk discounts; obviously if you buy 100 coins, you can pay a bit less per coin vs. if you just buy 1. But look carefully at the pricing based on how many you actually want to buy.
As for your (again smart) comment on authenticity; Yep, agreed. It's why I stuck with very large, well known & reputable dealers for my first (ok most) of my gold & silver purchases. I don't have to worry (as much) about fakes beause these big companies have a big reputation to uphold + we all know how fast bad reviews spread on the internet.....
Monument Metals has been my favorite, along with JMBullion and a few more I can share if you are interested. I'd buy only from a large & reputable dealer until you're comfortable with it & learn more, and possibly get a metals tester.
Also; you could invest in something like this - and no, it's not a joke: https://soundmoneymetals.us/
Real precious metals have a distinct tone / ring they make vs. a coin that is supposed to be gold but is actually copper, or is gold plated & filled with a cheaper metal.
The "Ping check" is also a valid way of testing authenticity & my understanding is it's pretty darn accurate, once you learn enough.