Downsides to precious metals?

[Bon Sauvage]

I took possession of some counterfeit American Silver Eagles yesterday I had heard of such a thing but had actually never seen an example before. These coins were in direct fit cemented capsules. Oh! That was a surprise! Cemented capsules are suspicious in themselves.

My PMs of choice are silver Britannias so I do not have many ASE coins but I compared what I had to the recently obtained coins and I noted differences in the depth of the relief carvings and also in the sheen of the metal. I took them to my local coin dealer in Kennewick, WA and watched as he analyzed them for me: <2% silver, assorted nickel and other trace metals and the rest copper. In short: silver plated copper.

I'll get my money back on Monday after I finish calming down. I wouldn't mind having one of those precious metal analyzers though.

 

[GWS]

I took possession of some counterfeit American Silver Eagles yesterday I had heard of such a thing but had actually never seen an example before. These coins were in direct fit cemented capsules. Oh! That was a surprise! Cemented capsules are suspicious in themselves.

My PMs of choice are silver Britannias so I do not have many ASE coins but I compared what I had to the recently obtained coins and I noted differences in the depth of the relief carvings and also in the sheen of the metal. I took them to my local coin dealer in Kennewick, WA and watched as he analyzed them for me: <2% silver, assorted nickel and other trace metals and the rest copper. In short: silver plated copper.

I'll get my money back on Monday after I finish calming down. I wouldn't mind having one of those precious metal analyzers though.

Sorry to read that you got burned. Glad you were observant enough to be suspicious and get it checked out.

 

[Cavedweller]

I took possession of some counterfeit American Silver Eagles yesterday I had heard of such a thing but had actually never seen an example before. These coins were in direct fit cemented capsules. Oh! That was a surprise! Cemented capsules are suspicious in themselves.

Where did you get them?

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Where did you get them?

Flea bay.

 

[crstrode]

there is no downside to gold . . . it is golden.

 

[gmerkt]

Mom sees it more as a hassle. S

So does my missus. Maybe this is a female thing. My children will probably like what they get.

If its in a safe deposit box

The biggest problem with SDB boxes these days comes from bank error or internal fraud.

Flea bay.

You've got to be very selective if you decide to buy there. I'd suggest using only brand-name sellers who have a well-known retail presence elsewhere. I'd stay away from small sellers.

Oh, how I'd like to have one of those XRF scanners. Like lots of electronic goods, the prices have been coming down lately. I think you can buy a new one for about $17,500 now. This is part of where the coin dealer premium goes, into these devices. Somebody brings in 9 fake gold Pandas to sell, the machine just paid for itself.

I've noted that Pacific Iron & Metal in Seattle has one of those at the inside weigh station. They keep it behind a closed door. They use it to identify scrap metals that are in question.

Or, if you don't want to spend $17.5K on an XRF, you can get a Pocket Pinger:

 

[Bon Sauvage]

​

 

[Bon Sauvage]

I'll stick with the bite test.

 

[bionic knees]

one way to check for "fake" eagles is to hold the coin in both hands with lady libertys head pointing away from your belly, now turn the coin straight over so that lady libertys head is pointing towards your belly. if the eagle is upside down the coin is a fake!

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

Consider a different definition of Precious Metal.
Not just gold, silver, or other unobtanium but Fire Arms & Weapons.

None of my limited amount of silver & gold has appreciated as much as higher quality fire arms have.

My M1A/M21, H&K P7M8, Colt Python, or high quality shotguns have all done much better. Of course I would have to sell them to make said profit which I'm not inclined to do but you get my point.

Look at how much quality 9mms have gone up like Browning HiPowers.
Arsenal Bulgarian Forged AK47, or Vepr 308 AK style rifles are trending at double prices from 20 years ago.

While classic cars are another example of precious metal, it isn't quite as easy as getting more than your purchase price like it is with fire arms.

High quality optics are another example but they tend to hold most of their value as opposed to increasing in value.

Regardless, don't be afraid of Precious Metals, just consider redefining what that means to you.

 

[Alexx1401]

Flea bay.

Sadly not surprised at all that they would have some selling crap like that. When I decided to start buying some silver a while back I wondered about that, ending up with some fake stuff. So decided to only use a VERY well known source that had been around a good while. Wonder how many people buy this stuff off places like that and have no idea what they have is fake? That would really be a bummer to find out years later when they do to sell it and its too late to do anything about it.

 

[Alexx1401]

one way to check for "fake" eagles is to hold the coin in both hands with lady libertys head pointing away from your belly, now turn the coin straight over so that lady libertys head is pointing towards your belly. if the eagle is upside down the coin is a fake!

LOL, first thing I did after reading this was got one out of my desk to try and of course it works. Why is it the fakes come out the other way?

 

[bionic knees]

LOL, first thing I did after reading this was got one out of my desk to try and of course it works. Why is it the fakes come out the other way?

I don't know why, but it seems to be one way to check them, for now at least. a guy I know bought a bunch of them off eBay and came around telling several of us that we were paying way too much for eagles. lol he had had them too long to get a refund.

 

[Alexx1401]

I don't know why, but it seems to be one way to check them, for now at least. a guy I know bought a bunch of them off eBay and came around telling several of us that we were paying way too much for eagles. lol he had had them too long to get a refund.

Sadly the reason most scammers have "customers" is few seem to learn. If price is too good to be true it normally is just that.
When I decided I wanted to buy some metal I looked at this place, https://www.jmbullion.com/
They listed some places local to me I could buy. One real close to me but place never seemed to be open so I gave up and tried ordering from them. Worked quite well so I just kept using them. Figure at least this way I am dealing with a place "known".

 

[bionic knees]

AJPM - Main Page (Buy & Sell Gold & Silver Bullion)

AJPM - The best prices to buy & sell Gold & Silver bullion online. Up to the minute pricing to help you Buy & Sell Gold & Silver online. Phone: 1-503-227-4653

www.ajpm.com

I have been using this local co. don't care much for the guy at the s.e. Washington st. location but the guy at the Beaverton location was cool. prices are about the same as jm bullion and no shipping charges.

 

[Alexx1401]

AJPM - Main Page (Buy & Sell Gold & Silver Bullion)

AJPM - The best prices to buy & sell Gold & Silver bullion online. Up to the minute pricing to help you Buy & Sell Gold & Silver online. Phone: 1-503-227-4653

www.ajpm.com

I have been using this local co. don't care much for the guy at the s.e. Washington st. location but the guy at the Beaverton location was cool. prices are about the same as jm bullion and no shipping charges.

Just checked the two side by side. Right now JM would ship silver for .29 an ounce less than they would sell it if I walked in. Not that I could since they are nowhere near me. JM ships free as long as you buy $200 or more. So every time I order I do of course buy over the min. I pay slightly more to be able to use a CC too as its just easier. To make the comparison I used what JM has on sale this week. Every week they have some different stuff on sale. So when I want to buy more I just order whatever is on sale that week since what it looks like mattes none to me. Have a lot of the 1 OZ rounds and a few of the 10 OZ bars now.

 

[.45's and .38's]

I use the 3rd Washington AJPM
Looking for a gold buffalo

 

[bionic knees]

I use the 3rd Washington AJPM
Looking for a gold buffalo

I don't go downtown!

 

[.45's and .38's]

I carry my combat magnum and sig 226 I'm good

 

[Bon Sauvage]

I took possession of some counterfeit American Silver Eagles yesterday I had heard of such a thing but had actually never seen an example before. These coins were in direct fit cemented capsules. Oh! That was a surprise! Cemented capsules are suspicious in themselves.

My PMs of choice are silver Britannias so I do not have many ASE coins but I compared what I had to the recently obtained coins and I noted differences in the depth of the relief carvings and also in the sheen of the metal. I took them to my local coin dealer in Kennewick, WA and watched as he analyzed them for me: <2% silver, assorted nickel and other trace metals and the rest copper. In short: silver plated copper.

I'll get my money back on Monday after I finish calming down. I wouldn't mind having one of those precious metal analyzers though.

My money has been refunded with zero hassle.