Talk about industrial uses i'm trying to get 1oz platinum maples and can't find them anywhere, yet they are priced lower than gold...

Wait till this bad boy drops and watch what happens to gold then.
http://www.pmbug.com/forum/f2/page-p...une-2012-a-12/

Could you guys lay out the pros and cons of buying coins versus bars. Obviously, coins have a face value that will retain value in the unlikely event that silver tanks, but is there any advantage other than that?

I've always bought bars, but it looks like you guys prefer coins.

I don't think there is very much difference b/t buying bars vs coins. I like both.

The advantage of buying bars (10oz +) is that you are effectively buying in "bulk", so you get better value per dollar (the larger the bar, the better the value).

The advantage for coins is that when it's time to sell, you have much more flexibility.

Also, I really like Canadian Silver Maples. :D

Have you tried VCBE in downtown? I think they are the largest bullion dealer in the GVA.

PS. Thanks for the link. :D

You can order platinum from VBCE as it's usually not in stock.

:thumbsup: im looking at investing in some platinum as well in the near future. It's greatly undervalued right now as an industrial metal, especially since it's much more rare than gold. Platinum was always traded a premium to gold, but dropped in 2008 due to the recession tanking industrial demand and auto companies having a large surplus of platinum.

A lot of us here seem to be on the right track looking at relative prices between metals rather than historical averages :D. IMO silver is the best investment for bullion right now - it has the highest investment + industrial value for any metal atm. Platinum will jump back up as the economy moves out of the recession, i think it's pretty much a given due to its demand.

Coins have collector value. Bars do not.

With the rising price of silver, whats the likelihood that collector value will eventually exceed the metal value?

Or, would you say, the collector value is a safety net in the event the price of silver crashes and not something that adds value to the top end?

I would like to add and chime in some of my thoughts for the coin vs bar discussion

For the bar:
- Less of a premium (I.e you get more value for the buck)
- These usually come in 1, 10, 100 oz and may or may not be stamped by a refinery

For the coin:
- Minted mostly by government mint
- More premium as the coins are considered collectable coins and also have a nominal face value.

Personally I think pretty long term and just in case of a SHIT HITS THE FAN scenario (think world war 3, nuclear meltdown, natural disaster, zombie invasion). Would you want to lug around a 10, 100 oz or 1 kilo bar and try and resell or trade that for food or supplies? Most common people will identify with the 1 oz coin easy because its minted by the government.

One last plus, because generally you pay a premium for the coins, you also receive a premium when you sell (in most cases).

On side note, don't get me wrong - large bars are good too if all you care is about accumulating large stacks of silver.

Great points, Shon; thank you!

I would say it depends on how rare the coin is or what the mintage was.

If its purely investing based on silver content then it's worth the weight in silver.

For example those 2012 polar bear $20 coins by RCM there's only 1/4 oz in silver (by today's silver content it's only worth 8 bucks give or take) but yet is has a face value of $20. Collectors generally will pay a small premium for this coin and whatever is in the wildlife set.

So in this case, as the new coin was introduced the collector value exceeded the metal value.

There's always a safety net such that the coin is worth exactly $20 and can be considered legal tender (as marked on the coin) but keep in mind you only get 8 bucks in silver

Plus coins are nice to look at.

If you are serious bout silver investing I'd do bars.

If you collect and invest - I'd do a mix of coins and bars

I wouldn't make a big deal out of the "collector factor" because the Canadian Mint makes a gazillion Silver Maple Leafs a year. They are also available almost everywhere in Canada.

The only real places that people are willing to pay a premium for them is people who reside outside of Canada (Americans for example). But realistically, how much of your silver do you plan on selling to America? Probably very little and then you have to factor in the hassle (listing, shipping, billing, etc).

And when you factor in the extra value you get to buying bars, the difference is at best a wash.

delete delete :D

To date, I've only bought bars, they stack in my tiny safety deposit easier and I understood them to be the best pure investment value. Good to know I've been basing my purchases on sound logic.

I really like the wildlife series coins though, I might try to pick a few up.

MB: If you are purely speculating on Silver and don't really care about coins and how they look then bars are probably your best bet. Less premium and you pay less for more.

Just keep on stacking!!

I'm a semi collector / speculator / stacker so I'm focusing on getting a good collection of the maples first then stacking bars.

I've seen some pictures of these 70's bars with some pretty cool art and advertisement (coca cola, some american flour company) - gonna see if I can find some of these in the future.

Insane day in silver. Today was a steady climb. Not even sharp dips you try to scare you out

Anyone stocking up on silver before the greece bailout
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Quote the roller coaster ride in the last 2 weeks

Saw the price of Silver go to high 30's (38, 39) and now its down to 32.

Could be a good buying opportunity if it hits 30 or high 20's. Too bad there's too much a of a premium still at the local bullion dealers.

delete delete :D

I am trying to stock up before Greece defaults which I think is inevitable. These bailouts are just the EU's way of kicking the can down the road. I think when Greece defaults, they will either stop using the Euro or leave the EU altogether. When this happens, the contagion will spread to the other weak EU states (Ireland, Spain, Portugal, etc.) and gold/silver will rise even more quickly thus reducing our potential long term profits. :D

i been following this silver thread and its got me very interested. currently sitting at 34/oz i was wondering if its a good time to get in? with mark up its around 36/ i was thinking about picking up some 10 oz bars, do you guys normally go for registered or unregistered? is it worth the extra money for the registered bars?

I'd rather swing trade SLV instead..
volatility can be your friend

delete :D

SILVERRR NOOOOO
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Smack in the bum, smack smack
Smack, in the bum
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