If you were going to buy some silver bullion to stash away in a safe deposit box or bury on some land, what would you buy and why?

Silver Rounds was what I chose, but I am changing my mind after reasearching the prices for each at APMEX

If you are buying it to "stash it" and burial is an option you are going to consider, then there is no reason to pay anything for the "coin value" of the other choices, but right now the silver fever has gotten so high that the Silver American Eagles are only costing $ 0.99 more than a plain round.

Normally there is a higher premium on the SAE's than $ 0.99 because people will pay more for them, not because they are worth more.

Silver Round Price:  $ 19.03 ea (cheaper if you by more than 20)

Cheapest Silver American Eagle  $ 20.02 ea. (cheaper if you buy more than 20)

If you buy a 100 oz. bar the price drops to more like $ 18.43 per oz but you are still paying a premium, but as large as the premium on the coins and rounds carry -until you get up to buying a hundred of them.  If you sell them back to a dealer you will pay a "fee" of about 5-7% and if you buy them locally there is also sales tax.  If you order them then you have to add in shipping costs and soon you see that there is no "cheap" way for an individual to buy silver they can actually hold.

Many people would also recommend that you buy the pre 1964 silver coins that are 90% silver as it would be easier to use them as defacto money in case you wanted to spend some since it is hard to make change when you only have $20 coins in your pocket.

For investment purposes, if you aren't going to buy a LOT of silver and take delivery of it, you are probaby better off investing in an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) like "SLV" that tracks the price of silver, but is easier to buy and sell and you pay little premium to do so and no storage fees, or hassles.  It will not work for your stash, but it is an alternative investment for silver.

American Eagles are a bargain at just $2 over spot. This would be my choice.

American eagles.

Silver or gold.

all are good choices, but when it comes to silver rounds I like them to be from a refiner, not some whimiscal buffalo or other design.  I like these from Sunshine http://www.apmex.com/Product/55208/1_oz_Silver_Rounds_999_Fine___Sunshine_Minting.aspx





I have some Engelhard Prospectors and A Mark liberty rounds, I'll take Prospectors over SAE's any day

 

I am thinkg about $10,000 worth.  I am leaning towards Silver Eagles, but I think I can get the Maple Leafs for the same price.  I guess yall dont like the Philharmonics?

Maples can develop milky spots from reports I've heard.  Phils are OK but have a plain edge like a nickel does.  Phils are smaller in diameter and thicker than SAE's.



 

Phil's and Leafs are nice, but why not go with Eagles if they're roughly the same price?

This would be my last choice of places to store any wealth. Safe deposit boxes are best for papers like wills, insurance policies, warranty deeds.. stuff like that.

I'd go with beef.

why?

Several reasons:

1. There's always the (small) chance of govt intervention and confiscation (or nationalization) of precious metals.

2. Per an executive order that former pres. Clinton signed, the government can seize your bank acct, investment acct, and safe deposit box in lieu of "national security" or any "national emergency" that they deem necessary.

3. The bank has control of your possessions. What happens if a bank fails? Or if a bank "holiday" occurs like it did in the depression?

4. When you die, your safe deposit box is seized up and no one can get to it until probate is settled –– which could take months or years.

5. After 36 months of "inactivity" of your bank account, the bank can seize your safe deposit box belongings without a single phone call or letter.

Read this article

It's well worth the relatively small investment getting a fireproof safe, bolted to the floor, for guns, valuables and wealth, IMO.

An ounce of silver is an ounce of silver, no matter what is stamped on it.

Consider getting some circulated pre '65 90% silver US coins.  Not everything you'll want to barter for will cost an ounce of silver.

That is a good idea.  I think after my initial purchase I will dollar cost average every few weeks into 90% silver coins.

I went to the bank today and went through $80 of Kennedy halves only to find no silver.

Anybody need some post 1970 Kennedys?

My local coin/bullion dealer usually keeps bags of pre - '65 silver coins in his store. Here's some links where he sells them on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-Face-Value-U-S-Silver-Dimes-100-Coins_W0QQitemZ300359205575QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCoins_US_Individual?hash=item45eecdc2c7

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-Face-Value-U-S-Silver-Dimes-100-Coins_W0QQitemZ290362127930QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCoins_US_Individual?hash=item439aee763a

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-Face-Value-U-S-Mercury-Dimes-100-Coins_W0QQitemZ300360145551QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCoins_US_Individual?hash=item45eedc1a8f

Get them all

I got in an order I placed a few weeks ago today from a company I had  ot previously ordered with.  I ordered only 20 Maple Leafs at the time, but when I opened the very small padded envelope today, there were only 2 coins in it.

I immediatly called the company and explained what happened and they appologized and say they will send the other 18.  It pisses me off because I ordered these before I ordered with apmex, thinking they would be reliable.  

Looks like I will order everything from apmex from now on, assuming apmex does not fuck up my order too.

Just picked up some more silver rounds from a local source at $19/round.  Is this any good or should i stick to online purchases.  Also, is http://www.apmex.com the way to go when buying online?

I am happy with apmex so far.

Don't forget Craig's List for bullion....

Just received my first shipment of SAE"s and G Krugerrand from APMEX. I am VERY HAPPY with their service. The price and delivery were great.

I just placed another order with apmex today!  They are great people so far.

I voted SAE

SAEs and pre 65 coinage with the least amount of premium possible. Personally, I stick w/ “name-brand” coinage - or to a lesser extent, bars. I try to stay away from foreign stuff that is not to recognizable and is subject to ambiguity if I need to barter. Rolls of Morgans, Franklins, and quarters come in handy. (A MS Morgan has .77 oz silver, heavily worn about .71)

I also like the popular 1oz and fractional gold bullion coins, pre ’34 gold, and Credit or Pamp Suisse. (Premium rule applies also)

For SHTF purposes, silver and gold fractionals are good for small items, daily living. Gold, especially the larger pieces, are good for extreme barter: ARs, cars, land, life. However, it would be very hard dragging around 20 lbs of silver vs. 5 oz of gold in a hostile environment – esp if you must bug-out.

Also, the modern bullion coins, starting with the Krug, were designed to be traded as bullion, and it is not necessary to hold bars to have bullion.  The Krug, GAE, Maples, Phils are all recognizable and should be readily accepted. I would rather have 100 GAEs than a 100oz bar. Although, it is obvious that the big bar would be considerably less expensive due to the mass and the premiums involved.


[eta]
I was also hitting up the small local jewelry shoppes looking for their scrap gold. They would take customer's old jewelry to trade for new, and when they have a set weight of old and bench scraps, they will trade their suppliers for fresh gold shot. Figure out the weight of the gold and take into consideration their smelting, shipping, insurance fees, etc.

[eta2]
Did you know or do you care.....
Jewelers like Maples due to their gold content. .999 and 4-nines fine vs 22K for the GAE and the Krug. This is why the Maples are smaller in size, but all have 1oz of pure gold in them, the difference is how they're cut.

Bottom line, gold is gold, they just differ on how it's packaged. Same w/ silver; the more common (recognizable) packages are easier to sell, trade, etc w/out the need for expensive assaying fees.