# Lifestyles & Discussion > Personal Prosperity >  Purchasing/Storing/Caring for gold & silver buillion coins

## RCA

Purchasing:

How does one guard against counterfeit bullion coins of gold & silver.

What level of quality of the coin itself should be desired when buying (i.e. dents, scratches, tarnishing, etc.)

Storing:

What is the preferred method of keeping these coins? Individual cases? In a safe?

Caring:

What forms of maintenance will have to be done to gold and silver bullion coins after the initial purchase is made?

Favorites types of coins:

What are considered the favorite purchases for gold and silver bullion coins. In other words, how does one know the difference between a bullion coin and a numismatic coin?

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## slacker921

counterfeits abound from China..

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## GorGor

RCA,

I don't feel I am knowledged enough to answer most of your questions, but I can offer my thoughts for a few of your questions; my replies are in regards to silver. I have no experience and have not read up on gold.

First off, in regards to what quality of coins. It depends on why you are buying the coins. 

If you are buying for financial *investment*, then go with the shiny pretty stuff. I may be off base on the following, so someone please chime in if I am mistaken: numismatic/collector quality coins will generally be individually wrapped/packaged with a quality rating on the package such as pf, ms, au, ef, vf, vg, g, or ag. They will also have a number following.

If you are buying for financial *meltdown* reasons, I'd go with 90% (also called junk silver). The reasons are as follows: there is no reason to pay a premium for coins you will be using for trade. You should be able to get 90% coins for real close to the spot price. Why pay an extra dollar or more over spot for a silver eagle? The next reason I like 90% is because of the variety of amounts of silver between the dimes, quarters, halves, and dollars. It simply gives more versatility. Why deal with trading for something worth $5 with a coin worth $20 and hoping the person you are trading with has proper change?

If you are getting these coins for financial meltdown reasons, personally, I'd stick with coins minted/used in the country you plan to trade them in. Collectors and dealers may know what a foreign minted coin is, but I feel safer in the fact that U.S. minted coins will be more recognizable in the U.S. by the average Joe, such as the baker, doctor, or whoever may be getting these from you in a trade situation.

As for what combination, that would depend on your preferences as well as amount of $$$ you can spend and in what time frame. Personally, I can't lay out a lot of money, so I would buy 90% monthly and as my supply gets larger, I would start buying a bit of gold to go with my additional purchases of 90%. Keep in mind, the smallest currently minted U.S. gold coin is 1/10th oz. This equates to about $98 dollars today. So whatever combination you decide to get, be aware that a coin worth $98 is gonna suck to get change for a loaf of bread. So what I am suggesting is that you get the majority of your coins in lesser valued coins. Of course some of the larger valued coins will be of use if you need a tooth pulled, need a major piece of equipment, etc.

As for storage: some people rubber cement coins to the underside of tables, bed frames, entertainment centers, etc. You can also used the old standbyes such as the hollowed out book, the fake hairspray can, and things like that. You can bury them in an airtight/waterproof container. For safes, don't get something that can be carried off like the ones at the box stores for $50. Look at a good firearm safe or a safe safe like my father has... about 3'x3' safe that weighs a ton. It was my grand fathers... made when they made good stuff.

Just some thoughts from my non-PHd knowledge

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## Acala

> Purchasing:
> 
> How does one guard against counterfeit bullion coins of gold & silver.
> 
> What level of quality of the coin itself should be desired when buying (i.e. dents, scratches, tarnishing, etc.)
> 
> Storing:
> 
> What is the preferred method of keeping these coins? Individual cases? In a safe?
> ...


QUOTE=RCA;1344031]


"How does one guard against counterfeit bullion coins of gold & silver."

Buy bullion coins from a reliable dealer.  Gold can also be tested by measuring its specific gravity if you want to be sure.  It's pretty hard to counterfeit gold because nothing that is easily available is as dense.  Silver is easier to counterfeit.

"What level of quality of the coin itself should be desired when buying (i.e. dents, scratches, tarnishing, etc.)"

With pure bullion a little tarnish or scratching doesn't matter much as long as the quantity is correct.  (By the way, gold does not tarnish.  If someone tries to sell you tarnished gold, walk away.)  With numismatic coins it matters a lot!

"What is the preferred method of keeping these coins? Individual cases? In a safe?"

Don't keep all your eggs in one basket.  Also, 24k gold is pretty soft.  Don't let it bang around with other coins and don't drop it.  It will dent.  22k gold is quite a bit harder.

"Caring:

What forms of maintenance will have to be done to gold and silver bullion coins after the initial purchase is made?"

You should take your gold and silver bullion out regularly and pet it and cuddle it so it will bond with you.

"Favorites types of coins:

What are considered the favorite purchases for gold and silver bullion coins. In other words, how does one know the difference between a bullion coin and a numismatic coin?"

Bullion coins will sell for a set amount above spot.  Numismatic coins are all over the map depending on rarity etc.  Also, bullion coins usually are imprinted with the weight and fineness.  But some coins that were not minted as bullion are traded as bullion - junk silver for example.  These coins do not have their silver content imprinted on them.

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## AceNZ

> How does one guard against counterfeit bullion coins of gold & silver.


1. Only buy coin types that you're familiar with; avoid bars and types you've never seen
2. Buy from a reputable dealer and avoid eBay
3. Use a Fisch Gauge: http://www.fisch.co.za/operation.htm
4. or use a caliper and a small scale and compare against the known measurements
5. With experience, counterfeits are usually (but not always) pretty easy to identify in person by their look, feel and sound





> What level of quality of the coin itself should be desired when buying (i.e. dents, scratches, tarnishing, etc.)


My usual rule of thumb is that very light scratches ("surface" scratches) don't impact the value of bullion at all.  Deep scratches, nicks, dents, etc, usually warrant a discount, since they will be harder to sell.





> What is the preferred method of keeping these coins? Individual cases? In a safe?


Basically just store them so that they won't get damaged or stolen.  There's more than one way.  Many people store them in whatever the seller used.

There are different opinions on safes.  Some people suggest keeping a little currency in a safe, and then hiding your real valuables elsewhere.  Avoid the "usual" places like toilets, boxes in the bathroom or kitchen, in the freezer, around your bed, around your books or office, etc.  Don't tell anyone, even close family or friends, that you have coins in your house (very important!) -- there are some people who don't even get their coins insured, since even telling the agent poses a risk.





> What forms of maintenance will have to be done to gold and silver bullion coins after the initial purchase is made?


None.  Just keep them secure and they'll be fine.





> What are considered the favorite purchases for gold and silver bullion coins. In other words, how does one know the difference between a bullion coin and a numismatic coin?


You can tell bullion from numismatic by how much of a premium you pay over the spot metal price.  Certainly anything beyond 10% over spot is numismatic, but typical bullion runs more like 2 to 3%.

My favorites for gold are the Maple Leaf and the Nugget (I prefer .999+ gold because they've been easier to re-sell in my experience).  For silver, the Maple Leaf and 90% junk.  I suggest picking a few favorites, and then sticking to them as much as you can.

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## Corydoras

I think the #1 thing to decide is the reason behind getting into precious metals. Do you want to have them to trade in case of financial emergency such as currency crash, civilization failure, etc.? (In that case, junk silver and small gold coins are good). Do you want to keep them to sell at some point, such as in a personal emergency like joblessness, or when you retire, etc.? Do you want to keep them all your life and leave them to your heirs? This makes a big difference to what you buy, for example what size coins you get.

I think it is critically important to decide whether you want to get into numismatic coins or bullion coins or both. Me, I don't get into numismatics because I don't know enough about coins to be able to judge whether something is a good deal, and I just plain don't enjoy looking at the artwork the way a lot of people do. Also, if you want to sell, you have to find someone who is willing to give you what you consider what is a good price. Also, you have to handle numismatics with cotton gloves if you keep them bare (but anyway they should be kept in Air-Tites, which is a type of hard plastic container).

If you are getting bullion coins, you DON'T have to keep them in Air-Tites or velvet cases etc. As said in the posts above, just don't treat them roughly (in such a way that they'll get dented or deeply scratched).

Here is a thread which links to pages about ways to store your PMs:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=125436

I don't go for coins/medallions made by private entities, even well known ones like Johnson-Matthey, Sunshine Mint, or Engelhard, but some people do because they are cheaper than government-issued coins. I go for coins made by governments, because I think they are easier to sell.

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## Cowlesy

I have a couple Kruggerrands stored "somewhere" offsite, but am thinking about picking up some rolls of smaller denomination gold eagles for trade, jusssst incase.

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## Corydoras

Bradley posted a useful website without comment in another thread, so I'm going to recommend these links to you. (Thanks, Bradley!)

http://www.nma.org/statistics/gold/gold_investing.asp
Overview of gold investing

http://www.nma.org/statistics/gold/forms.asp
Ways to invest in gold

http://www.nma.org/statistics/gold/gold_coins.asp
Leading gold bullion coins

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## Agent CSL

Bumping because I found this thread on Google. How ironic. 

I'm wondering how I should store my silver, and if it's worth it to polish or care for it in any way?

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## Dr.3D

> Bumping because I found this thread on Google. How ironic. 
> 
> I'm wondering how I should store my silver, and if it's worth it to polish or care for it in any way?


Typically a numismatic coin will lose value if it is cleaned or polished.

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## purepaloma

When you "knock" silver together it has a certain sound.

Silver Bullion is fairly hard to fake, for poured bars, many times the bottoms will have "slight rings" that almost look like a finger print.  (for a picture of this, see the website below)  For extruded bars, they most likely would have a line through the bar (sliced in half) that would be repaired.  

By the way, I'm selling some of my personal stash of small denominations of silver and replacing with 1000 ouncers off the comex.    These Items are in stock and ready to be shipped.

Selling 10 ounce bars for a bit less than ebay.

http://www.purepaloma.com/ 
(take credit cards, no minimums) 


Here is what these bars go for on ebay:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=400008783204

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## Alopederii

> What forms of maintenance will have to be done to gold and silver bullion coins after the initial purchase is made?


Some of the silver rounds I bought were tarnished.  I didn't want to polish them, as that is abrasive and removes the tarnish by removing the silver.  Instead, I used tin foil, baking soda, and hot water to turn the silver oxide (the tarnish) back into silver.  If you're interested in this method, do a google search... there are many sites with the details.

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## Dr.3D

> Some of the silver rounds I bought were tarnished.  I didn't want to polish them, as that is abrasive and removes the tarnish by removing the silver.  Instead, I used tin foil, baking soda, and hot water to turn the silver oxide (the tarnish) back into silver.  If you're interested in this method, do a google search... there are many sites with the details.


*Washing soda* works even better for that process.  I've used it for cleaning meteorites and it is great.  No loss of metal and the rust/corrosion is converted right back to the original metal.

You can find washing soda in the store under the brand name Arm & Hammer.   There is a big difference between baking soda and washing soda.

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