OT: Where do you go to buy gold bullion on SD

[Coronita]

I know it’s been asked….But where do some of you go to buy gold bullion locally or if you don’t buy locally, where?

[Anonymous]

I would look to the LA Jewelry District. That’s where I went when I had bullion to sell. Lots of buyers so I’m sure they are sellers as well.

[moneymaker]

I have bought at san diego coin and bullion http://www.sandiegocoin.com/
since I’ve been into silver however I have been buying SLV shares instead of hard stuff.

[milkspot]

I mostly buy from apmex.com through Ebay. Some time ago, I discovered that apmex has an Ebay store front. Once in a while, apmex would have a “SPECIAL PRICE!” bullion deal where you can buy the bullion via Ebay at the same or lower price as their wire/check price at their own website. This is when I usually buy because 1) I get 1% back since I fund paypal acct with CC and 2) I don’t have to wait many, many days for my check to clear hoping that they are still in business (yes, I am little paranoid).

[mixxalot]

I prefer buying directly from the US Mint! They have cool new collector and commemorative gold and silver coins like the presidential spouse coins and Mark Twain coin.

[Coronita]

Thanks folks for responding… A few questions.

1. Mixxalot. I looked at the US mint website, but it seems like the price of the american eagle or buffalo 1 ouncer is really really high. It’s around $1400/ounce. Spot gold is around $1100/ounce, and it seems like there are many dealers selling around $60-70 above spot. So I’m wondering is there some reason why the US mint prices are higher than what dealers are selling for?

2. Moneymaker From sandiegocoin’s website,

http://www.sandiegocoin.com/gold-widget.php

What exactly would be the difference between the american eagle/bufflao versus say the canada maple leaf or the Krugerrand or the Suisse bar. Isn’t 1oz of gold the same as 1oz of gold. Why the variation in price (albeit small)?

3. milkspot. How often have you bought from apmex? Reputable?.

[milkspot]

I have purchased from apmex 34 times and had 1 minor issue. The coin had a fingerprint on it. I complained about the unprofessional handling. Their response was conciliatory (as in open for exchange) but I did not pursue because I was able to remove the print with soap/water and pat dry.

So the only question is … are my coins fake? Unless you buy directly from the mint, this is a question that applies to any dealer purchase. I am not a coin expert so I can only rely on reputation and how long they’ve been in business. The only due diligence I did was I bought an Austrian Philharmonic from Liberty Metals Group in Del Mar and another one from apmex and compared the coins carefully. They look/feel the same so either they’re both genuine from Austrian mint or they’re both fake from China. I ended up believing the former. I’ve been going back and forth about getting https://www.thefisch.com/ because I still want to spot check a few coins once in a while.

Obviously, I trust apmex. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bought from them 34 times.

[mixxalot]

Agree flu and I am royally pissed off after the US Mint cancelled my order for no valid reason so thats the last time I ever buy from them! So who do you recommend in San Diego to buy gold and silver bullion coins from for the best deals and prices and selection?

I would like to buy Krugerands and Canadian Maple Leafs.

[OwnerOfCalifornia]

[quote=flu]What exactly would be the difference between the american eagle/bufflao versus say the canada maple leaf or the Krugerrand or the Suisse bar. Isn’t 1oz of gold the same as 1oz of gold. Why the variation in price (albeit small)?[/quote]

Eagles and Krugerrands are 22-karat gold (91.7% purity = 22/24). Maples and Buffaloes are 100% 24-karat. Both types have exactly 1.000 troy oz of gold. The Eagles & Kruggerands are alloyed with a bit of silver and copper and are a bit heavier and more resistant to ‘damage’, but you obviously wouldn’t want to throw around either type. Beyond that, these are just bullion and (I’m no expert) the buy/sell spreads are pretty similar.

I’ve never bought from Apmex but I know people who have–they had good experiences. In town, I really like Blue Vault. I’m not terribly worried about fakes (yet) but China is getting better at it. The fakes will never beat the Fisch (basic physics), and I know Blue Vault uses those. Maybe you’d want to be more careful about bars if you’re into that kind of thing–but I genuinely believe good dealers won’t let fake bars through either.

You can google prices around town, and honestly I feel like they’re close enough that, as long as you trust the dealer, you’ll do best by driving to the closest one to you.

[OwnerOfCalifornia]

Oh yeah, another thing. In California, you’ll pay sales tax for purchases under $1500. Over that, tax-free for the whole purchase. So you can’t buy just one gold coin, but you could buy one 100oz silver bar.

I never tried to buy 1 gold coin + some silver to get to just over $1500, but that might work.

[gzz]

I would never buy a 100oz silver bar. Fakes of them exist, and if I want to resell I would need to first find someone wanting to buy $1500 worth of silver and then prove that it is not a fake.

Much better to get a mix of 1oz rounds and coins and maybe a few 10oz bars. While fakes exist of 1oz coins too, the incentive to do so is very small and people can sacrifice one to test with acid or just cut them with hedge clippers.

Best deal on silver right now IMO is Silver Brittania or Prospecter here:
http://www.providentmetals.com

Or Sunshine Rounds here:

http://www.jmbullion.com

Apmex is fine too but their sales now are not very good.

Both are no sales tax and free shipping above $99 orders.

[gzz]

There are real 100oz silver bars that people inserted lead slugs into. this is pretty hard to detect as they are still going to be silver in the outer portion.

A silver plated fake coin would be easy to spot and require the mint’s die to be replicated.

[gzz]

I believe the US Mint only sells special proof coins to the public, and sells its normal gold and silver through dealers. The going price for a Silver Eagle is about $17.50 at a dealer, but the proofs from the mint website would be much more but probably retain their premium if you keep them untouched.

Proof in this context means a special mint mark, maybe W for west point, and a perfect mirror finish.

I do not buy proofs myself, but they quickly sell out every year so a lot of people like them.

[gzz]

Best way to buy metals IMO is sign up for one of the CCs that give you a 500 bonus if you spend $3k or 5k in the first 3 months. That $500 more than covers the 3% cc fee.

[OwnerOfCalifornia]

I think common sense goes a long way with transacting in PM’s. Never trade on CL, ebay, etc. Use established dealers, trade coins (I only do coins) and good delivery list bars.

[quote=gzz]There are real 100oz silver bars that people inserted lead slugs into. this is pretty hard to detect as they are still going to be silver in the outer portion.[/quote]

There are some anecdotes of this happening with 100- and 1000-oz bars, but this is actually very easy to detect. Again, reputable dealers will nail these every time

http://about.ag/lead100ouncebars.htm

[Author]

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