Buying Gold Coins
 

Hello All,

I actually came here by chance from a link in another website, and found this place to be very interesting.. Cutting to the chase, I'm now thinking of buying some gold coins (Am Eagles, SA Kru's, Can MapLfs, 1oz Gold Bars, etc.), and I've done some research already as to where I should buy it from. However, the prices are obviously dependent on the quantity I'm buying.. Right now, I can only really afford 1 coin every 2-3 months or so, and am thinking of buying such quatities over long periods.

Taking order minimums & shipping and handling into consideration, I've found the following dealer to be the best price so far:

(Prices as of Sunday)
AJPM.com
American Eagles (AmE) - $426
S.Af. Kru's (SAK) - $417
1 oz. Bars (Bar) - $417
S&H - $10 (from 1 to 9 oz., no minimums)
Total cost per oz - $427/oz or more

(I've also research goldfingercoin.com, kitco.com, ccsilver.com, golddealer.com.. AJPM seems to be the cheapest..)

My questions are:
1) Are there any other dealers I should be looking at? What about local dealers? I'm in the NYC area, but again, I'm new to this so I really have no idea how to find reputable dealers.

2) Has anyone dealt with AJPM before? Are they reputable? One of my coworkers have bought from Kitco, but their $30 per order S&H charge is a bit steep for my small purchases.

3) Does it *really* matter what type of coin/bar I get? Short of it reading English, I don't see why I should pay $9 (about 2%) more for an American Eagle versus a Credit Swiss Gold Bar. Gold is gold is gold, right?

Thanks for reading!

~MMN Maniac

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

MMN Maniac,
Welcome to GIM.
Try:

http://www.tulving.com/ (includes shippping + insurance)

http://www.bulliondirect.com/index.jsp

http://www.scpm.com/goldsilverbullion.php

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

MMN Maniac -


Also look at California Numsimatics...here are their bullion coin prices..

http://www.golddealer.com/bullionpage.html. If you order more than $1,000 in gold their shipping is free. If you don't have enough $ gets some friends and family together to make a "bulk" purchase.


Also try Don Stott @ Colorado Gold. Great guy and good prices...
http://www.coloradogold.com

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

MMN Maniac,
First, welcome to GIM. Glad you found us!
I have bought from AJPM in the past and found them to be reliable and honest.
There are several here who will tell you that it would be better to find a local dealer and buy your things from him and pay in cash, than leave a paper trail by buying over the net.

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Thanks for the quick replies, everyone.

I am actually looking for a local dealer; I'm in the NYC area, but I really have no idea where to start. I've asked several of my coworkers, friends, and family - none of them know a dealer, nevermind buy non-jewlery gold. If anyone here knows of a dealer in the NYC area, I would be most grateful.

Thanks again!

~MMN Maniac

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Okay MMN Maniac, try this. Get your local phone book and in the yellow pages, look up Coin Dealers. Pick out 3 or 4 of the biggest ads and call them. Ask them to mail you a list of customer references and business references. If they do not have any, or will not mail them to you, then move on. Do not tell them you are going to be buying only a coin or two every month or so. You want them to think you are a bigger buyer than that.

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Welcome to GIM.............

If you are going to go in person and get your metal it really does not matter you will walk out the door with it. You may want to consider getting silver every other month as it seems you should get more bang for your buck. Pay in cash and do not get a reciept - that way no one knows your business...............

Good luck and again a warm welcome...:beer:

Look out for Ted and Irish they can be quite viscious....

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Now just what, pray tell have we ever done to deserve such a statement? .................................................. .......



Oh that! But you will have to admit, it was funny!

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Welcome MMN Maniac! Gold is gold right? I would advise you to get a Red Book of U S Coins at least. Long and short term (all gold) is not always equal. If you call California and tell them you are getting ready to invest in gold and heard about their hidden information (charts) on twenty dollar gold pieces, compared to other gold coins, I think you will find twenty dollar gold pieces selling for around nine hundred dollars the last time gold hit $450. Don't quote me. Check for yourself. I like my twenty dollar gold pieces. You also have to think these coins were not confiscated before and would be harder to confiscate in the future. If you can get a low mintage U S fifty dollar gold piece in super uncirculated condition it should go up better than a gold bar over the years.

Don't forget to get some silver! Happy hunting from tinybro's wife!

Thanks everyone!
 

I've decided to buy my first set of coins from APJM.com - 1 Eagle, 2 Pandas, and 2 Rands.. It was pretty easy to order, although the guy wasn't very friendly. Oh well.

Thanks again everyone!

Re: Thanks everyone!
 

Those Pandas are gorgeous - you will love them...

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

This is a most interesting place on the internet. Maybe someone here can answer the following questions for me. Any help would be appreciated.

On Tulving's website I noticed the designation BU, which I suppose stands for brilliant uncirculated. What exactly does that mean and how does it help?

Also, does anyone happen to know which coin is harder or more scratch-resistant, the Krugerrand or the American Gold Eagle?

I would also like to hear opinions on whether 1/10th oz coins are preferable to larger ones, and if so, how much of a premium you feel would be justified.

Does anyone know of a situation where money became worthless andgold was used as currency? Were there coin dealers wo would exchange 1 oz coins for 0.95 oz in smaller ones? Or would there be a different rate?

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Welcome to GIM! Good questions, hope I can hel.
BU means just that. The coin is bright, with no nicks, scratches of other marks on it. All smooth surfaces are clean and clear with no blemishes. The edges are sharp and crisp.
It only helps if you are buying the coin. If you are buying the gold it matters not.
I believe gpond posted the alloys of all the major gold coins in a post a couple of months ago. The ones with the highest gold content will scratch easier.
1/10 vs. larger coins - Why are you buying gold?
Are you buying to take the ride to the 4 figure price or are you buying for WTSHTF?
Did not understand the last question, but if you were asking if "money' has ever become worthless, the answer is a resounding YES!!! Everytime!
Germany - just before WWll. Argentina - last year

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

IrishGold, Thanks for your reply. The reason why I asked whether the Eagle was more scratch-resistant than the Krugerrand is that they both contain the exact same percentage of gold, but while the Krugerrand fills the balance with copper, the Eagle has silver in it too. I was just wondering if that makes it harder or softer than the Krugerrand. I guess we would have to ask a material physicist...

The reason I am thinking of buying gold is that I heard on CNBC or bloomberg that the Bank of Japan is now trying to de-value the Yen in order to help their exporters. The US government has obviously been trying to de-value the dollar for similar reasons. I guess it looks better for Bush if he can say that the economy has grown by 20% when it has really shrunk or stayed the same, but the dollar has lost 30% of its value. Sure, we are now making a few more dollars than last year, but it still buys less and less. Property taxes are skyrocketing, food is not getting any cheaper, etc.

Anyway, now that I heard that it is coming down to a race between nations as to who can de-value his currency faster than the others, I am thinking it might be time to switch to the only currency which does not depend on the shortsighted decisions some politicians might make: Precious metals. From looking at the charts and from what I know about technology, silver seems to be a better investment than gold at the moment, but the problem I have with it is that I want to be as mobile as possible, just in case, and I'd rather carry around a pound of gold than 70 pounds of silver. I am, however, thinking of buying a silver spoon, because I would like to use a spoon anyway while I can still afford the luxury, plus silver kills germs. My flute is also 92.5% silver, and actually I am also looking for other suggestions as to how I can "sneak in" some silver. As you might suspect by now, I am trying to possess as little (by weight and volume) as possible, so I have to justify every purchase. The larger and heavier an item, the more useful it has to be.

Today I have also come up with another question I would like to post here: Has anybody ever heard of forged gold coins? I mean, could it be for example that a certain coin dealer on the internet is cheaper than the others, because their coins might contain a core of lead? Has there ever been such a case? Do people actually destroy coins from time to time to check whether or not they are genuine? If not, who is to say that some original Krugerrands might not contain a little less gold than stated because the South African mint assumes that nobody will actually analyze their coins anyway?

I do not normally sound this paranoid, but if I am going to buy metals I might as well ask questions now before it is too late, don't you think?

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Klieinphi,

"I do not normally sound this paranoid, but if I am going to buy metals I might as well ask questions now before it is too late, don't you think?"

LOL. don't worry about sounding paranoid around here, you'll fit right in..

Silver Streak once mentioned something about a device that dealers use to determine the authenticity of Krugerrands. If you search his posts you will find many useful tidbits of information. Good reading.

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

You see Klieinphi, what butler was saying is that we would not be nearly as paranoid if everybody wasn't out to get us. But they are, so we must be.

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Just remeber....


Just because you are not paranoid doesn't mean somebody isn't out to get you!

:damnmate: :secruity: :creep: :deal: :hmpf: :evil: :creep: :listen: :afraid:

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Try goldpirate.com they have all types of gold and silver for auction. It is a free site to buy and sell. :wavey:

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Your (?) site seems quite lame. Very few sellers and even fewer buyers. Good luck with it.

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

When buying and selling gold coins, one of your first concerns should be LIQUIDITY, and the most liquid coins are also the most popular. Where bullion gold coins are concerned, the 3 most popular are the American Gold Eagle, the Canadian Maple Leaf, and the South African Krugerrand. Of course there are other popular coins from various countries, but these three are the general mainstay of the bullion coin industry and trade at fairly consistent spreads between their buy and sell prices, and are always easy to sell. Of the three, and even in comparison to other coins and bars, the Krugerrand tends to be the best value as far as getting the most gold for dollars spent. For those looking at maximum gold weight for their money, rather than "artistic appeal" or other such nonsense, then the Krugerrand is still hard to beat. And if you work your dealers right, you can buy and sell Krugerrands at as little as $3-$5 spreads per coin while other popular bullion coins may have spreads of $10-$20 or more. While it's true that "gold is gold", liquidity is always a concern. The more mainstream the bullion, the less you have to worry about being able to sell when (if) the time comes to do so. As has been mentioned on many forums, gold shouldn't be considered a "religion", and there will be ample opportunities to trade in and out of gold to dollars and back to gold on market volitility that will allow you to increase your net gold holdings over time. This is easiest done on a local basis, and being located in NYC will definately have it's advantages in playing the markets. You can't just buy and hold and expect anything other than paper profits. "Profiting" in the form of dollar value is always nice, but profiting by increasing your net gold weight is always much more rewarding for most of us, and that's what being a die-hard "gold bug" is really all about.

Counterfeits have been a problem in the past, but tend to rear their ugly heads when markets are hot rather than when things are slow or the price is relatively low. Below is a link to Fisch Instruments which makes a neat little device for checking the thickness, diameter, shape, and weight of some of the more popular bullion coins in just a few seconds. I've used these since the heydays of the 79-80 bullion craze, and they are nearly foolproof. Go to their website, and read all of the linked pages at the top right. You'll be surprised at the wealth of information there.

On the retail end, most mail-order dealers do not like to deal in smaller quantities than about 10 ounces per order, so your best bet might be locating a local pawn or coin dealer who will sell you one or two coins at a time and still give you a good price. In New York, look up MTB (Manfra, Tordella, and Brookes) and try them on their pricing. They were one of the larger and more competitive dealers in the NYC area in the 70s and 80s, but I have not dealt with them in years. Jules J. Karp is another NY dealer you might check out on pricing.

Re: Buying Gold Coins
 

Cheapergold.com

NUFF SAID

MLS